Television 2.0: Viewer and Fan Engagement with Digital TV

162 Pages·2018·2.245 MB·English

by  Rhiannon Bury

Television 2.0 sets out to document and interrogate shifting “Despite its pervasiveness in our mediated lives, ‘tele-
102
patterns of engagement with digital television. Television vision’ as a digital entity is a fraught term. In Television
content has not only been decoupled from the broad- 2.0, Rhiannon Bury unites television studies, audience
cast schedule through the use of digital video recorders research, fan studies, and new media analysis to uncover
(DVRs) but from broadcasting itself through streaming new and exciting ways to understand that-which-used-
platforms such as Netfl ix, Vimeo and YouTube as well as to-be-a-box. Pushing past common assumptions about
downloading platforms such as iTunes and The Pirate Bay. the death of television, Bury re-engages television schol-
Moreover, television content has been decoupled from the arship through fan interviews, qualitative and quantita-
television screen itself as a result of digital convergence and tive methods, historical methods, and empirical research.
divergence, leading to the proliferation of computer and In Television 2.0, Bury rereads today’s television as a
mobile screens. Television 2.0 is the fi rst book to provide reassemblage of content, fandom, and participation—
an in-depth empirical investigation into these technological a social technology in the digital age. A must-read!”
aff ordances and the implications for viewing and fan partic- Paul Booth, author of Digital Fandom 2.0,
ipation. It provides a historical overview of television’s cen- Playing Fans and Time on TV
tral role as a broadcast medium in the household as well as
its linkages to participatory culture. Drawing on survey and “The ‘2.0’ label may have become a buzzword, but
interview data, Television 2.0 off ers critical insights into the Television 2.0 skillfully puts streaming/downloading
ways in which the meanings and uses of contemporary tele- hype to the test. Rhiannon Bury draws brilliantly on
vision are shaped not just by digitalization but by domestic original empirical data to show how television today
relations as well as one’s aff ective relationship to particular remains crucially framed by both domestic and aff ective
television texts. Finally it rethinks what it means to be a relations. ... Television 2.0 is provocative and compelling,
participatory fan, and examines the ways in which estab- well evidenced and astutely argued; I am already a
lished practices such as information seeking and community devoted fan of this book.”
making are altered and new practices are created through Matt Hills, author of Fan Cultures and co-director
Viewer and Fan Engagement with Digital TV
the use of social media. Television 2.0 will be of interest to of the Centre for Participatory Culture,
anyone teaching or studying media and communications. University of Hudderfi eld
B
u
r
y
oRf Whoimaenn’s nanod Gnen deBr Sutudrieys a ti sA tAhsasboacsiactae UPnriovfeersssitoyr, N e w S e a s o n
Canada. She has published numerous articles in the areas
of gender, internet, technology and fan studies. Her fi rst
bwoaosk p, uCbylbisehrsepda bcye sP eotfe Tr hLeainr gO iwn n2:0 0Fe5m. ale Fandoms Online, W.PETERLANG.COM Barnabas WornoFront cover design PETER LANG R hia n n o n B u r y
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Television 2.0 sets out to document and interrogate shifting “Despite its pervasiveness in our mediated lives, ‘tele-
patterns of engagement with digital television. Television vision’ as a digital entity is a fraught term. In Television
content has not only been decoupled from the broad- 2.0, Rhiannon Bury unites television studies, audience
cast schedule through the use of digital video recorders research, fan studies, and new media analysis to uncover
(DVRs) but from broadcasting itself through streaming new and exciting ways to understand that-which-used-
platforms such as Netfl ix, Vimeo and YouTube as well as to-be-a-box. Pushing past common assumptions about
downloading platforms such as iTunes and The Pirate Bay. the death of television, Bury re-engages television schol-
Moreover, television content has been decoupled from the arship through fan interviews, qualitative and quantita-
television screen itself as a result of digital convergence and tive methods, historical methods, and empirical research.
divergence, leading to the proliferation of computer and In Television 2.0, Bury rereads today’s television as a
mobile screens. Television 2.0 is the fi rst book to provide reassemblage of content, fandom, and participation—
an in-depth empirical investigation into these technological a social technology in the digital age. A must-read!”
aff ordances and the implications for viewing and fan partic- Paul Booth, author of Digital Fandom 2.0,
ipation. It provides a historical overview of television’s cen- Playing Fans and Time on TV
tral role as a broadcast medium in the household as well as
its linkages to participatory culture. Drawing on survey and “The ‘2.0’ label may have become a buzzword, but
interview data, Television 2.0 off ers critical insights into the Television 2.0 skillfully puts streaming/downloading
ways in which the meanings and uses of contemporary tele- hype to the test. Rhiannon Bury draws brilliantly on
vision are shaped not just by digitalization but by domestic original empirical data to show how television today
relations as well as one’s aff ective relationship to particular remains crucially framed by both domestic and aff ective
television texts. Finally it rethinks what it means to be a relations. ... Television 2.0 is provocative and compelling,
participatory fan, and examines the ways in which estab- well evidenced and astutely argued; I am already a
lished practices such as information seeking and community devoted fan of this book.”
making are altered and new practices are created through Matt Hills, author of Fan Cultures and co-director
t with Digital TV
the use of social media. Television 2.0 will be of interest to of the Centre for Participatory Culture,
anyone teaching or studying media and communications. University of Hudderfi eld
oRf Whoimaenn’s nanod Gnen deBr Sutudrieys a ti sA tAhsasboacsiactae UPnriovfeersssitoyr, N e w S e a s o n
Canada. She has published numerous articles in the areas
of gender, internet, technology and fan studies. Her fi rst
book, Cyberspaces of Their Own: Female Fandoms Online, OM BFro
was published by Peter Lang in 2005. W.PETERLANG.C arnabas Wornont cover design L R hia n n o n B u r y
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Television 2.0
Advance Praise for
“The ‘2.0’ label may have become a buzzword, but Television 2.0 skillfully puts
streaming/downloading hype to the test. Rhiannon Bury draws brilliantly on original empirical
data to show how television today remains crucially framed by both domestic and affective
relations. Hybridising Deleuzian theory with classic TV studies’ work from the likes of Roger
Silverstone and James Lull, Television 2.0 explores the fascinating assemblages and
reassemblages of contemporary TV. And Bury makes a vital intervention into debates around
fandom and participatory culture by introducing the notion of a ‘participatory continuum.’
Television 2.0 is provocative and compelling, well evidenced and astutely argued; I am already
a devoted fan of this book.”
Matt Hills, author of Fan Cultures and co-director of the
Centre for Participatory Culture, University of Huddersfield

Television 2.0
Steve Jones
General Editor

Vol. 102

The Digital Formations series is part of the Peter Lang Media and Communication list.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Rhiannon Bury

Television 2.0

Viewer and Fan Engagement
with Digital TV

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bury, Rhiannon, author.
Title: Television 2.0: viewer and fan engagement with digital TV / Rhiannon Bury.
Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2017.
Series: Digital formations, vol. 102 | ISSN 1526-3169
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017019806 | ISBN 978-1-4331-5313-6 (hardback: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4331-3852-2 (paperback: alk. paper) | ISBN 978-1-4331-3870-6 (ebook pdf)
ISBN 978-1-4331-3871-3 (epub) | ISBN 978-1-4331-3872-0 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Television viewers—Social aspects.
Television programs—Social aspects. | Digital television—Social aspects.
Television broadcasting—Technological innovations.
Online social networks—Social aspects. | Fans (Persons)—Social aspects.
Classification: LCC PN1992.55 B87 2017 | DDC 302.23/45—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017019806
DOI 10.3726/978-1-4331-3870-6

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

© 2017 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com

All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
table of contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1. Assembling Television: From the Radio to the Internet 15
Chapter 2. Household Assemblers: Patterns of Multiscreen
and Multimodal Viewing 37
Chapter 3. Television 2.0 and Everyday Life 55
Chapter 4. Affect and the Television Text 73
Chapter 5. Fandom 2.0: Six Degrees of Participation 91
Conclusion: Rhizomatic for the People 111
Appendix: Television 2.0 Survey Questions 119
References 125
Index 135