Choice, Control and Their Discontents: Video on Demand in Turkey.

This research explores the discourse of choice and control associated with video on demand (VoD) platforms and the changing modes of film and TV viewership. The on-demand era brings more individualization, customization and audience fragmentation. The "choice fatigue" among the audience intensifies as the number of VoD platforms and quality content they offer increases. The research engages in an analysis of different models of choice and control offered by different VoD platforms that function in Turkey, two global (Netflix and MUBI) and one local (BluTV), in relation to each other. In order to specify the conflicts and tensions between the industry and audience, this research incorporates the audience perspective into the picture, and compares it with the official accounts, promises and offerings of these platforms. Drawing on semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted online during the Covid-19 pandemic (a period, as most of the interviewees confirm, of increased VOD consumption) with audience/users of Netflix, MUBI and BluTV, this study explore how new forms of film & TV viewership emerge together with the changing viewing habits, with their continuities and deviations from the traditional modes of media spectatorship.

Keywords:DIGITAL PLATFORMS, TURKEY, AUDIENCE

Disciplines:Media studies not elsewhere classified

Project type:Collaboration project