Abstract
With the digitisation of the traditional media, a whole range of new promises and expectations are also being engendered, the most traditional and popular mass medium, television, not excepted. Digital TV promises to give viewers control over broadcasting schedules, enabling them to adapt the medium to their own viewing habits and to interact with the offered content in various ways. In addition, the viewer is no longer bound to the television set, but can also watch TV programmes and other video content on different platforms and devices (e.g. computer, mobile phone, etc.).
In this chapter, we will explore the user aspects of video-on-demand (VOD) offered on two platforms: TV-set and computer. On-demand services promise the viewer the functionality of watching any content at any preferred time, thus creating extensive possibilities for time shifting. We will look into some of the promises made by VOD and attempt to contextualise these. Starting from the existing viewer practices, we will explore whether and how these new affordances may lead to concrete new user practices. The question we will try to answer in this chapter is: How do the new TV-related technologies, like VOD, interact with existing viewing practices?
To this end, we will identify a number of existing trends in the use of on-demand- video viewing and address some concrete future research issues and questions:
_ What are the existing viewing practices?
_ How can viewing practices be influenced by VOD services?
We will explore the possible impact on three specific areas: time, place within the home and content. The theoretical framework used to answer the main research question is largely based on the domestication theory (Silverstone and Haddon, 1996; Berker et al., 2005). On the empirical level, the research findings from an environmental scanning of existing knowledge of viewing practices and VOD will be discussed. Environmental scanning is a research technique applied specifically within institutions, in order to determine strategic planning and goals, based on understanding the external environment and the interconnections of its various sectors (Morrison, 1992). But the technique is also being used in future studies and trend watching, to provide an early warning on significant socio-technological changes and to detect 'weak signals' of new trends (Uskali, 2005). One of the methods used in environmental scanning is an extensive database literature review (Morrison, 1992), which we applied in this study. In our environmental scan, VOD is placed in a broader perspective, by looking at different contextual factors that can influence the present and future usage of VOD (time spending patterns, viewing habits, household budgets etc.). Next to the existing data on VOD, usage patterns are also being analysed.
In this chapter, we will explore the user aspects of video-on-demand (VOD) offered on two platforms: TV-set and computer. On-demand services promise the viewer the functionality of watching any content at any preferred time, thus creating extensive possibilities for time shifting. We will look into some of the promises made by VOD and attempt to contextualise these. Starting from the existing viewer practices, we will explore whether and how these new affordances may lead to concrete new user practices. The question we will try to answer in this chapter is: How do the new TV-related technologies, like VOD, interact with existing viewing practices?
To this end, we will identify a number of existing trends in the use of on-demand- video viewing and address some concrete future research issues and questions:
_ What are the existing viewing practices?
_ How can viewing practices be influenced by VOD services?
We will explore the possible impact on three specific areas: time, place within the home and content. The theoretical framework used to answer the main research question is largely based on the domestication theory (Silverstone and Haddon, 1996; Berker et al., 2005). On the empirical level, the research findings from an environmental scanning of existing knowledge of viewing practices and VOD will be discussed. Environmental scanning is a research technique applied specifically within institutions, in order to determine strategic planning and goals, based on understanding the external environment and the interconnections of its various sectors (Morrison, 1992). But the technique is also being used in future studies and trend watching, to provide an early warning on significant socio-technological changes and to detect 'weak signals' of new trends (Uskali, 2005). One of the methods used in environmental scanning is an extensive database literature review (Morrison, 1992), which we applied in this study. In our environmental scan, VOD is placed in a broader perspective, by looking at different contextual factors that can influence the present and future usage of VOD (time spending patterns, viewing habits, household budgets etc.). Next to the existing data on VOD, usage patterns are also being analysed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Innovating for and by users |
| Editors | J. Pierson, E. Mante-meijer, E. Loos, B. Sapio |
| Publisher | Office for Official Publications of the European Communities |
| Pages | 13-26 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-92-898-0047-1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2008 |
Publication series
| Name | Innovating for and by users |
|---|