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T-Mobile reports that Binge On users stream twice as much video, adds Amazon Video
Although T-Mobile has been causing a number of kerfuffles with their controversial Binge On program, the numbers they’re reporting seem to indicate that users really get a kick out of it. In a press releases today, the “Un-carrier” announced that Binge On customers spend twice as many hours per day streaming video than they did prior to the service being rolled out.
Apparently, this increase in streaming isn’t limited to services included in the Binge On program. Although partners in the service have seen a marked increase in viewership, some receiving as much as a 79% jump in daily users, even non-partnered streaming services are getting up to a third as much attention from Binge On users.
T-Mobile reports that over 34 petabytes of free video content has been streamed through Binge On since it’s start last year. They attempt to make this figure more comprehensible by comparing it to 109 million episodes of Game of Thrones.
In addition to announcing these numbers, T-Mobile also revealed that they have partnered with Amazon Video and three other major streaming services: Fox News, Univision Now, and the WWE Network. Although the three smaller services are nice, the big deal here is Amazon Video, a large streaming service that’s still going through growing pains but which hopes to someday rival Netflix and HBO.
CEO John Legere boasted that Binge On is T-Mobile’s “most disruptive Un-carrier move yet.” He went on saying, “It has literally changed the way millions of people are watching video – they’re watching more, more than twice as much as before, and most importantly, they’re watching without worrying about bigger bills or surprise overages! Binge On is the Un-carrier solution to satisfy Americans’ growing appetite for mobile video – and the facts are telling us that customers love it!”
If these figures are accurate, then it does seem like Binge On users are enjoying their service in spite of the cut in video quality that comes with the territory. The controversial program has drawn fire from YouTube, Google, and even the EFF, with concerns as large as “net neutrality” getting thrown around. John Legere has repeatedly defended Binge On, comparing it to an economy setting on an automobile. The “optimized” video consumes less mobile data for streaming services across the board but still delivers image quality that Legere claims is on-par with DVDs.