What Puts the Binge in Binge-Watching? Planned Versus Unplanned Multi-Episode Viewing

The marketing and consumption of video content has evolved dramatically over the past several years. The advent of video-on-demand (VOD) made it much easier for viewers to consume multiple episodes of the same content in a single setting. This multi-episode viewing is commonly referred to as binge-watching. The unequivocal conclusion from previous research is that multi-episode viewing can either be harmful or beneficial to consumers. Empirical research is now needed to establish what factors in a viewing session can lead to either healthy or unhealthy multi-episode viewing. The current paper presents the results of four studies which indicate that one such factor is whether the multi-episode viewing was planned or unplanned. These findings are important for marketers of video content to understand as they seek to be socially responsible. They are also important for consumers to understand as they seek to engage in healthy, and avoid unhealthy, video consumption. This research is important as we seek to understand multi-episode viewing in that it begins moving our focus from whether harm can exist to answering the question of what is there in the viewing session itself that may cause the harm.