binge watch·ing

noun

the practice of watching multiple episodes of a television program in rapid succession, typically by means of DVDs or digital streaming.

"people who watch television online say they regularly indulge in binge watching

Binge-watching, also called binge-viewing or marathon-viewing, is the practice of watching television for a long time span, usually a single television show. In a survey conducted by Netflix in February 2014, 73% of people define binge-watching as "watching between 2-6 episodes of the same TV show in one sitting."[1] Researchers have argued that binge-watching should be defined based on the context and the actual content of TV show. [2]

Binge-watching as an observed cultural phenomenon has become popular with the rise of online media services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video through which the viewer can watch television shows and movies on-demand.[3][4] For example, 61% of the Netflix survey participants said they binge-watch regularly.[1] Recent research based on video-on-demand data from major US video streaming providers shows that over 64% of the customers binged-watched once during a year.[2]

History[edit]

The word's usage was popularized with the advent of on-demand viewing and online streaming. In 2013, the word "exploded" into mainstream use when Netflix started releasing episodes of its serial programming simultaneously.[5]

In November 2015, the Collins English Dictionary chose the word “binge-watch” as the word of the year.[6]

Cultural impact[edit]

Actor Kevin Spacey used the 2013 MacTaggart Lecture to implore television executives to give audiences "what they want, when they want it. If they want to binge, then we should let them binge". He claimed that high-quality stories will retain audience's attention for hours on end, and may reduce piracy[7], although millions still download illegal content. Binge-watching "complex, quality TV" such as The Wire and Breaking Bad has been likened to reading more than one chapter of a novel in one sitting, and is viewed by some as a "smart, contemplative way" of watching TV.[8]

ITV Director of Television Peter Fincham warned that binge-watching erodes the "social value" of television as there are fewer opportunities to anticipate future episodes and discuss them with friends.[9]

Research conducted at the University of Texas at Austin found binge watching television is correlated to depression, loneliness, self-regulation deficiency, and obesity. "Even though some people argue that binge-watching is a harmless addiction, findings from our study suggest that binge-watching should no longer be viewed this way," the authors conclude.[10]

Research conducted by media scholar Emil Steiner at Temple University isolated six motivations for binge-watching. The author concludes that while compulsiveness is possible, most binge-viewers have an ambivalent relationship with the nascent techno-cultural behavior. Furthermore, he argues that the negotiation of control in binge-watching is changing our understanding of television culture.[11]

Research conducted by Technicolor lab recently found that a binge-watching session do increase the probability of another binge-watching session in the near future. In the meantime, the majority of people will not immediately have another binge-watching session. This indicates that binge-watching is not a consistent behavior for real-world video-on-demand consumers.[2]