Researching Binge-Watching

Abstract

This piece gives an overview of the different ways binge-watching is explored and analysed in contemporary television studies. It specifically explores the way binge-watching has been covered in the technological histories of television, fan studies, audience reception research, and narratology. In this, it insists that binge-watching is deployed in different ways within the broad and diverse field of television studies. The distinct uses of binge-watching in different sub-fields of television studies makes it a term that can be deployed in a variety of ways, suggesting that there can be no ‘one’ definition, also allowing for its resilience in the face of constant change of the medium.

Keys to streaming success

“…El consumo en maratón (binge-watching) es un fenómeno consustancial al ecosistema de plataformas, que se organizan en torno a una estrategia que reduce la espera y las fricciones al consumo, impulsando sesiones de visionado más intensas (Jenner, 2015;Jenner, 2016;Jenner, 2020;Tóth-Király et al 2017;Upreti et al, 2017;Rubenking et al 2018;Shim y Kim, 2018;Arrojo y Martín, 2019;Boca, 2019;Turner, 2019;Karuza Podgorelec, 2020;Castro et al 2021;Reisa e Irwansyah, 2021;Ahmed et al 2022, Cao-Fernández et al, 2022Kumar y Taneja, 2023;Schanfner et al 2023;Bastos et al, 2024;Li et al, 2024). Netflix, gracias a su estrategia de lanzamiento de temporadas completas o por volúmenes, es un destacado promotor de esta práctica (Elnanla, 2018).…”

Towards a post-pandemic social contract

“…As the late modern subjects grow into the specific pattern of social distortions, their agency also adjusts to these constraints. Being exposed to perpetual conflicts, they do not evidently desire peace (Rumford 2001); being excluded from social mobility, their moral values are uncertain (Inglehart and Norris 2017); having limited autonomy, they incorporate helplessness (Standing, 2011); being exposed to addictive technologies, they are not in control of their consumption (Jenner, 2020). In the eyes of such ‘damaged subjectivities’, the previously self-evident common denominators are not given: peace is not a particularly desirable goal, if it results in a meaningless existence; universal liberty is not respected, if one’s negative freedom is paired with the lack of positive freedom; the pursuing of self-interest is futile, if it implies uncontrollable addictions (Sik, 2021).…”

Exploring binge-watching, agenda setting and the transformation of video consumption: A comprehensive literature review

“…Streaming services like Netflix have significantly altered viewer habits, indicating a substantial shift in the way audiences interact with video content. This change is largely driven by the convenience, flexibility, and personalization that streaming platforms offer (Jenner, 2020).…”