The Consumption of On-Demand

Abstract

This paper will document how consumers use on-demand services. In particular, focusing on individual and collective viewing of television and film ondemand. There is currently limited research about the consumption of on-demand content, despite it being a significant practice in consumer’s day-to-day lives. Mintel reported that 80% of consumers that own a television in the home, watch online content (Davies 2014b).  The investigation carried out an exploratory qualitative study, using a compressed phenomenological approach, with the purpose of attaining first-person descriptions of the respondent’s experiences with on-demand services. The key findings show that on-demand has become a linking device enabling consumers to bond with others over the content they are watching. This research has adapted Collective Spectatorship to include engagement and social interaction producing the concept: Connected Collective Spectatorship. The core argument is illustrated by three key themes. Connect not Escape: consumers are seeking access to on-demand content to feel part of a group and link to other people, by creating a topic of conversation. Creation of events: consumers are finding their own ways to make viewing on-demand special. People are now adding personalised meanings to viewing experiences through collective events by linking with others. And The gift of recommendation: consumers are offering recommendations to maintain and build links with others by sharing or passing on the experience.  Key Words = on-demand, consumption, television and film, recommendation, events, connect.