TY - JOUR
T1 - Netflix audience data, streaming industry discourse, and the emerging realities of ‘popular’ television
AU - Wayne, Michael L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.
PY - 2021/6/9
Y1 - 2021/6/9
N2 - Using the media industry studies approach, this article provides a history of the industrial discourses surrounding Netflix’s audience data. From Netflix’s entry into the streaming market in 2007 until late-2018, the company did not publicize information about viewership. During this time, executives’ public discussions of proprietary data are understood in relation to multiple organizational goals: differentiating the streaming platform from the traditional television industry, denigrating traditional television industry practices, and deflecting criticism. In late-2018, the company began selectively publishing viewership numbers for a small number of original titles to highlight the popularity of the platform’s original content. Although the company maintains its anti-transparency policies, the shift toward selective data releases has significant implications regarding Netflix’s relationship with the traditional television industry. This analysis concludes with a discussion of streaming audience data that situates in the emerging realities of ‘popular’ television in the context the medium’s broader transformations and continuities.
AB - Using the media industry studies approach, this article provides a history of the industrial discourses surrounding Netflix’s audience data. From Netflix’s entry into the streaming market in 2007 until late-2018, the company did not publicize information about viewership. During this time, executives’ public discussions of proprietary data are understood in relation to multiple organizational goals: differentiating the streaming platform from the traditional television industry, denigrating traditional television industry practices, and deflecting criticism. In late-2018, the company began selectively publishing viewership numbers for a small number of original titles to highlight the popularity of the platform’s original content. Although the company maintains its anti-transparency policies, the shift toward selective data releases has significant implications regarding Netflix’s relationship with the traditional television industry. This analysis concludes with a discussion of streaming audience data that situates in the emerging realities of ‘popular’ television in the context the medium’s broader transformations and continuities.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85107504654&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/01634437211022723
DO - 10.1177/01634437211022723
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85107504654
VL - 44
SP - 1
EP - 17
JO - Media, Culture & Society
JF - Media, Culture & Society
SN - 0163-4437
IS - 2
ER -