Actor Kevin Spacey says TV audiences are demanding "complex, smart stories".
"When the story is good enough," the double Oscar winner told TV executives in Edinburgh, "people can watch something three times the length of an opera."
Spacey last year starred in House Of Cards, a drama series which bypassed television channels and premiered on internet streaming service Netflix. The BBC reports all 13 episodes were released on the same day.
"The audience wants control. They want freedom," he said. "If they want to binge, then we should let them binge."
Spacey said the success of House Of Cards had provided all content-makers with new insights into audience behaviour.
"For years, particularly with the advent of the Internet, people have been griping about lessening attention spans.
"But if someone can watch an entire season of a TV series in one day, doesn't that show an incredible attention span?
"When the story is good enough," he said, "people can watch something three times the length of an opera."
He added: "The audience has spoken: They want stories. They're dying for them. All we have to do is give it to them."
