| Popis: |
This paper describes the challenges and possibilities for audience research that incorporates both user practices and media industry strategies, as part of complex media ecologies. Within media and communication studies, there are different perspectives that link audience practices to media industry strategies. From a political economy perspective, the emphasis is on the commodification of audiences and the role audience measurement and audience behaviour plays within the business model of media industries. In comparison, cultural studies focus on the activity and practices of the audiences themselves and claim that - in interaction with digitisation - audiences increasingly consist of empowered users that can gain more control over their media experiences. As these research traditions depart from different social imaginaries (Mansell, 2012), it seems less obvious to incorporate both in one research approach, given that they represent two different perspectives on complex media contexts. Bolin (2012) (based on Marx) links these perspectives to the involvement of audiences in two production-consumption circuits: "(1) viewer activities produce social difference (...) in a social and cultural economy, which is then (2) made the object of productive consumption as part of the activities of the media industries, the end product being economic profit." Bolin argues that because there are different kinds of labour at the centre of these circuits, these should be analysed separately to avoid misrecognition. However, we argue that looking at the correspondence between consumption and production circuits might be useful to address the dynamics of empowerment and commodification of audiences, especially in light of the increasing complexity of the media contexts in which user practices and industry strategies take place. In order to operationalise this approach, we address industry strategies and audience practices within the commercial television sector. Commercial television provides a useful case, as its business model has - since long - been based on audience commodification through aggregated audience measurement, which presupposes a passive viewer. New digital technologies provide a challenge for the traditional commercial television sector as viewers' interactivity and control over their video consumption becomes more traceable, with individual personal data gaining importance in the advertising industry. The empirical analysis is based on results that focus on the case of Belgian commercial television, more particularly in the region of Flanders. The latter case is highly relevant as innovation in viewing practices as well as within the television industry is often observed as being slow, especially in comparison to the US and the UK. In order to identify and analyse industry strategies, we conducted expert interviews with different actors in the commercial broadcasting industry. In addition, we explored audience practices through technology probing and in-depth interviews. Although the empirical results of this paper are preliminary - as they are part of the explorative research phase - the analysis of the industry strategies and audience practices should provide insights in linking production and consumption circuits. The findings will thus contribute to a framework for audience research that incorporates user practices within the complex digital media industry context. |
