According to the Diffusion Group, binge viewing - that is, viewing more than one episode of a TV series back to back - is rapidly becoming universal, with 86% of adult broadband users surveyed binging at least occasionally. But the frequency of binge viewing skews strongly in favor of younger adults.
TDG profiles three groups of adult broadband users in terms of their binge viewing habits:
- Heavy Bingers (binge daily, comprise 14% of adult broadband users)
- Medium Bingers (binge monthly but not daily, comprise 51% of adult broadband users)
- Light/Non-Bingers (21% of adult broadband users who binge less than once a month, 14% who do not binge at all)
TDG analysts found that 58% of Heavy Bingers are between the ages of 18 and 34, while 56% of Light/Non-Bingers are age 45 and older. TDG believes the results indicate a structural transformation in what it means to "watch TV," with viewing behavior slowly changing from an activity defined by flipping between different live shows on different networks to one characterized by on-demand binging of individual series.
As millennials age and younger generations steeped in similar habits follow behind them, the behavior is expected to become more prominent, further impacting video programming and distribution strategies.