ABSTRACT
The business model for television is to restrict access and monetise audiences, both in the interests of the political economy of media institutions and as a means to measure audience engagement through ratings and social media analytics that are collated within national boundaries. As audiences roam around entertainment content, the pathways and tracks they make are shaping their experience of television and related social media. The idea of push-pull dynamics is understood as complicated power relations in the transactions between media industries and audiences. The concept of a spectrum of engagement captures how integral engagement is to transformations in digital media production and audience experiences. There is a dynamic interplay between producers and audiences about the value and meaning of media engagement, something played out in the contexts of the format industry, distribution and everyday routines. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
