ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 investigates what the viewer expects of a telenovela and how the narrative adapts to these expectations. Even before the television set connected to the Internet, the act of changing channels, turning on and off, performing tasks while a programme is being broadcast, among other practices, corroborates the arguments that the viewer is not and has never been passive. Exchanges between the viewer and content producers have always existed along the trajectory of television and telenovela, but social tools have deepened this interaction. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the telenovela from the audience's point of view. New technologies and participatory platforms amplify word of mouth and support spontaneous or orchestrated fan campaigns. In Brazil, the repercussions on social networks do not mean large audience numbers on open television. Audience surveys and focus groups are still the primary way to know what the audience wants in a telenovela, and this chapter explains how they work. Nevertheless, for digital platforms, a program with enormous repercussions on the Internet may be attractive. This chapter investigates the viewer's relationship with the telenovela and where power lies in this relationship. ]
