The Effect of Binge-Watching on the Subscription of Video on Demand: Results from Randomized Experiments

Matos, Miguel Godinho de; Ferreira, Pedro

doi:10.1287/isre.2020.0948

Cited by 15 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Consequently, binge-watching (watching multiple episodes of a TV series in one viewing session) 3 has become the new standard for viewing content 144 . The widespread adoption of binge-watching has been attributed to the on-demand nature of streaming and the technological design features of streaming platforms 145 , including notifications about the release of new TV series 146 , algorithm-based content recommendations 147,148 , the autoplay or post-play feature (countdown to the automatic start of the next episode) 149,150 , accelerated viewing 151 , smart download (automatic download of episodes to queue for upcoming viewing) 152 and playback mode (omission of episode recaps or the ability to skip opening credits) 150 .…”

Section: On-demand Tv Streamingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A taxonomy of technology design features that promote potentially addictive online behaviours

et al. 2023

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Gaming disorder was officially recognized as a disorder of addictive behaviour in the International Classification of Diseases 11th revision in 2019. Since then, other types of potentially problematic online behaviour have been discussed as possible candidates for inclusion in the psychiatric nosography of addictive disorders. Understanding these problematic online behaviours requires further study of the specific psychological mechanisms involved in their formation and maintenance. An important but underdeveloped line of research has examined the ways in which technology design features might influence users' capacity to exert control over how they engage with and use websites and applications, thereby amplifying uncontrolled, and perhaps addictive, use. In this Review, we critically examine the available research on the relationships between technology design features and the loss of control and harms experienced by those who engage in online video gaming, online gambling, cybersexual activities, online shopping, social networking and on-demand TV streaming. We then propose a theory-driven general taxonomy of the design features of online applications that might promote uncontrolled and problematic online behaviours.

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Section: On-demand Tv Streamingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A taxonomy of technology design features that promote potentially addictive online behaviours

et al. 2023

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“…Closest to our work are the studies by Belo et al (2019) and Godinho de Matos and Ferreira (2020), who use field experiments to study the effects of time-shifted TV. Belo et al find that households gifted access to additional time-shifted TV channels (vs. additional live channels) increased their overall TV viewership.…”

Section: Causal Effects Of Content Formatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

More Likely to Pay but Less Engaged: The Effects of Switching Online Courses from Scheduled to On-Demand Release on User Behavior

Lu,

Bradlow,

Hutchinson

2024

Journal of Marketing

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Following trends in entertainment streaming services, online educational platforms are increasingly offering users flexible “on-demand” content options. It is important to understand how the timing of content release affects learning behaviors and firm revenue drivers. The current research studies over 67,000 users taking a marketing course before vs. after a natural experiment where the platform switched the course from a scheduled weekly-release format to an on-demand format with all content immediately available. The switch to on-demand positively impacted short-term firm revenue by increasing the number and proportion of certificate-paying users, suggesting that on-demand content can attract a broader set of consumers who value flexibility. On the downside, the switch resulted in users exhibiting lower lecture completion rates and quiz performance, and taking fewer additional business courses on the platform, representing a long-term cost. The results were robust to propensity score matching and stratification. The analyses also revealed that on-demand content enabled learning patterns that deviated from a standard evenly-paced schedule, including “strategic” binge learning and stretching out engagement past the recommended course period. Thus, while on-demand formats can boost revenues by bringing in more paying users, managers must consider new strategies for maintaining performance and engagement levels within these environments.

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“…For example, Zhang et al (2015) found that clumpier customers were more active in the long-run, while Schweidel and Moe (2016) found that binging TV shows on Hulu was related to lower ad response. Godinho de Matos and Ferreira (2020) found that when consumers were given access to on-demand TV, binge-watchers depleted content quickly and were subsequently less likely to subscribe to the channels. Within the education domain, binge-learning is similar to the characterization of "massed" practice in which an educational lesson is administered within a single session or day (as opposed to "distributed" or "spaced" practice where the lesson is spread out across sessions).…”

Section: Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planning-to-binge: Time allocation for future media consumption.

Lu¹,

Karmarkar²,

Venkatraman³

2024

Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied

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The prevalence of streaming media has led firms to embrace the phenomenon of "binge-watching" by offering entire multipart series simultaneously. Such "on-demand" availability allows consumers to choose how to allocate future viewing time, but such decisions have received little attention in the literature. Across several studies, we show that individuals can plan binging in advance by allocating time in ways that aggregate episode consumption. Thus, we expand our understanding of media consumption to a new timepoint, distinct from "in-the-moment" viewing. We demonstrate that planning-to-binge preferences are flexible and shaped by perceptions of the media of interest. In particular, they are greater for content whose episodes are perceived as more sequential and connected, as opposed to independent. Since our framework focuses on the media's structural continuity, it applies across hedonic and utilitarian time use, motivations, and content, including "binge-learning" plans for online education. Furthermore, increased plans-to-binge can be triggered by merely framing content as more sequential versus independent. Finally, consumers are willing to spend both money and time for the future opportunity to binge, and more so for sequential content. These findings suggest ways media companies may strategically emphasize content structure to influence consumer decisions and media viewing styles. Public Significance StatementThis study finds that consumers can make plans-to-binge-watch media content ahead of time, and that "planning-to-binge" preferences are greater for content framed to have more sequential, interconnected episodes. Our findings illustrate opportunities for how firms might promote, curate, and price their content portfolios based on content structure across a variety of media domains ranging from entertainment to education.

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The Effect of Binge-Watching on the Subscription of Video on Demand: Results from Randomized Experiments

Cited by 15 publications

References 48 publications

A taxonomy of technology design features that promote potentially addictive online behaviours

A taxonomy of technology design features that promote potentially addictive online behaviours

More Likely to Pay but Less Engaged: The Effects of Switching Online Courses from Scheduled to On-Demand Release on User Behavior

Planning-to-binge: Time allocation for future media consumption.

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