Measuring Fandom: Social TV Analytics and the Integration of Fandom into Television Audience

Measurement

Allie Kosterich @allkost

Philip M. Napoli @pmnapoli

Rutgers University School of Communication & Information

Annual Meeting of the Broadcast Education Association Las Vegas, Nevada

April 19, 2016

Audience vs. Fans

Literature Measuring TV Audiences & Fans Results Conclusion

Fans are the most visible and identifiable of audiences

- Lewis, 1992

Fans are a form of skilled audience - Abercromie & Longhurst, 1992

To view TV is to engage in a relatively private behavior. To be a fan is to participate in a range of activities that extend beyond…and reflect an enhanced emotional involvement…

- Bielby et al., 1999

An audience changes the channel when the show is over. A fan base shares, comments, creates content when the show is done

- Meeker, 2014 (Deadline)

Understanding fans is the new superpower … [Executives] have shifted their language, now targeting fans instead of viewers or audiences - Kresnika, 2016 (Variety)

Measuring TV Audiences and Fans

Literature Measuring TV Audiences & Fans Results Conclusion

Consumption- vs. Fandom-Oriented Approaches to Audience Measurement

Literature Measuring TV Audiences & Fans Results Conclusion

Genre

Literature Measuring TV Audiences & Fans Results Conclusion

Composition by program genre and charting placement for different genres.

Notes: All figures are means, standard deviation indicated as s.d.

*Significant at p < 0.01

Source

Literature Measuring TV Audiences & Fans Results Conclusion

Table at left: Diversity according to program source (percentage).

Table above: Charting placement for different network sources. Notes: All figures are means, standard deviation indicated as s.d. *Significant at p < 0.01

Implications

Literature Measuring TV Audiences & Fans Results Conclusion

-  Social TV analytics as stronger indicator of fandom. -  Traditional measurement is an incomplete portrait of audience behavior? -  Social TV analytics is reflection of efforts by programmers who can’t succeed under traditional system? -  Audiences engaging in social media activity are fundamentally different?

-  Social TV analytics as information source for programming and ad-buying decision-making.

-  Greater array of content? -  More competitive landscape? -  Greater diversity of successful program sources?

Thank You! Allie Kosterich & Philip M. Napoli

@allkost @pmnapoli