With school out and most shows on break until the fall, summer is a popular time for binge watching to catch up on shows you may have missed. Using E-Score Programs, we looked at the most binge-worthy shows, according to TV Influentials (people who Agree Strongly that they influence others to check out TV programs they like.)
- Many of the most bingeable shows have a few common attributes. The shows are Engaging, Exciting, and Unique. They are also shows that viewers score highly for the program elements Look Forward to Watch and Keeps Attention.
- The CW comes out as the bingeable champ among broadcast TV networks with four shows in the top 25, followed by NBC and FOX with three each, and ABC and CBS with two and one respectively. Streamer Netflix placed four shows on the list, all in the top ten.
- Spike’s Lip Sync Battle is the only reality based show to make the top 25, and just barely. The show beat out shows like NBC’s The Good Place and Amazon’s Man in the High Castle to get on the list, due to its higher Awareness among TV Influentials.
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The Superhero Takeover
Summer usually means superhero blockbusters on the big screen. This year saw an influx of superhero shows on TV. We looked at E-Score Programs to see how superhero shows faired on the bingeable shows list.
- Superhero shows make up 20% of the bingeable shows list led by Marvel’s Luke Cage at #8, followed by Arrow (14), Legion (16), Supergirl (22) and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (25). Only two superhero shows, Supergirl and Arrow, made the bingeable shows list last year.
- Of the superhero shows, Legion is the show viewers rate most as a “must see,” with 73% saying they Make a Special Effort to Watch the show.
- These shows have become some of the most portable bingable shows, as Marvel’s Luke Cage and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow are the fourth and fifth shows most Watched on a Cellphone from the bingeable list.
Bingeable Shows: Summer ‘16
A lot has changed in the past year. To gain a measure of some of the changes, we took a look back at last year’s summer bingeing list. Compiled using the same methodology, we are able to see that tastes have changed with the new year and new season of television. Only nine shows made the top 25 for both years. Although the shows are different, both lists have a similar composition in terms of program genres.
- In both 2017 and 2016, the list of top shows recommended by TV Influentials is heavy on dramas. Shows like 2016’s #3-ranked Game of Thrones provide captivating storylines and characters that viewers are drawn into. E-Score viewer comments describe Game of Thrones as a show that, “gets you hooked and you really don’t know what to expect next.”
- The attribute Keeps My Attention drove almost all of 2016’s top 20 shows, headed by Supernatural and Jane the Virgin, which are described that way by 69% and 68% of influentials, respectively.
- Though there are very few unscripted shows in the top 20 for either year, two that made the list in 2016, American Ninja Warrior and America’s Got Talent, rank highly as Engaging and Exciting. While not considered classic “binge” type programming, these summer programs have the strongest word-of-mouth appeal as both are in the top 5 for the attribute Talked About Show.
Takeaway
Influential viewers help drive the binge-worthiness of a TV show, which is a great measure of the engagement of a shows following. E-Score Programs not only allows studios to see which shows influential viewers are recommending, but it also helps them understand what specific elements makes a show binge-worthy.
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Resources
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