Commentary

Nearly Two-Thirds Of TV Viewers Are Binge Watchers

Binge viewing isn’t just the biggest buzzword in the video business. It’s the real deal. But not all consumers know they’re doing it.

About 63% of TV viewers are binge viewers, according to a study of consumer viewing behavior among U.S TV viewers 18 and older, conducted by Annalect, an analytics and data division of Omnicom Media Group. That means they watch three or more episodes of the same TV show in one sitting. However, many of those consumers don’t “self-identify” as such. Even though their habits fit the definition, only 43% described themselves that way.

“This is likely because they think that it takes watching more than three episodes of a single TV show in one sitting to be a binge viewer,” Annelect said. When told they were watching in a binge-viewing style, about half said they liked being a binge viewer and 55% will continue to watch this way. Overall, about 55% of TV viewers were familiar with the term.

Annalect’s research provides interesting insight into the minds of viewers who are taking part in this increasingly popular way to watch TV shows. When asked how to describe binge-viewing, common answers were “excessive/constant/continuous/a lot of TV watching for long periods of time” or “watching multiple episodes/seasons/movies in order/back to back.”

Binge viewing is becoming an important source of discovery for shows. About 52% of viewers said it introduced them to new shows, while 50% said they’ve become hooked on a show after binge-watching a few episodes. Also, about 40% said they found shows from a streaming service and then began watching new episodes on air, indicating that services like Netflix are delivering new viewers to broadcast TV shows.

Binge-viewing habits skew slightly female and younger. Binge viewers are 67% more likely to be female, and 80% more likely to be Millennials, according to the study.

3 comments about "Nearly Two-Thirds Of TV Viewers Are Binge Watchers".
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  1. Doug Garnett from Protonik, LLC, July 16, 2014 at 2:06 p.m.

    Let's see... Some research company invents a definition of binge viewing (or extracts it from a bunch of industry people at a convention)... And we are supposed to be surprised people don't know that they are doing what a bunch of marketing folks decided define binge viewing? What this really says is: consumer have a different definition of binge viewing than the industry does. And in that case, the industry is generally wrong - not the consumer.

  2. Walter Sabo from SABO media, July 16, 2014 at 2:27 p.m.

    I prefer two hot dogs with mustard. All of these issues were solved in 2007 by HITVIEWS

  3. John Grono from GAP Research, July 17, 2014 at 7:55 p.m.

    I'll bet you London to a brick that the question asked was along the lines of "Have you ever watched three or more episodes of the same TV programme in a row?". If my hunch is correct the conclusion and headline should say "Nearly Two-Thirds Of TV Viewers Have Binge Watched At Some Time In Their Lives". Yeah, I know, no-one would read it then.

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