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Entertainment: Consumers in Control
Consumers are in a position to drive the agenda
of what gets made and how it gets distributed.
And broadcasters are responding to a consumer
desire for more control over when and where they
engage with entertainment media.
As this media experience revolves more around
the consumer, television and cable networks are
exploring a digital-first approach to programming
by airing original shows online first, and developing
complementary screen tools and applications.
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Video streaming platform Netflix’s
resurrection of cancelled cult series Arrested
Development was driven largely by persistent
lobbying from the show’s fan base. In
March, fans of Warner Brothers’ cancelled
series Veronica Mars launched a Kickstarter
campaign to fund a feature film based on
the series, resulting in $4m in crowdsourced
donations.
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Last May, web retailer Amazon announced
it would begin airing original series through
its online Instant Video platform, and invited
the public to submit scripts for consideration.
Amazon’s programming branch, Amazon
Studios, greenlit six comedy pilots last year
and is analysing viewing data and user
comments to determine which will transition
into a series.
Netfilx House of Cards
© Netflix/Amazon
Arrested Development
© FOX
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Netflix has become a model for digital-first
content, with its successful House of Cards
series. Its latest original commission Sense8
will be a collaboration with directorial team the
Wachowskis (creators of the Matrix trilogy),
proving that heavyweight Hollywood talent is
now getting behind online-only TV production.
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British TV network BBC Three recently
commissioned six original short films to be
aired this spring exclusively through its iPlayer
streaming platform, reflecting the success
of its on-demand service. iPlayer streamed
2.23 billion programmes across 650 devices
last year alone, with mobile and tablet viewing
rocketing up 32% in December.
•
Web community Reddit has moved into online
video production to increase engagement with
its influential audience. In the spring of 2013,
the site premiered three original webisodes of
Explain Like I’m Five, a YouTube-funded series
based on Reddit’s popular thread of the same
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Redefine
Consumer Engagement