It's definitely both. The episodic nature has some elements that go towards the first, since sometimes you need to "buy" the episodes, cliffhangers are encouraged, just like they are inside a modern fiction novel to keep the reader "hooked".
And the publication schedule is nothing new, episodic novels, comics, etc. have existed for a very long time. The time it takes to produce episodes, like comics chapters, is not to be underestimated, so there's also an economic pressure.
And the publication schedule is nothing new, episodic novels, comics, etc. have existed for a very long time. The time it takes to produce episodes, like comics chapters, is not to be underestimated, so there's also an economic pressure.