As more viewers - particularly millennials - turn to streaming services like Netflix to power watch series, more TV networks are getting on board with the binge-watching behavior change.

“The streaming platforms have created a more competitive environment and we all need to deliver better,” David Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting System, said in an interview with Reuters.

Cue shows like Turner’s new comedy detective series Angie Tribeca, where the entire 10-episode season debuted on TBS in January with a 25-hour commercial free marathon.

RELATED: Angie Tribeca Is the Dawn of a Different TBS

According to media researcher Comscore, 46 percent of people ages 18-to-34 watch shows after they air, and 42 percent watch multiple episodes of a show one to two times per month.

More people are also cutting their cable subscriptions in favor of streaming shows online.

Creating more Cliffhangers

As viewing habits change, many networks are also changing the format of episodes to fit into a binge-worthy model by steering away from syndicated programming, like the CBS hit The Big Bang Theory, where each storyline is contained to a single episode. Rather, they’re shifting toward serialized shows where episodes often end by leaving viewers wanting more.

Viacom’s TV Land Creative and Marketing Executive Kim Rosenblum pointed to Impastor, about a man who pretends to be a preacher in a small town to escape his gambling debt, which was rewritten so that each episode ends with a cliffhanger to encourage binging.

“Instead of it being every episode as a standalone, we added a storyline that was told more episodically as the mystery unravels,” she said.

Changes to Commercials

With the growing switch toward watching multiple episodes at a time, it’s no surprise the model is also disrupting traditional advertising models. Comscore data relays that 43 percent of viewers binge watch through their DVRS, allowing them to fast forward through commercials, compared to just 19 percent who watch through video on demand.

With that in mind, TV executives are exploring changes to how they air commercials.

RELATED: No Ads? No Problem: Ad-Free Premieres Paying Off for Cable Nets

Turner has been experimenting with brand placement in shows, like filming a scene of truTV’s The Carbonaro Effect at Papa John’s Pizza, which sponsored the episode.

David Poltrack, chief research officer of CBS, is wondering if commercials, like shows, should also be serialized to engage viewers with a story rather than exposing them to the same advertisement over and over.

At the end of the day, it comes down money, said Dave Morgan, chief executive of ad tech firm Simulmedia. Networks realize streaming services are a threat, and need to adjust their strategy to financially survive.

“If they don’t get viewership,” Morgan said, “they don’t get paid.”

Read more: Reuters

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