Netflix Creates a Binge Scale

We may not be getting Netflix viewership numbers, but the company is at least providing information about what shows are most bingeable. This week it announced “The Binge Scale,” which indicates which genre of shows viewers “devour” quickly and which ones are “savored” at a more leisurely pace.

In a new study, it looked at 100 serialized TV shows across 190 countries between October 2015 and May 2016 and found that the median hours per session for viewers wanting to complete a series was two hours and ten minutes. So watching more than two hours a day was something devoured, and less than two hours meant it was savored.

The series that users binge on the hardest are fall into the categories of thrillers, horrors and sci-fi, such as “Sense8,” “Orphan Black” and “The Fall.” These types of series elicit an emotional response and inspire you to keep going, Netflix claims. On the other end of the scale, viewers take more time getting through a season of a series that’s a political drama (“Homeland”), an irreverent comedy (“Arrested Development”) or a historical drama (“Narcos”). They tend to be more thought-provoking and open to interpretation.