Sorry, I have a date with Netflix

If this scenario doesn’t sound familiar, you still might know someone who does this. Watching Netflix series episode after episode deep into the night is a social phenomenon called “binge-watching”. It can be described as watching between 2 to 6 episodes of the same TV show in one go. This behaviour is not new but took a rise when Netflix was launched in the Netherlands in 2013. The official numbers of Netflix are unknown but some* guestimate that 1 households out of 4 (2.3 million subscriptions) in the Netherlands make use of the popular video-streaming service (*Source: Volkskrant, April 8, 2017).

Binge-watching is one of the many drivers behind the ever-increasing IP traffic growth. To provide the optimal user/viewing/binge-watch experience, there are many technical solutions that Netflix uses, including design, style, and personalisation of the app. They keep it as simple as possible to operate, whilst seamlessly integrating Chromecast and Apple TV casting abilities. Another trend is that Netflix is putting their content closer and closer to the end-user, connecting at Internet Exchanges or directly with ISP’s to limit the distances and keep their traffic local. All for that small millisecond of less buffering time, to offer the viewer the ultimate binge-watching experience.