A View On The Binge Scale

In an era of fewer boundaries and always being connected, the one thing we are all competing for is the one thing that is actually limited, time with our audiences.

TV and Radio measure on share of audience at a particular time, online is trying to move away from CTR to engagement or time spent on an article, each measurement with its own slightly nuanced parameters. Now there’s a new measure.

Netflix have just released their ‘Binge Scale’ on programmes their members ‘savour and devour’. It outlines that on average, Netflix members consume content for over 2 hours per day, choosing to ‘binge’ on a series so as to finish it within the week they started. Compare this with (in Ireland ) average TV consumption per day of 3 hours 40 minutes, it. doesn’t leave much time for anything else, taking into account sleeping for 6 to 8 hours, 2 hours for commuting and 8 hours minimum for work (for those of us lucky enough to be in a 9 to 5) .

It’s a nice approach. The difficulty is it does not outline consumption patterns by country or indeed viewership. Series were not restricted by launch dates, runtime or number of episodes. It only looks at consumption of the first series. As well as that, Netflix vary how they deliver content- in some programmes, the entire series is launched in one go, in other instances, such as Better Call Saul, they released the second series week on week.

So how do you compare?

You can’t. It’s another incomparable measure. Measurement is always in catch up in these instances, for a number of reasons. Individual companies have vested interests in how they are measured. Industries vary in terms of maturity ( the more mature, the more stable the measure). New measures are introduced daily to support VC backed unicorns (did I actually say that?).

It’s a constant state of flux.