The Evolution of Viewer Engagement: How Social Media Changed Television
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The Evolution of Viewer Engagement: How Social Media Changed Television A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Drexel University by Kiara M. Shepherd in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science June 2014 ii Copyright 2014 Kiara M. Shepherd. All Rights Reserved. iii DEDICATION I dedicate this to my mother, Andrea Shepherd, who has always been my biggest supporter and my family who has been my backbone throughout this entire process. They believed in me even when I stopped believing in myself. I also dedicate this to every person who lent an ear when I had a new a idea and who, simply by listening, helped me see a light at the end of a very long tunnel. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks go to my friends, and classmates, for all of their advice and kind, encouraging words. I will sincerely miss our Thursday night dinners. Thank you for helping me see the light at the end of the tunnel. Heather Foster: Thank you so very much for your interest in my topic long before I knew what it was. Thank you for helping me work through all of my ideas, the many email threads, Skype conversations, and meetings. This process would have been much harder without your help. The View: Thank you for not only being a group I could discuss my thesis with, but for also being my friends and helping me see that I could create a full body of work no mater how much I complained about it. Albert Tedesco: Thank you for teaching me lessons far beyond the classroom that I will take with me and apply to my every day life. v LIST OF TABLES Programs, Networks, Episode Titles, Airdate, Series Recurring Hashtags 39 Applications, Mobile Web, and PC use of social media by minutes 43 Types of Social Media and Responses 45 Forms of Social Media Used While Watching Television 46 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS President Barack Obama’s Twitter feed 7 Social Media Timeline 9 Investigation Discovery ‘Addict’ Form 16 Scandal Season 2 ABC Article 26 Gossip Girl: Social Climbing’s Facebook Application 30 Technology Adoption Curve 34 Hashtag usage by Scandal cast members 42 vii ABSTRACT The Evolution of Viewer Engagement: How Social Media Changed Television Kiara M. Shepherd This study examines the evolution of content and viewer engagement from the late 1990s to the present. The study is also used to gauge how much social media may have affected the manner in which people view television. Social media as a whole have been able to create a shift in the way that television is discussed. Through social media, the water cooler has become largely digital and instantaneous. Viewers no longer have to wait until the following day to discuss programs with their friends or co-workers. Viewers now have the option of participating in the ongoing conversations taking place in the digital universe. viii ix Table of Contents DEDICATION ......................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................................ vi ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 Smarter Television ............................................................................................................................. 5 A Brief History of Social Media ................................................................................................... 10 Engagement and Interaction ....................................................................................................... 16 Social Media Measurement Firms ............................................................................................. 19 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..................................................................... 22 The Social Media Revolution ....................................................................................................... 29 Social Media and Television Management ............................................................................. 36 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 42 Purpose and Research Questions .............................................................................................. 42 Scandal, The Walking Dead, and Pretty Little Liars ............................................................ 47 Nielsen: State of the Media ........................................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ....................................................................................................... 53 Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 56 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 63 References .................................................................................................................................. 65 APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................... 71 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Television has changed significantly since its inception many decades ago. The content available for viewers has changed for several reasons over the years. In the very beginning of television and the broadcast system, there were only three channels to choose from appropriately called the “Big Three” (Auletta, 1991). The Big Three consisted of the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), and National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). For approximately 30 years, the Big Three television networks dominated American television. Many years later, in late 1986, FOX established itself as the fourth major network (Auletta, 1991). As of 2013, several cable and satellite channels have carved out places for themselves in the broadcast market. The CW, MyNetworkTV, Univision, Telemundo, TNT, and AMC amongst others have cut the “Big Four’s” (ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC) market share considerably (p. 1). The proliferation of premium cable packages and instant online streaming services has impacted the content available for consumption. Viewership has changed from a broad, open net programming model with broadcast television to niche programming with cable and satellite networks. Home Box Office (HBO) is America’s oldest and longest continuously operating pay service having been launched in 1972. HBO’s prominence began in 1975 when the network aired the September 30th boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Fraizer called the “Thrilla in Manila” (Mesce, 2013, para. 2 12). HBO was only offered in a few cities between 1972 and 1980 when it became available in all 50 U.S. states (para. 13). Cable has largely been able to thrive because its niche programming. When he published his 1992 book chronicling the decline of ABC, CBS, and NBC in the 1980s, author Ken Auletta noted “the average home, which had seven channels to choose from in 1976, now has thirty- three” (p 3, para. 3). A Nielsen report released in 2008 revealed that the average number of channels in the U.S. home came in at 118.6 channels (Nielsen, 2008). Viewers were now able to find programming to fit their specific interests. But these programs were to be seen in their homes on the same time grid used by broadcast networks. Since 1975 many cable networks have been launched including Nickelodeon for children, MTV for music videos, and other premium movie channels such as Cinemax, Showtime, and The Movie Channel. Together cable and broadcast networks flourished sharing the market. Until Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) became popular and allowed time shifting- a process by which viewers could see a program when they wanted without commercial interruption (Rouse, 2005). In 1997, Netflix was founded. Similar to industry mammoth Blockbuster, Netflix provided members with movie rentals. But unlike Blockbuster, Netflix allowed members to rent titles without the threat of outrageous late charges (O’Brien, 2002, para. 1). A decade later, Netflix began to offer video-on-demand or live streaming (Arango and Carr, 2010). Live streaming is a service that allows users to watch content over the Internet. Netflix offered users films as well as 3 television programs. Amazon and Hulu also began offering live streaming services after Netflix’ business model gained popularity (Arango and Carr). Netflix threatened the old television model by offering films and television programming for a fraction of a cable subscription cost. As of 2014, Netflix’s subscription cost users $7.99 (Arango and Carr, para. 3). As of 2012, 7% of cable subscribers cancelled their services (Ericsson). Individuals who cancel their cable subscriptions in favor of less expensive alternatives are called cord cutters (Rouse, 2013). Cord cutters are more likely to be individuals who enjoy second screen viewing. According to Mashable’s Christine Warren, second screen