audience essay

"Analyse how media institutions are using different platforms to engage with their audience"

Media institutions use many different platforms to engage their audience. The big five consists of Disney, Columbia pictures, Universal studios, Warners Bros. and Paramount pictures and are the media giants of Hollywood. They are also referred to as conglomerates that dominate the film landscape who have acquired many subsidiaries. For example, in 2019, Disney acquired Fox which made Disney the largest shareholder over the media/film market, with a total of 27%. This being said, this small amount of oligopolies have the benefit of vertical and horizontal integration which is helping them slowly dominate the worlds market share of film. 

Media and its audience has had a massive change over the last few years trying to keep up with the on going updates of technology. Having said this, the latest pandemic of Covid-19 has effected this drastically. Considering this obstacle in the media and film market, big and small media companies saw an unpredicted growth in the film and TV industry. This caused for an increase in demand for streaming services. For example in New Zealand, the Covid 19 lockdown and restrictions caused many people to stay at home with nothing to do, therefore, increasing the demand for home entertainment.  From 2019 to 2020, video subscriptions increased by 26% with a total of 1.2 billion subscriptions on new streaming platforms. By the year 2025, there is an estimated number of 1.6 billion worldwide subscriptions . This outstanding growth has also been seen from the launch of Disney+ which has gained over 100 million subscribers since its launch in November 2020. This increase in demand made production ramp up where in 2020 $220.2 billion was spent on making and acquiring new films and TV series Which is 16.5% more than in 2019. However, not just the big media giants were on the train to success. Over the billions of dollars spent on content production, over half of it went to indie filmmakers. The spending of indie content increased by 25.3% in 2020. Having said this, during Covid 19, Box office tickets for the theatre decreased when subscriptions to online devices increased. Over the years the audience has become more and more fragmented. For example in one home the family might own iPhones or iPads and laptops and TVs which creates And uprising of different audiences on different platforms. Overall, as the audience demand goes up, the budget for the film goes up. 

In 2020 the budget for an average TV series was $59.6 million, this is a 16.5% increase from 2019. For example, Wandavision produced by Marvel Studios and Disney, had a budget of $200 million which is an estimated $25 million per episode. Wandavision had the budget for one episode which is usually the average budget for a whole TV series. This uprise in the streaming industry has gone to the extreme where Disney + is now releasing their movies the same time as the theatre for $40 to watch at home instead of going to the theatre. The film and TV industry like Disney have started to blur. For example, The Falcon and the winter soldier is tying in with their show loki which gives the audience an incentive to watch more Disney/marvel shows as they are now blurring into one big TV series. All of this information has given people evidence to believe that there is no ceiling for the film and TV  industry and that it is just the beginning. 

Today 95% of all teens have access to a smart phone and 45% of them say that they are online almost constantly. Social media is now full of an interactive audience, thanks to the Web 2.0 where audiences can actually engage and interact online such as liking or commenting on a trailer of a film. One theory called the Shirky theory - end of audience, States that audience behaviour has changed due to the Internet and ability for the audience to create their own content at home thanks to the lower cost of technology. This new audience doesn't just consume media but also produces it creating the term prosumer. Examples of this are Movie franchise fandoms, fan-pages, reactions to trailers, tweets and anything that can relate to the movie itself even fan-pages for the actors in the film.  Big film media companies are now using this theory to their advantage by taking what majority of their audience wants and giving it to them. This is the conglomerates listening to what their audience wants and giving them what they ask for. Linking to this is the Hypodermic needle theory, which states that video directors can inject their message straight into the audiences mind. Audiences now are more engaged than ever and more and more people are moving from being consumers to produces such as starting a youtube account. Having said this, youtube has actually taken over Netflix in terms of the amount of streams they get. 

Cross media convergence has also been on its all time high where everything is posted and advertised on social media and online since events have been an ongoing restriction. This has created more connections between the producer and the consumer. Examples of this is a films A list actors posting the trailers on their social media platforms as well as posting behind the stage photos and videos which gets the audience and fans engaged and exciting. Soundtracks are another good example as a film could have a soundtrack or even a few songs that a person may like which makes them get engaged with the film by looking up the soundtrack on youtube or on Spotify. Some big platforms such as instagram, twitter and tik tok are now being saturated with fan accounts and tweets with them supporting the movie or obsessing over the actors or characters in the film. However, it is now not too hard for indie film makers to be noticed on social media as well and for people to get engaged with their content., Especially now with Web 2.0 anyone can come across anything on social media platforms making it easy to be noticed and have a following. This reaches the audience more easier especially the younger audience who are always on their smart phones and devices. What we do in the shadows is a New Zealand film which was distributed by crowd funding and who had amazing and creative ideas for cross media convergence. A few things they did was turn up at fan events, run art competitions, changed the sign for the new Zealand capital Wellington (changed white w to a red v), They made a trade me account selling items from the vampire house, they did interviews with everyone who asked, had a Facebook account, and they did an online dating vampire profile. This tells us that no matter if you are a huge media giant like Disney who can hold massive gatherings and interviews, small indie filmmakers can also come up with creative ideas no matter their budget. Another example for the movie Jurassic park is the A list Actor Chris Pratt with over 32 million followers on instagram.  He posted the trailer on his account and promoted the movie to all of his followers which created a big deal for the movie in a positive way. 

Overall, the media market is very fragmented with lots of people on different media platforms. This gives any filmmakers the opportunity to promote and engage with their audience online through trailers, instagram posts, tiktoks, and interviews with the A list actors. Now media institutions can find it easier to engage the audience on a number of different platforms and to communicate with them. This helps them with ideas or inspiration, overall taking advantage of this increase on social media to use it to distribute their products. Although hard hitting on many people over the world, covid 19 had defiantly increased their demands and numbers.