Entertainment & Culture Film & TV

Searching for a movie takes longer than you think

Television
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Written by Tim Barnes-Clay

Enjoy watching television? You might be shocked by how much time you spend searching for something to watch.

A recent poll conducted by M&Ms ahead of the launch of their Red Recommends skill questioned 2,000 adults who enjoy streaming shows and movies about their habits in searching for something suitable to watch.

The Red Recommends skill’s goal is to reduce the stress associated with selecting a particular show to stream. It will launch in October to help Alexa owners.

What did the survey find?

The most shocking conclusion of the poll was that British telly addicts spend an entire day each year browsing through streaming services for the right show to fit their mood. This also means that people lose a lot of the television time due to not having found the right programme yet.

They also found that the average television streamer subscribes to a total of three separate services, with Netflix the most popular choice, followed by Amazon Prime, Now TV and Sky Go. People lose another hour each month by not being able to decide which of the services to use.

In total, the survey found that avid television watchers spend more than 13 hours each week watching TV shows and movies via stream. About four times a month, streamers will become upset about not being able to find anything suitable and give up.

What does this tell us?

The poll demonstrates that despite – or possibly because of – the choice growing at an accelerated pace, many still struggle to find the ideal cinematic option to fit their current mood. Perhaps we’re looking at a matter of too much choice on the menu?

Regardless of the question whether the extensive TV consumption the survey reports is praiseworthy or not, the mere act of searching for something to watch is definitely a waste of time. Consequently, we can look forward to the Red Recommendation skill and other services in development which will make the decision easier.