The datafication of Public Service Media

Abstract

Historically, public service broadcasting had no quantifiable knowledge aboutaudiences, nor a great interest in knowing them. Today, the competitive logic of themedia markets encourage public service media (PSM) organizations to increasedatafication. In this paper we examine how a PSM organization interprets the classicpublic service obligations of creating societal cohesion and diversity in the newworld of key performance indicators, business rules and algorithmic parameters.The paper presents a case study of the implementation of a personalization systemfor the video on demand service of the Danish PSM ‘DR’. Our empirical findings,based on longitudinal in-depth interviewing, indicate a long and difficult processof datafication of PSM, shaped by both the organizational path dependencies ofbroadcasting production and the expectations of public service broadcasting.

“What’s on the Interface Tonight?”

“…Not only does this demonstrate that PSBs and commercial services may have more in common than we might fi rst think (Hilmes, 2003), but this use of micro-genres can also be explored in terms of the personalisation of content on DRTV, e.g. algorithmic selection of editorially curated collections based on the user profi le, see (Sørensen, 2020).…”

“…DRTV's regulatory framing may help explain the large off er of content and the dynamic elements within its publishing strategy. Th e DRTV front page cannot be described as an entry page for a VOD catalogue or database, but rather as an intensively curated space with a high level of editorial presence (see Sørensen, 2020) shaped by both by day-to-day-based promotion and the heritage of DR's channel portfolios and brands (cf. : Lassen, 2020;Lassen & Sørensen, 2021).…”

“…By contrast, distant reading (e.g. (Kelly, 2021;Moretti, 2013;Sørensen, 2020) provides an opportunity for researchers to adopt a more macroscopic view of VOD interfaces, in the process revealing longitudinal patterns and publishing strategies. As such, we contend that distant reading is a necessary method in order to actually measure and document these strategies.…”

Curation of a Personalized Video on Demand Service. A Longitudinal Study of the Danish Public Service Broadcaster DR

“…Th is leads not only to less precise personalized recommendations for these users, but also to a generally lower quality of recommendations. 76) Th e personalization of the VoD service is, from an organizational perspective, not an independent data optimization project but is an integrated a part of DRTV's curation activities. It is placed in the scheduling department.…”

News Recommender Systems and News Diversity, Two of a Kind? A Case Study from a Small Media Market

“…Popularized by the British scholar James Bennett, the algorithm is intended to leverage public service principles of exploration (with PSM as 'a window on the world') and serendipity in the digital age (Reviglio 2019), and to let citizens encounter content they otherwise would not, rather than providing similar content (Bennett 2018). Originally, the idea was propagated for video streaming services, such as the BBC iPlayer, of which similar services of other European PSM have been discussed by scholarship (Sørensen 2020;Van den Bulck and Moe 2018). Currently, it is emerging as a similar viable possibility to ensure topic and viewpoint diversity in news offered by PSM (Joris et al 2021).…”