Graduate Student, Institute of Film and Television Studies
Ph.D. Candidate
Thesis Title: American Television Drama across Europe: Technology, Markets, Industries.
Prof. Roberta E. Pearson
Dr. Paul Grainge
About
TV Analyst for theWIT, www.thewit.com
http://twitter.com/alesscatania
co-editor of United Screendom
http://unitedscreendom.wordpress.com
PhD thesis: a comparative study of European broadcasting and media industries with a focus on contemporary American television drama in Italy, France and the UK
American television dramas used to be a minority taste, relegated to the fringes of the broadcast schedule, but many now occupy prominent positions on European channels. Many of these programmes have developed ancillary content for multiple platforms (mobile phones, i-Pods, websites, games) to expand their narrative universes beyond television. This research explores the fit between American television dramas and three European television markets to contribute to our understanding of the trans-national distribution of media products. Why, for instance, has NBC’s Heroes had remarkable success in the US, the UK and France, while severely disappointing Italian audiences? How are products developed, altered and adapted across different markets to satisfy the global goals of content producers, the local necessities and strategies of national broadcasters and the preferences of national audiences?
American television dramas appeal to a wide range of European audiences and cross national borders while European dramas often remained confined to their countries of origin. American dramas are initially designed for a technological environment more advanced than Europe’s. These products are thus best suited to understanding potential transformations and trends related to emerging technologies. American dramas also significantly contribute to the construction of the cultural imaginary of media convergence, perhaps influencing media consumption trends more generally.
The success of contemporary television dramas such as Lost and Heroes is transforming contemporary media landscapes, offering new opportunities for content producers and distributors. Broadcasters have reconfigured their schedules to answer consumer demand and maximise revenue streams from internationally distributed ancillary products.
By evaluating the continued health of European public broadcasting systems, a study of how these markets react to new products originating from within a media system primarily driven by commercial imperatives could lead to a better understanding of present and future media trends in Europe.
Methodology: social sciences + humanities.
The project will use social science methods to analyse market trends and consumer behaviours, looking at programming, consumer segmentation, consumption practices and marketing strategies. Audience surveys will assess consumer response to the products. Humanities methods (semiotics, narrative analysis) and content analysis of programs, ancillary products and advertising will be used to illuminate the fit or lack thereof of specific textual features and specific national markets.
Potential findings
The main goal of the research is to study complex relations between transnational products and national markets in order to obtain a complex and broad knowledge of contemporary media market trends. More specifically the project will investigate the role of emerging technologies in the reconfiguration of consumer behaviours, broadcasting practices and new television aesthetics, evaluating the impact of new digital media on the distribution of programs and on consumer behaviours and participating in building a wide and rich field of knowledge to:
- help content producers design more effective products capable of better adaptation to specific markets (global / glocal / local);
- help content distributors considering investments in new innovative products by potentially reducing the risks in terms of programme acquisition costs and marketing.
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