Defining Audience in the Era of Internet-Mediated Television

University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2019-10-31 How do You Watch? Defining Audience in the Era of Internet-Mediated Television Chiang, Angela Chiang, A. (2019). How do You Watch? Defining Audience in the Era of Internet-Mediated Television (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111200 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY How do You Watch? Defining Audience in the Era of Internet-Mediated Television by Angela Chiang A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES CALGARY, ALBERTA OCTOBER, 2019 © Angela Chiang 2019 Abstract Television content and its consumption have experienced radical changes since the turn of the century which have yet to be systematically explored and theorized. As we head into this new era of television, study of this rapidly evolving audience begs continued research and a repositioning in a new context. The claim that the present-day audience is more interactive than in eras past has surfaced as one of the defining topics in the current literature, namely due to the prevalence of social media and the production of tangible markers of spectatorship that can be accessed and analyzed online. Discussed as a ‘highly participatory viewer’, the visible viewing practices posted online have come from a fairly influential portion of the television audience, however the focus on this particular group’s habits cannot be generalizable to the audience as a whole. ‘Interactivity’ is therefore best conceptualized not in monolithic terms, but as a concept that encompasses a spectrum of activities, from the interpretative to the physical actions of the viewers. A redefinition of the viewer in the age of internet-mediated television is needed, one that encompasses these activities, which may be more commonplace and less ground-breaking and that may not be readily observed online. This project explores the patterns of television spectatorship in a digital age, examining the multidimensional link between the widespread use of the internet and its surrounding technologies, the relationship between the findings of audience reception studies of the past and the psychology behind the motivations of television viewing. Through discussion with self- identified television viewers, the findings in this research indicate that television consumption is ii invariably linked to online access and online practices, the viewer appears to exercise additional agency in comparison to eras past, and that ultimately, internet-mediated television research must account for offline practices of viewing in addition to online to garner a truly representative understanding of the audience of the current age. This study was designed in the hopes that the behaviours identified would provide insight into the makeup of media consumption in a digital era, and perhaps the notion of how the influence of leisure may be manifested in other social arenas. iii Preface This thesis is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, Angela Chiang. The research reported in Chapters Three-Four were covered by Ethics Certificate number REB16- 1072, issued by the Conjoint Faculties Research Ethics Board for the University of Calgary for the project “Conceptualizing the Post-Television Audience” on September 7, 2016. iv Acknowledgements I will remain eternally grateful for the support of so many people during the journey of completing this work. Dr. David Mitchell, thank you for unwavering support and guidance throughout the years. You were my constant cheerleader and there simply are not enough words to express my gratitude for everything you have done for me. Thank you also to my committee, particularly Dr. Dawn Johnston, for their patience, support, valuable feedback and encouragement. I have also been blessed to have the unconditional support of my family, colleague and treasured friends, who perhaps didn’t understand the extent of what I was going through in this journey, but were always there for me. v Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................1 Research questions .....................................................................................................................................................3 Context .......................................................................................................................................................................4 Scope ........................................................................................................................................................................12 Chapter Outlines ......................................................................................................................................................14 Contribution/Audience .............................................................................................................................................15 Chapter Two – Literature Review .............................................................................................................................18 Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................................18 Technology ...............................................................................................................................................................21 Social Television ......................................................................................................................................................24 Programming ...........................................................................................................................................................28 Transmedia ...............................................................................................................................................................35 Interactivity vs participation ....................................................................................................................................38 Majority vs Minority ................................................................................................................................................45 Problems with ‘audience’ ........................................................................................................................................51 Summary ...................................................................................................................................................................52 Chapter Three – Research Methodology ..................................................................................................................53 Defining the abstract ................................................................................................................................................53 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................................................58 Sample Size ..............................................................................................................................................................60 Recruitment ..............................................................................................................................................................63 Questions ..................................................................................................................................................................65 Self-defined practices of consumption ................................................................................................................66 Access to television .............................................................................................................................................66 Claims of interactivity .........................................................................................................................................67 Complex narrative ...............................................................................................................................................68 Unplanned vs. Planned viewing ..........................................................................................................................69 Interviews .................................................................................................................................................................69 Coding ......................................................................................................................................................................71 Themes .....................................................................................................................................................................72

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