The appisation of television: TV apps, discoverability and the software, device and platform ecologies of the internet era

Abstract

This article examines the appisation of television: the emergence of apps as a mainstream means of delivering television services/content through smart TVs, connected devices, smartphones and tablets. Exploring the interrelationships between TV content, discovery and aggregator apps, the article demonstrates how content/software providers, device manufacturers and infrastructural platforms vie to control our access to, and experience of, television in a market underpinned by datafication, commodification and selection. This control is enacted within a multidimensional software, device and platform ecology where discoverability is central because it determines which content, services and apps are most prominent, accessible and easy to find.

The TV Ecosystem is Fragmented and in Need of New Business and Technological Strategies

“…In these partner apps, the user would authenticate with his Oi account to be able to access the content. This portal belongs to the kind of apps that Johnson classifes as "discovery apps" [32] because they "operate as intermediaries that can shape the discoverability of content", but "the chosen title will open within the content app that ofers the programme, rather than within the discovery app", through a process of deep linking.…”

“…For instance, although there is an aggregation of content from multiple sources, and this content is displayed at the same level in the UI (Figure 2), it only has curated content from traditional content producers. In that respect, Oi Play 2.0 didn't achieve a full unifcation of content, but in line with Johnson classifcation, it was converted from a "discovery app" into an "aggregator app" [32].…”

“…These four fragmentations, that led to the referred app-based approaches, created the conditions for what Catherine Johnson called the 'appisation' of television [32]. This process is having a profound efect on the whole TV industry, as Johnson states, but is having a distinctive impact on the viewer's user experience (UX).…”

The media marketing of the VOD platforms in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic – an exploratory study

“…VOD platforms also constantly update their offer, taking into account the specific preferences of their recipients. By using algorithmic mechanisms (Avezzu, 2017;Johnson, 2020), they suggest and prompt their users to make further choices in a personalised way. This ability to decide is not only limited to the type of content to watch but also allows the viewers to decide upon the way it can be consumed.…”

The datafication of Public Service Media

“…Broadcasters' shrinking presence in the value chain from content creation to curation and delivery was identified by Andersen Business Consulting (2002) and noted by the EU's State Aid office (EU-DG Competition, 2008, p. 3). As Johnson (2020) demonstrates, the 'appization' of TV shifts control of the TV market from broadcasters to the tech companies that control and distribute apps for smartphones and smart TVs.…”