This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Netflix viewers prefer a diet of comedy at breakfast, a portion of drama on their lunch break and a midnight snack of documentaries.

Netflix, which has more than 100 million subscribers worldwide, said analysis of viewing data found that users of its service were keen to start the day with a laugh by watching comedies such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Fuller House and How I Met Your Mother.



At 6am members are 34% more likely to watch a comedy than at any other time of the day, the data, gathered from users across 22 countries, shows.



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Sneaking in an episode of a drama at lunchtime has emerged as a popular pastime with shows in the genre, such as Mad Men, Bloodline or Orange is the New Black, accounting for 47% of all viewing between noon and 2pm.



Evening viewing is peppered with a range of usual suspects, including Breaking Bad and Stranger Things, as viewership of the thriller genre increases by more than a quarter by 9pm.



It is back to comedies just before lights out with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Master of None and BoJack Horseman taking over at 11pm.



For night owls – 15% of Netflix viewing occurs between midnight and 6am – documentaries are popular. In that period there is a 24% surge in the viewing of documentaries such as Making a Murderer and Planet Earth.

Netflix says its business model, which enables viewers to binge-watch entire series in one go, counter to the traditional TV model, has resulted in marked changes in the kind of shows being watched.



“For years our lives had to fit around television, now it’s the other way round,” said Cindy Holland, the vice-president of original content at Netflix. “We’ve given consumers control and it’s interesting to see the behaviours that emerge when viewers aren’t tied to a schedule.”



Netflix said the trend suggests that the traditional TV viewing pattern – of breakfast news shows followed by a lighter schedule during the day and lights off by midnight – no longer applies.



“Gone are the days of every household waking up to the same breakfast TV programming on their screens,” the company said. “When viewing schedules are set by people and not programmers, lunchtime becomes no bingeing exception.”



Netflix analysed six months of streaming data from the 22 countries, including the UK, Argentina, Brazil, India, New Zealand and the US.

