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Television Content Quality and Engagement GONZÁLEZ, M., RONCALLO-DOW, S., ARANGO-FORERO, G. Y URIBE-JONGBLOED, E. Television content quality and engagement CUADERNOS.INFO Nº 37 ISSN 0719-3661 Versión electrónica: ISSN 0719-367x http://www.cuadernos.info doi: 10.7764/cdi.37.812 Received: 08-06-2015 / Accepted: 11-04-2015 Television content quality and engagement: Analysis of a private channel in Colombia1 Calidad en contenidos televisivos y engagement: Análisis de un canal privado en Colombia Qualidade de conteúdos televisivos e engagement: Análise de um canal privado na Colômbia MANUEL IGNACIO GONZÁLEZ BERNAL2, Facultad de Comunicación, Universidad de La Sabana. Chía, Colombia [[email protected]] SERGIO RONCALLO-DOW, Facultad de Comunicación, Universidad de La Sabana. Chía, Colombia [[email protected]] GERMÁN ARANGO-FORERO, Facultad de Comunicación, Universidad de La Sabana. Chía, Colombia [[email protected]] ENRIQUE URIBE-JONGBLOED, Departamento de Comunicación Social, Universidad del Norte. Barranquilla, Colombia [[email protected]] ABSTRACT RESUMEN RESUMO This paper presents the results of a Este artículo expone los resultados de Este artigo expõe os resultados de content analysis and an inquiry into un proyecto de investigación enfocado en um projeto de pesquisa enfocado em Colombian audiences regarding the comprender los elementos que intervienen compreender os elementos que intervêm concept of ‘quality television’ and its en la generación de engagement por parte na geração de engagement por parte effect upon engagement. The results de los televidentes colombianos y el aporte dos telespectadores colombianos e a show that for the sampled audience del concepto de ‘calidad televisiva’ a ese contribuição do conceito de ‘qualidade the most relevant elements in terms of proceso. Los resultados muestran que en las televisiva’ a este processo. Os resultados engagement to television programs are audiencias consultadas, los elementos más mostram que nas audiências consultadas, related to the identity of the channel (or destacados dentro del proceso de generación os elementos mais destacados no processo brand) that broadcasts the product, the de compromiso están relacionados con de geração de compromisso estão expectations of the viewers, the topics la identidad del canal que transmite el relacionados com a identidade do canal addressed, the inclusion of commercial producto, las expectativas de los televidentes, que transmite o produto, as expectativas advertisement, and the programming/ la temática abordada, la presencia de dos telespectadores, a temática abordada, scheduling criteria. Likewise, some of publicidad y los criterios de programación. a presença de publicidade e os critérios those same elements were part of the Asimismo, se encontró que algunos de esos de programação. Além disso, se sampled audiences’ definition of ‘quality elementos forman parte del concepto de identificaram alguns destes elementos television’. ‘calidad televisiva’. como parte do conceito de “qualidade televisiva”. Keywords: Television, audiences, enga- Palabras clave: Televisión, audiencias, en- Palavras-chave: Televisão, audiências, gement, content, quality television. gagement, contenido, televisión de calidad. engagement, conteúdo, televisão de qualidade. •How to cite: González,CUADERNOS.INFO M., Roncallo-Dow, Nº 37 S., / DECEMBER Arango-Forero, 2015 / G.ISSN y Uribe-Jongbloed, 0719-3661 / E-VERSION: E. (2015). WWW.CUADERNOS.INFO Calidad en contenidos / ISSN televisivos 0719-367X y engagement: Análisis de un canal privado en Colombia. Cuadernos.info, (37), 17-33. doi: 10.7764/cdi.37.812 17 GONZÁLEZ, M., RONCALLO-DOW, S., ARANGO-FORERO, G. Y URIBE-JONGBLOED, E. Television content quality and engagement INTRODUCTION According to the Latin American Multichannel The phenomenon of fragmentation, both in the Advertising Council (LAMAC) – entity that links offer of content and audience consumption, is more 49 paid television stations from six leading groups noticeable in the world, and especially in countries in the Latin America industry – the penetration of that have high penetration rates of television by subscription television in the country went from subscription and Internet. A concrete case of the 50.22% in 2005 to 84.93% in 20143. Also, the average advance of fragmentation is Colombia, a country that annual share of subscription television went from 13.91 has seen in the last ten years how the share and the rating percent in 2005 to 46.18% in 20134, and the average of the national channels have decreased in the same rating from 1.51 to 6.46 percent in the same period5. proportion that international channels have increased. (See graphs 1, 2 and 3). Graph 1: Penetration of television by subscription in homes, Colombia, 2005-2014 100 84.71 81.51 83.88 77.49 77.68 80 76.1 69.26 60 50.35 50.33 50.33 40 20 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Source: Own elaboration from Latin American Multichannel Advertising Council (LAMAC) and IBOPE, data for the years considered. Graph 2: Average annual share Public TV vs. Paid TV 2005-2014. Total persons % Public TV % Paid TV 100 80.3 78.8 76.1 80 72.7 61.9 60.6 61.3 59.3 60 54.1 53.5 45.9 46.5 38.1 39.4 38.7 40.7 40 23.9 27.3 19.7 21.2 20 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Source: Own elaboration from Latin American Multichannel Advertising Council (LAMAC) and IBOPE, data for the years considered. CUADERNOS.INFO Nº 37 / DECEMBER 2015 / ISSN 0719-3661 / E-VERSION: WWW.CUADERNOS.INFO / ISSN 0719-367X 18 GONZÁLEZ, M., RONCALLO-DOW, S., ARANGO-FORERO, G. Y URIBE-JONGBLOED, E. Television content quality and engagement Graph 3: Annual average Rating Public TV vs. Private TV 2005-2014. Total persons % Public TV % Paid TV 10 9.34 8.98 9.24 8.44 8.56 8.22 8.24 8.56 7.53 8 7.15 6.39 6.2 5.83 5.83 5.87 6 5.07 4 3.1 2.69 2.28 2.27 2 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Source: Own elaboration from Latin American Multichannel Advertising Council (LAMAC) and IBOPE, data for the years considered. Fragmentation in the offer brings with it direct of subscribers to Netflix services reached 500,000 in the consequences in the consumption, as the channels first quarter of 2015, consolidating the country as the distributed through cable and satellite compose almost third most important market of the company in Latin all of their programming with foreign products, thus America, after Brazil and Mexico (Hernández, 2015). constituting a sort of international offer. This programming This situation has resulted in a growing interest enters and coexists with the national offer in the daily of the industry participants on the development of consumption that people make, turning them into a information to qualify knowledge on the viewers to transnational audience (Chalaby, 2005; Ekwo, 2011; whom their efforts must be directed, including how Moreno, 2009)6, which presents certain characteristics audiences define the quality of television products, that are unique to them, different from those of the national and the relationship between perception of quality audiences (González Bernal & Roncallo-Dow, 2015). with exposure and other dimensions of the behavior The existence of a local audience with the characteristics of audience. This interest has led to the exploration of a transnational audience has profound implications in of concepts such as fidelity, attention, appreciation, the way people appreciate and relate to national television remembrance and engagement or commitment. channels and their products. The increase in the offer and the expansion of consumption (Turrill, 2014) directly impacts on the quantity and quality of references with CONTEXT OF THE PROJECT: CHANNEL RCN which the viewers perform their processes of reception The interest in information and complementary (González Bernal & Roncallo-Dow, 2015). knowledge to indicators of exposure materialized in The transformation of consumption habits has been 2014 at the conclusion of a research convention between a emphasized, in addition to its trans-nationalization, by the Colombian University and RCN Television, one of the two growing number of people who access audiovisual content private nationwide networks that exist in this country. The via Internet. In Colombia, the percentage of respondents aim was the realization of a project that would determine who consume Internet videos went from 54% to 62% the level of existing coherence between identity, interests between October 2012 and September 2013 (Ministry and expectations of the channel with the characteristics of Information Technologies and Communications of its products and the expectations of the audience, all [Ministerio de Tecnologías de la Información y las aiming to derive from there action lines that would favor Comunicaciones] (MinTIC), 2014). Similarly, the number exhibition and generating engagement in its viewers. CUADERNOS.INFO Nº 37 / DECEMBER 2015 / ISSN 0719-3661 / E-VERSION: WWW.CUADERNOS.INFO / ISSN 0719-367X 19 GONZÁLEZ, M., RONCALLO-DOW, S., ARANGO-FORERO, G. Y URIBE-JONGBLOED, E. Television content quality and engagement The objective of the channel was also inspired by reflected in the frequent, arbitrary and unconscious the results of the average share in 2013 in the prime decisions that people make when they select which time slot, from Monday to Friday, which located RCN contents and brands to follow. Also, Askwith (2007) in third place, after channel Caracol and the sum of considers that engagement, despite lacking consensus subscription channels.
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