By virtue of its nature as an on-demand platform, Netflix claims certain inherent advantages over its TV-based competitors. Since its shows aren’t tied to certain time slots or runtimes, for example, it can give viewers complete freedom over when and how they choose to watch their favorite shows.
If a reported in the Daily Mail is to believed, Netflix is about to take that advantage to a logical next step. The SVOD platform is believed to be planning “choose-your-own-adventure”-style content that would let viewers dictate the direction of certain on-screen narratives.
The Daily Mail’s source said Netflix could launch shows with divergent narratives, with viewers instructed to experiment in order to witness each scene. ‘We’re doing work on branch narratives so you are actually making choices as you watch,” the source said. “All the content will be there, and then people will have to get through it in different ways.”
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According to the source, Netflix’s first choose-your-own-adventure series will be a children’s show based around an “established character.” If that project proves successful, the same format could be applied to adult programming.
The Daily Mail, it should be said, is not exactly the most reliable source in the world, but the article in question does include a quote from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. “Once you have got interactivity you can try anything,” Hastings said.
Both individual creators and larger media companies have experimented with the choose-your-own-adventure format in the past, but Netflix would be the most significant entity to launch that sort of content. Hopefully the SVOD leader chooses to continue this adventure with an official announcement in the near future.
