Like Selfies, Binge Watching is the New Normal

‘Selfies’ may be the official new word of 2013, but Binge-Watching is said to be a runner up for a reason.

A recent survey conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Netflix among nearly 1,500 TV streamers (online U.S. adults who stream TV shows at least once a week) found that binge watching is a widespread behavior among this group, with 61% binge watching regularly.

If the common perception of binge watching was a weekend-long, pajama-wearing marathon of TV viewing, survey respondents don’t see it that way.

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A majority (73%) defined binge watching as watching between 2-6 episodes of the same TV show in one sitting. And there’s no guilt in it. Nearly three quarters of TV streamers (73%) say they have positive feelings towards binge streaming TV.

“Our viewing data shows that the majority of streamers would actually prefer to have a whole season of a show available to watch at their own pace,” said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer of Netflix.

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According to the survey, 76% of TV streamers say watching multiple episodes of a great TV show is a welcome refuge from their busy lives while 79% said watching several episodes of their favorite shows at once actually makes the shows more enjoyable.

And three-quarters (76%) also say streaming TV shows on their own schedule is their preferred way to watch them.

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This survey was conducted online within the United States between Nov. 25 and 27, 2013 among 3,078 adults aged 18 and older, of whom 1,496 stream TV shows at least once a week, by Harris Interactive on behalf of Netflix via its Quick Query omnibus product. The survey findings were released today, Dec. 13.

Photo courtesy: Netflix