Conceptualizing the Experiential Affordances of Watching Online TV

Abstract

This article investigates the experiential affordances of watching online TV as outcomes of the material underpinnings of online TV and the actions taken by viewers. Potential experiential changes derive from how online TV services can be considered libraries of content affording self-scheduling action possibilities. Such changes need to be situated in the slow-to-change conditions of television viewing. We draw on a qualitative study of how viewers respond to the action possibilities and constraints of online TV services. We argue that potentials for individualized viewing are counterbalanced by television viewing as a social activity. Next, self-scheduling ties in with viewing as a deliberate action, appropriated to create experiences where attentiveness is tailored to what is narratively required. Finally, flow schedules are replaced with programed paths constraining the agency of viewers.

Technological affordances of video streaming platforms: Why people prefer video streaming platforms over television

“…Although many of these platforms focus on the findability and discoverability of programming, viewers may have difficulties to see ‘the forest to through the trees’ and get lost in the massive content libraries. This aligns with Lüders and Sundet (2021) stating that viewers often find it challenging to browse through the library and pick their favourite series. Van Esler (2020) warned about how content is organized in libraries and how interfaces steer viewers towards a certain action of content.…”

“…Johnson (2019) pointed out that framing internet-distributed television as a cause of fragmented and individualized viewing is too simplistic: togetherness continues to stay an important factor in the streaming era. While video streaming may have a stronger component of individualized viewing, it remains a collective activity in many ways (Lüders and Sundet, 2021). People consider talking about television programmes as a way of social bonding and building social capital.…”

Self-Produced K-Pop Web Entertainment Program Production Components and Their Effect on Global Audience’s Program Satisfaction and Artist Loyalty—Focusing on “Going Seventeen”

“…However, there is a lack of studies on current shifts in viewing experiences from the audiences' perspectives. The evolving television consumption patterns emphasize the urgency of revitalizing audience studies (L€ uders & Sundet, 2022). Thus, the motivation for this research stems from the lack of comprehensive studies on the audience-perceived production components in selfproduced web entertainment programs, particularly within K-pop.…”

Predicting Streaming Audiences for a Channel’s On-Demand TV Shows: Discerning the Influences of Choice Architecture, Consumer Agency, and Content Attributes

“…While it is plausible that such limitations could circumscribe user agency, discovering the extent to which this is actually the case requires audiences, rather than interfaces, to be the primary object of study. This is now starting to be done, including by Lüders and Sundet (2022) who conducted interviews with 20 users of online TV services in Norway. Although their interviewees discussed how they deliberately self-scheduled viewing, they also talked about how VOD platforms exerted control by 'devising attention-steering paths' (346).…”