A recent study has shown that TV viewers would rather have an entire season of their favourite show ready to stream instead of just being able to watch one episode per sitting.
Do you find yourself constantly saying “Just one more episode” when watching your favourite new series? A survey conducted on behalf of Netflix found that bingeing is a widespread behaviour, with 61% or respondents 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. 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.
South Africa is no different, and findings from the first study dedicated to South Africa revealed some great data and fun facts. Netflix members around the world are certainly making their own rules when it comes to watching TV. Last year alone, they watched more than 140 million hours of TV shows, movies, documentaries, stand-up specials and more per day – that’s about one billion hours per week.
As a Nation, we fully embraced the age of Netflix on the 15th of October 2017, the most popular streaming day in 2017 locally, and a fun fact – a South African Netflix member watched Radio Rebel 191 times in 2017!
“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. “Netflix has pioneered audience choice in programming and has helped free consumers from the limitations of linear television. Our own original series are created for multi-episodic viewing, lining up the content with new norms of viewer control for the first time.”
The Shows South Africans Devoured in 2017
South Africans are no different when it comes to their bingeing habits, with escaping to a different reality and devouring (watching more than two hours per day) international titles the likes of Ingobernable, Suburra: Blood on Rome and Cable Girls. But not all escaped from reality – some embraced it and were left in suspense with crime documentary titles including The Confession Tapes, The Keepers and true-crime satire American Vandal.
- Ingobernable
- Greenleaf
- American Vandal
- Suburra: Blood on Rome
- Anne with an E
- The Keepers
- The OA
- The Confession Tapes
- Cable Girls
- Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later
The Shows South Africans Savoured in 2017
Apparently South African consumers need a laugh, but savour those laughs (watching less than two hours per day) at their own pace with shows like Dear White People, Big Mouth, You Me Her and Disjointed. They also took care to enjoy the splendor of The Crown (it is a visual feast fit for a queen after all).
- The Crown
- ASOUE
- Big Mouth
- Ultimate Beastmaster
- Disjointed
- Neo Yokio
- You Me Her
- One Day at a Time
- GLOW
- Friends from College
ADDITIONAL SURVEY FINDINGS INCLUDED:
- 76% of TV streamers say watching multiple episodes of a great TV show is a welcome refuge from their busy lives
- 65% of TV streamers said that if they took a digital time out, they would still want to watch TV
- 80% of TV streamers say they would rather stream a good TV show than read a friend’s social media posts
