Research: Men worse than women at ‘stream-cheating’
August 31, 2023
Bitmovin, a specialist in video streaming infrastructure, has released research which shows that whilst many streaming viewers owned up to going behind their partners back to watch a series without their knowledge, men are the biggest cheaters (64 per cent compared with 35 per cent of women).
Men however are more open about their ‘Netflix and Cheating’ as two-thirds (66 per cent) have admitted to their partner when they’ve watched ahead. Whereas women are more likely to keep the secret with only 35 per cent telling their partners.
According to almost a quarter of streamers (24 per cent) this ‘cheating’ is also one of the biggest ‘mood killers’ in consumer’s streaming relationships, only beaten out by buffering (31 per cent). One explanation behind this behaviour is that consumers are becoming increasingly frustrated with the viewing habits of their partners, with 29 per cent of consumers stating that their other half not paying attention and making noise negatively impacts their viewing experience.
Additionally, when live streaming, 20 per cent admitted to feeling ‘enraged’ at buffering and dropouts, revealing the heightened emotions when streaming content.
Born from social media, ‘Netflix and chill’ became a term frequently used in popular culture. It demonstrates how streaming content online has become intrinsic to many relationships, but is it always ‘chill’? When streaming, consumer moods are most negatively impacted by buffering (31 per cent), high latency (20 per cent) and a poor ad experience (17 per cent). Respondents claimed these impacted their ability to focus on the content, recall narratives and were overall ‘mood -killers’.
Stefan Lederer, CEO & Founder at Bitmovin, commented: “Streaming has become increasingly involved in every aspect of our lives, from using it for exercise, to helping build foundations of relationships. As such, ensuring the quality of these viewing experiences remains high is paramount as consumers are looking for quality streams, not just quality content. As prices increase, and more services look at ad-supported options, it’s imperative that they make their technological prowess a point of difference to consumers due to the highly emotive reactions to buffering, latency and poor video quality.”