Assessing the distinctiveness of public service catalogues
A comparison of European content in local, regional and global video-on-demand service
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/mk.v40i78.147197Keywords:
Public service media, Video-on-demand, VoD catalogues, Distinctiveness, Exclusivity, CompetitionAbstract
This article investigates how public service media’s (PSM) distinctiveness becomes evident in their video-on-demand (VoD) catalogues in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, and the UK, when comparing them to the relevant local, regional, and global non-PSM players in the markets. The analysis builds on the European Audiovisual Observatory’s Lumiere VoD database. The European content in 65 relevant PSM and non-PSM catalogues in the five countries noted above was examined on 1 July 2024, focusing on levels of exclusivity, overlap, domestic content, transnational circulation, genre, first-run versus returning series, and theatrical releases for film. The article evidences how exclusivity of rights prevails in the VoD market and showcases the relativity and multi-dimensional nature of distinctiveness across the five markets. It advocates for a combination of traditional measures of distinctiveness (genre, country of origin) with data on exclusivity, international content circulation, reliance on returning seasons and theatrical release to make visible local specificity and risk-taking.
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