The Consumption of On-Demand

Louisa Steele

Bournemouth University

Rebecca James

Bournemouth University

Rosella Burrows

Bournemouth University

Demi Leigh Mantell

Bournemouth University

Joanna Bromham

Bournemouth University


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.

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