Public broadcasters losing younger viewers to Netflix and TikTok
A new study reveals why young Europeans increasingly prefer global streaming services over domestic public media: they see homegrown content as lower quality and less relevant. The finding poses an urgent challenge for public broadcasters trying to maintain cultural influence and audience engagement in the age of algorithmic discovery.
Originaltitel: Public service media and entertainment: The challenge of engaging younger audiences
<p>In a world dominated by digital platforms, this chapter examines the ongoing role of legacy public service media (PSM), originally designed to promote the common good and societal cohesion through information, education, and entertainment. Focusing on younger audiences and PSM’s contribution to screen entertainment, we highlight clear shifts among younger audiences in Europe regarding favoured platforms (global streaming services), genres (scripted over non-scripted), country-of-origin preferences (US rather than domestic shows), language settings (watching more in English), and discovery methods (platform algorithms and social media). These shifts render PSM content less visible, as global streamers increasingly become the default gateway to screen content. When encountered, domestic content is often perceived by young people as less relevant and of lower quality. Such perceptions circulate and tend to become self-reinforcing. Understanding young audience perceptions of domestic shortcomings offers insights into how PSM might better engage younger audiences despite platformisation, so that entertainment and fiction continue to serve as “a central reference point of knowledge and shared emotions in a fragmented society” (Biltereyst, 2004: 343).</p>