When Watchers Become Directors

One of the main ways in which viewers influence streaming platforms themselves is through the practice of data-driven content creation. When media consumption moved from purchasing tickets at the cinema to monthly based subscriptions, viewership numbers provided valuable insights to consumers’ behaviours, personalities, and habits — all of which are telling of consumer behaviour, personalities, and habits beyond that of mere sales results. Netflix and other similar streaming platforms are not constrained by some of the technological and storytelling-related limitations of traditional film and TV, meaning that they have the flexibility to quickly adapt to consumer insights from the data they passively gather. What we formerly referred to as the “audience” is now referred to as “consumers”, which by definition implies volitional action rather than passive reception. Consumers today are more in control of their viewing experience than ever before, and in turn become active decision makers that are able to influence the types of content created. Take Netflix for example — they have pivoted from being a distribution method for movie studios and other networks to focusing on creating original content as well. When Netflix created House of Cards, every aspect of the show’s production was informed by data — even the range of colors used on the cover image was intentional and strategically calculated. Consumers may not be consciously aware of the active role that they play in content creation, but their viewership (how long, how many times, or when they watch a show or a movie) become millions of aggregated votes that drive and “direct” the future of creative content. 

Our generation’s reimagination of the direct-to-consumer streaming platform is in part based on a fundamental “Uses and Gratification Theory” (UGT), which reasons that consumers seek out media to fulfill certain psychological needs. These psychological needs may include the need for entertainment or escape, integration and social interaction, reinforcement of personal identity, or the desire for information. Studies regarding UGT have shown that the more effective media is at providing gratification, the more likely a consumer is to spend time with and return to that form of media. Looking at the past year of popular media content, we’re able to see UGT at play with Bridgerton delivering a lush and soapy escape to a touch-starved, isolated audience, or with Emily in Paris boasting escapism when there was turmoil and mass popular appeal usually include ideological and utopian components to target consumer gratification. The groundbreaking success of The Queen’s Gambit was no coincidence — it distorts social reality and erases a painful history of sexism to give consumers the version of a disguised utopia that they want to see. While it is strategically successful to allow the masses to guide what consumers want to see, storytelling in film and TV as an artform is at risk, and smaller, more niche creators are less able to have the budget for “riskier” projects. As data-driven storytelling continues to thrive, it is important for consumers to also consider whether it is enough to merely be exposed to what we “want” to see, or if we should consciously seek to widen our horizons with niche stories and unexplored genres.