Which states binge-watch the most TV?
Which states binge-watch the most TV?
New data shows which American states are watching the most streaming content.
Does where you live have a direct relationship with how much streaming TV you watch? New data from Overnight Glasses shows that it very well may. The study details which states have the most binge-watchers, and who watches the most TV in the United States overall.
Key Details:
- Binge lovers: Delaware residents watch TV shows for more than three hours daily.
- Western boredom: Montana residents watch an average of 3.52 hours of TV or movies each day.
- Missing sports?: Many of the top TV and movie-watching states don’t have professional sports teams.
The data from Overnight Glasses awarded each state a final score by combining its viewing hours and search interest to determine whose residents were watching the most TV and movies on streamers like Netflix and HBO Max. Using this formula, the study found that Delaware is the state most obsessed with binge-watching. Delaware residents spend an average of 3.08 hours each day watching TV or movies, and they browse for content more often than any other state. In addition, Delaware residents watch TV 39% more on weekends than they do during the week.
Montana was second on the list of states obsessed with binge-watching. The state spends the most time watching TV per day of any, with an average of 3.52 hours — rising to 4.28 hours among those who identify themselves as avid TV watcher. Viewing hours fall by 25% during the weekend, however, suggesting that Montana residents like to spend a good portion of their Saturdays and Sundays outside, or at least doing something other than streaming TV.
The rest of the top-10 binge-watching states are Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, and South Dakota. Check out the full top-10 results below:
| State | Hours/day | Hours/day (Avid watchers only) |
Weekday hours/day | Weekend hours/day | Total searches | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | 3.08 | 3.67 | 2.75 | 3.82 | 7.4K | 92 |
| Montana | 3.52 | 4.28 | 3.80 | 2.85 | 6.8K | 80 |
| Maine | 2.89 | 3.73 | 1.94 | 4.12 | 8.9K | 78 |
| Rhode Island | 2.35 | 2.96 | 2.60 | 2.03 | 7.4K | 74 |
| New Hampshire | 2.78 | 3.31 | 2.81 | 2.72 | 8.6K | 72 |
| Nebraska | 2.86 | 3.62 | 2.96 | 2.66 | 10.8K | 60 |
| Colorado | 1.69 | 2.59 | 1.20 | 2.83 | 37.4K | 56 |
| Nevada | 2.48 | 3.70 | 2.27 | 2.83 | 18K | 55 |
| Oregon | 2.40 | 3.39 | 2.33 | 2.60 | 23.3K | 54 |
| South Dakota | 2.05 | 3.55 | 1.89 | 2.44 | 5.2K | 51 |
Taking a look through the list, there’s a striking similarity that many of the states in the top 10 (and all states in the top five) share: none of them has a sports team from the NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB. Some of them have minor league teams, but none have a representative in the Big Four of American sports.
While that’s simply a correlation without a proven causation, it would stand to reason that states with no major league sports teams would spend more time streaming TV and movies in general. The trend continues down the list — Oregon and Nevada currently have one major league sports team each, and residents of these states who identify themselves as TV fans each spend more than 3 hours per day watching TV.
Colorado is the only state on the list of top-10 binge-watchers that has an NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB — and its adults spend the least time watching TV of any state on that portion of the list. The pattern seems clear: states with fewer pro sports teams tend to spend more time trying to find something else to stream.
The data from Overnight Glasses provides a fascinating look into where customers are streaming the most TV. The data points to a correlation between TV and movie streaming and a lack of local major league sports teams, demonstrating that entertainment streamers potentially have a greater opportunity to make inroads with audiences in these areas.
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