ENDLESS TV
The U.S. is becoming a binge-watching nation, a survey finds
Binge-watching is definitely a buzzword in the media, but according to a new survey, it really has become the dominant mode of TV consumption in the U.S.
Accounting firm Deloitte’s survey of more than 2,000 content consumers age 14 and older found that 68% of respondents said they have bingewatched a series at some point, with 31% saying they did so at least once a week.
Binge-watching in this instance was defined as watching three or more episodes of the same series in a single sitting.
The digital revolution that is bringing TV content streaming into households in more accessible ways than ever before is also letting consumers watch when they want. More than half of the survey’s respondents said they chose to stream movies and TV shows, while 45% said they preferred to watch programs live on traditional broadcast or cable TV.
No surprise to the millions of “Game of Thrones” or “Mad Men” devotees, the survey found that dramas were the dominant binge-watching genre, with 54% of respondents saying they choose to power through those hourlong episodes.
Despite their shorter length in general, comedies were less popular as a binge-watching subject, with 20% saying they choose to binge on belly laughs. The results also indicated a split between genders, with more women among the drama bingers and more men among the comedy bingers.
Although more TV is being streamed than ever before, the survey found that doesn’t necessarily mean Americans are sitting in front of their screens when streaming shows. The study found that 90% of respondents said they multitasked while watching programs, with two age demographics — millennials and Generation X — performing an average of three other activities while watching, including Internet browsing.
Advertisers may take note of the fact that nearly 75% of participants in the survey said they pay more attention to digital ads over ads on traditional broadcast TV — and 62% said they’d be more willing to watch those ads online if it meant that they didn’t have to pay more for their streaming services.
Increasingly, the survey indicated, millennials are moving away from traditional TV, with the Internet the most valued service among 93% of the younger generation. Nearly 40% of all respondents said they play video games on a daily or weekly basis, a pastime that is spread over gaming consoles (24%), smartphones (21%) and tablets (11%).