New age of binge TV dawns in UK

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/new-age-of-binge-tv-dawns-in-uk-9399692.html

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Binge TV viewing is surging in Britain due to on-demand services such as NetFlix and Sky+.

A third of 25 to 34-year-olds and almost as many in the 16 to 24 bracket prefer to watch several episodes of their favourite show in one sitting, rather than wait for a weekly broadcast.

Deloitte’s annual media consumer survey found 30 per cent binge-view in a group compared with 19 per cent of singletons. Women were also keener than men.

“Bingeing, as with most TV consumption, seems to be more enjoyable when shared,” said the Deloitte report.

Almost 20 per cent stayed up late to watch one more episode in a binge.

The US drama series Breaking Bad, which is shown on Netflix in the UK, won a Bafta on Sunday – the first time that a show not broadcast on a traditional channel has won the prestigious TV award.

Matthew Guest, the author of the Deloitte report, said: “It’s definitely a recent phenomenon. Since NetFlix came into the UK and offered a quality streaming service, it has changed people’s attitudes to binge-viewing.”

Deloitte found binge-viewers were likely to be wealthier as well as younger as streaming services often require high-speed broadband.