Streaming, on-demand television and movies at prices lower than standard TV are great, but they’re even better with a service like Netflix that—as opposed to ad-supported Hulu—doesn’t make you sit through the boring commercials, either. How much better? Let’s put some numbers to it.
According a TDG research report, Netflix users are now watching an average of 1.5 hours of Netflix per day. Which … yeah, three episodes of Gilmore Girls, some Orange is the New Black, and a bit of Daredevil adds up to about 1.5 hours, right? Right? Heh …
Anyway, with an hour of television containing about 15 minutes and 30 seconds of ads according to Nielsen, Exstreamist did some math and reported that means Netflix users are skipping 130 hours of commercials per year (though my own calculations totaled 141 hours) by pointing their eyeballs at the great red cable killer instead of something else. So back off, binge-watching studies that say it’s depressing. There’s nothing more depressing than spending literal days every year being manipulated into a sudden desire for tech products you don’t need and whatever double-patty bacon-splosion the fast food industry has dreamed up most recently.
If you’re even remotely hungry, that’s about all it takes. You are powerless.
And of course, what do we all use those extra hours for? Watching more Netflix. Sure, it’s a monthly subscription and people picking up extra hours of content doesn’t necessarily immediately benefit the company, but 130 hours is enough time each year to try out several new shows you might not otherwise have had time for. With Internet word-of-mouth being such a powerful marketing tool for entertainment, I can only guess Netflix is more than happy to give you more time to pick up what they’re putting down.
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