Ownership
TASK: Watch the following video: How Netflix is killing TV.
TASK: Copy and paste these questions into your own blogpost; answer these in relation to the product Stranger Things (Episode 1).
Who are they? How are they structured as a company? Do they own any other companies or are they owned by another company or conglomerate?
Are they a specialised company? What other similar products do they/have they produced? How successful are they?
How are they funded? Where does the company’s funding come from?
Are they vertically or horizontally integrated?
How have they diversified?
What aspects of the production, distribution and circulation processes do they own?
How do they ensure their product is distributed and circulated?
How does this help with funding their products?
How does this help to reach and maintain audiences?
How do they reach their audience?
Do they have global reach? How many viewers/subscribers do they have? How many viewers have there been for the drama and/or the first episode of the first season?
How do they measure their audience?
How do they maintain their audience?
How does the organisation market their brand to the audience?
How do they market the product to the audience? Can the drama be seen to be innovative programming that their audiences will enjoy?
How successful are they? How can their success be measured?
Processes of Production, Distribution and Circulation
Processes of ProductionWhat was the production budget for the set drama?
Who made the drama?
Where was it made?
Where was it set?
How long did it take to produce? Was it made by a global or international producer?
What impact have individual producers (e.g. individual production companies, or specific production personnel such as directors or showrunners) had on production?
Processes of Distribution
Who distributed the drama? Is the same company responsible for production and distribution? Is there international cooperation or a relationship between the producer, distributor and broadcaster of the show?
Which formats is the drama available on? Does it have global distribution? Is the distribution different in different countries? When was it released?
What was the marketing strategy? Who were responsible for the marketing campaign? What marketing techniques were used to reach and appeal to the target audience? Are there any examples of synergy or merchandising deals? How long did the campaign run for? Were there any extended marketing campaigns after the release of the first episode/season?
Processes of Circulation
How is the drama circulated?
What formats and/or platforms is it available for viewing on?
How many people viewed the episode?
How did they view the episode?
What ancillary products help to increase the product’s circulation?
How does fan-made materials and prosumer activity help to further maintain audiences, create communities and circulate the product?
Technology
The impact of digitally convergent technologies on ownershipWhich technologies have had an impact on the way in which TV dramas are made, distributed and circulated?
How have convergent technologies affected the way the drama is produced, distributed and circulated by the owner?
How have convergent technologies enabled online streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon Prime to compete with production companies such as Starz and HBO to produce their own dramas and content?
The impact of digitally convergent technologies on distribution and circulation
How has digital convergence impacted the way in which dramas are distributed?
How have convergent technologies enabled online streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon Prime to compete with, and cause a possible decline in, cable and linear TV?
How can we view TV dramas? On which platforms and devices? How does this affect the distribution of products – reduction of distribution costs/global audiences/simultaneous release by season rather than episode and so on?
How has this changed our viewing experiences? How has digital convergence led to a behavioral change in the way audiences consume dramas with time-shifting and immersive viewing (binge-watching) preferred ways of consuming the dramas?
The impact of digitally convergent technologies on prosumer activity and fan-made materials
How can audiences respond to the drama and ‘communicate’ with the producers as a result of digitally convergent technologies?
How are audiences invited to respond to the dramas? How can this increase the surveillance of audiences by the producers to help them measure response and ensure they cater to their audience needs and tastes?
What is the significance of fan-made materials and communities? How are these enabled through digitally convergent technologies? What role do they have in further circulating and promoting the drama to audiences?
Regulation
TASK: Read the following articles and write down any relevant information in regards to LFTVD
Useful Articles:
Topic 1: The regulation of global practices of production, distribution and circulation.
Topic 2: The regulation of media and long form drama in the UK
Video on DemandOFCOM: Video on DemandAmazon and Netflix: Eurpoean Content?EU RegulationWhat is the classification certificate for the set drama? Does it differ in different countries and if so, why might this be?
What is net neutrality? What is the impact of abolishing net neutrality for online streaming providers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime?
Who is the FCC? How do they regulate online distribution and circulation in the US?
Regulation of contemporary media in the UK
How is content distributed by global streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime regulated by the EU? Why does 20% of their European streaming services have to reflect European made content?
How are national and global online streaming services such as All4, Netflix and Amazon regulated in the UK?
Who are ATVOD and Ofcom and what is their role in the regulation of content from online streaming providers?
The impact of new media technologies on media regulation
How is online content regulated? Can it and should it be regulated?
How have convergent media technologies made media content, distribution and circulation difficult to regulate? What examples from the way in which the set product is produced, distributed and circulated can be used to illustrate the difficulties with regulation?
How and should fan-made material and prosumer activity for the set product be regulated? What are implications of regulation for both producers and audiences of the drama?