4 ms·

What is the definition of "binge-watching"? For me, that would be three episodes of Bojack Horseman, or about 75 minutes of content. On the other hand, I would

What is the definition of "binge-watching"? For me, that would be three episodes of Bojack Horseman, or about 75 minutes of content. On the other hand, I would happily watch a Tarantino film, say 140 minutes, in one sitting. I guess it doesn't count as a "binge" but it keeps me in front of Netflix longer than a television show.

YuriNiyazov 10y ago
Not quite. Iirc, Bojack has 10-12 episodes per season. If you watch the first three today, you will watch the next three tomorrow. If you watch django unchained today, that's not a guarantee you will rewatch kill bill tomorrow.
sp332 10y ago
Binge-watching is putting on a show and leaving it on for a good chunk of the day. Think watching a whole season of a show over a weekend, so at least 4 hours per day. And you can do this with every original Netflix series from the first day the show is launched - you don't have to wait a week per episode.
- HeyLaughingBoy 10y ago
  I'm really surprised that this model works for them. I simply get bored! I love the Marco Polo series, but I've only once watched more than two episodes back to back. Likewise for Jennifer Jones. Guess I'm just not a binge watcher. OTOH, I have no problem watching a 2:20 long movie or even two of them back to back. Movies simply draw me in more than episodic TV does.
  - rjbwork 10y ago
    Funny, I'm the exact opposite. I binged on Mr. Robot recently, and did similar for some of the other netflix/prime shows in the past. It's something akin to that Civilization "just-one-more-turn" phenomenon. But i hardly watch movies at all anymore.
wtetzner 10y ago
Isn't it more expensive for Netflix if people are spending more time watching it? Obviously they need to watch it enough to be willing to continue paying the subscription, but it seems like movies might be enough to do that.
- ajanuary 10y ago
  I don't think binge-watching, as many people here are defining it (watching a whole season in a weekend) is useful to Netflix. What is useful to Netflix is watching a whole show over the course of several weeks, a few episodes at a time. The primary way my wife and I consume shows is to watch a few episodes a day, every day, until we've watched from the first to the last available episode. We are currently watching through The Good Wife on Netflix which, at 134 episodes, will take us about 2 months. For me that's a good deal, because it would cost about £35 for a DVD boxset (yes, I could shop around, but only if my time is worthless), while Netflix only costs me £18 for 2 months. For Netflix that's a good deal, because they've got 2 months of subscription from me for 1 show. Once we've finished with The Good Wife, we'll find another show to watch. We watch about the equivalent of a movie each night, but we aren't going to watch enough movies in a month to make it feel worth keeping the subscription. Movies require a larger investment, because the characters and world are new and different with each one. With a TV show the characters are recurring, so you don't have to invest as much, which makes them easier to watch a lot of in a row.
- bcrescimanno 10y ago
  Bandwidth costs for Netflix, despite the insanely high usage, are a drop in the bucket compared to the licensing of the content (which is not priced per view or per viewer--so the more people watching more of the content, the less the "cost per stream")
thoth 10y ago
To me, "binge-watching" is along the lines of watching a season of a TV show over a weekend. I don't think of watching several movies in a row as binging them, I'd call that a "movie marathon" especially if they were a series (e.g. watching a trilogy like Lord of the Rings one after another).

YuriNiyazov 10y ago

Not quite. Iirc, Bojack has 10-12 episodes per season. If you watch the first three today, you will watch the next three tomorrow. If you watch django unchained today, that's not a guarantee you will rewatch kill bill tomorrow.

sp332 10y ago

Binge-watching is putting on a show and leaving it on for a good chunk of the day. Think watching a whole season of a show over a weekend, so at least 4 hours per day. And you can do this with every original Netflix series from the first day the show is launched - you don't have to wait a week per episode.

HeyLaughingBoy 10y ago
I'm really surprised that this model works for them. I simply get bored! I love the Marco Polo series, but I've only once watched more than two episodes back to back. Likewise for Jennifer Jones. Guess I'm just not a binge watcher. OTOH, I have no problem watching a 2:20 long movie or even two of them back to back. Movies simply draw me in more than episodic TV does.
- rjbwork 10y ago
  Funny, I'm the exact opposite. I binged on Mr. Robot recently, and did similar for some of the other netflix/prime shows in the past. It's something akin to that Civilization "just-one-more-turn" phenomenon. But i hardly watch movies at all anymore.

wtetzner 10y ago

Isn't it more expensive for Netflix if people are spending more time watching it? Obviously they need to watch it enough to be willing to continue paying the subscription, but it seems like movies might be enough to do that.

ajanuary 10y ago
I don't think binge-watching, as many people here are defining it (watching a whole season in a weekend) is useful to Netflix. What is useful to Netflix is watching a whole show over the course of several weeks, a few episodes at a time. The primary way my wife and I consume shows is to watch a few episodes a day, every day, until we've watched from the first to the last available episode. We are currently watching through The Good Wife on Netflix which, at 134 episodes, will take us about 2 months. For me that's a good deal, because it would cost about £35 for a DVD boxset (yes, I could shop around, but only if my time is worthless), while Netflix only costs me £18 for 2 months. For Netflix that's a good deal, because they've got 2 months of subscription from me for 1 show. Once we've finished with The Good Wife, we'll find another show to watch. We watch about the equivalent of a movie each night, but we aren't going to watch enough movies in a month to make it feel worth keeping the subscription. Movies require a larger investment, because the characters and world are new and different with each one. With a TV show the characters are recurring, so you don't have to invest as much, which makes them easier to watch a lot of in a row.
bcrescimanno 10y ago
Bandwidth costs for Netflix, despite the insanely high usage, are a drop in the bucket compared to the licensing of the content (which is not priced per view or per viewer--so the more people watching more of the content, the less the "cost per stream")

thoth 10y ago

To me, "binge-watching" is along the lines of watching a season of a TV show over a weekend. I don't think of watching several movies in a row as binging them, I'd call that a "movie marathon" especially if they were a series (e.g. watching a trilogy like Lord of the Rings one after another).