While Netflix doesn’t reveal the ratings for its original TV shows, we know a lot of people have subscribed to the service. We also know that a lot of subscribers are regular users of the streaming service, but we didn’t know exactly how much content those regular users were consuming on a consistent basis. That is, until now. A recent report indicates that regular Netflix users are watching 10 shows per week on the platform, along with four movies. That’s a ton of Netflix watching going on.
Now, it should be noted that the people who were looked at for this study are “regular” Netflix users, otherwise defined as “monthly” Netflix users, so we’re talking about those who subscribe to the service on a consistent basis. And when we’re talking 10 TV shows, we’re not necessarily talking 10 separate shows; instead the GFK report indicates that the monthly users are watching at least 10 episodes via the service each week. That’s huge news, considering when this report came out three years ago, the numbers were halved, with regular users only consuming 5 shows per week. Helping these stats is the fact that a lot of these subscribers binge-watch, with ¼ of them stating they watch three or more programs in one fell swoop “often” or “all the time.”
Of course, this may not be a huge surprise for Netflix subscribers. The service has borrowed a lot of money and worked really hard to strengthen its TV lineup—especially when it comes to original programming. Netflix kicked off this lineup a few years ago with shows like House of Cards and Lilyhammer, but now the streaming service is focusing on TV in earnest. This past year saw Daredevil, Marco Polo, Between, Sense8, Narcos, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Grace and Frankie and Wet Hot American Summer, among others, hit the schedule. And there’s a ton of new shows set to air over the next several months (here’s looking at you, Jessica Jones).
Due to all of the money being thrown at TV programming, Netflix announced recently that a price increase has gone into effect in the US. While Netflix has received some backlash for its model change and the increase in prices that came with the changes in the company’s service, and while the company’s new subscriber number is down, apparently, that hasn’t affected subscribers’ viewing habits all that much. At least not yet. Three years from now, we’ll see how many TV shows the average Netflix user still watches each week. The service, at least, is betting hard that the number will still be high.
