Have you ever wondered how long you’ve spent watching Netflix? Do you really want to know?
A new study by Comparitech has analyzed the viewing history of nearly 25,000 Netflix users across 46 countries – and the results may come as a surprise.
Central and South American countries dominated the list in all categories, with users in Peru, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Colombia scoring highest with 101-115 thousand minutes (70-80 days) on average spent watching Netflix since signing up to the streaming service. The report appears to cover the period since lockdowns began a year ago.
Next on the list are subscribers in Canada, Brazil, US, Switzerland, UK, Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand, France and Sweden, in that order, who spend from 66 down to 51 days watching Netflix TV series and movies.
Last on the list, with the least days spent on Netflix, are countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Slovakia.
Overall, the study found that Europeans watch the least Netflix, which is unexpected, considering the prolonged coronavirus lockdowns imposed on many countries in Europe.
African countries included in the study also scored lower on the list. Users in South Africa spent on average of 45 days a year watching Netflix, while users in Egypt spent 42 days – considered lower than average: The findings indicate that the average user worldwide has watched 47 days of Netflix.
Between available TV series and movies, TV series seem to be much more popular, with the average user spending 39 days watching series while spending “only” 8 days watching movies.
In that regard, Europeans stand out. While Bulgaria scored “low” on the list, with 30 days of watching Netflix by the average user, the study found that Bulgarians actually dedicate most of their viewing time to TV series, spending over 91% of their Netflix viewing time on TV series.
Users in the US, Australia, Canada and the UK watch more Netflix than the world average but Canadians have proven their binging skills more than others, scoring 37% higher than the average user.
And where does the average Israeli stand in comparison?
Israel falls somewhere in between, coming in 32nd on the list, with 41 days on average.
Alternative streaming services give observant Jewish households in Israel the option to censure or skip content that is considered immodest. Last year, the Tov TV service, dubbed the “kosher Netflix,” was introduced and pitched primarily to observant Jews who follow the religious laws of modesty.
Users using the Tov TV service may choose the level of censorship imposed on their preferred content, ranging from pop-up warning messages during problematic scenes to erasing complete scenes on certain shows. Tov TV’s target audience is estimated to include some 400,000 Israeli households.
Comparitech’s findings are based on nearly 25,000 viewing histories uploaded to the site’s Time Spent Streaming tool by users around the world. The Time Spent Streaming tool allows users to view their viewing history in an accessible and fun way, with the option of telling users what they could have been doing with that time instead.
Netflix subscriptions and overall time streaming around the world surged during the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns that it entailed. During the first three months of 2020, according to Forbes, 15.77 million new subscribers joined Netflix, with another 10.09 million joining between April and June.
Marcy Oster contributed to this report.