[Commlist] CFP - Beyond Netflix - Diversity of Practices and Platforms in the Era of over-the-top TV

  Beyond Netflix Studying the diversity of practices and platforms in
  the era of over-the-top television

_
Call for article proposals_**


        *Edited by Audrey Bélanger and Stéfany Boisvert*

*The deadline for submissions for this issue is February 28th, 2019.*

_Theme_

Not unlike other media, television is undergoing major changes. The 
Internet, as well as the possibilities of digitisation and storage, has 
contributed to the transnational circulation of content and, most 
importantly, the development of over-the-top (OTT) media services. These 
new digital portals (Lotz 2017), or streaming services, offer a library 
of audio-visual productions online without the intermediary of a 
distribution or broadcasting company. OTT services therefore act as 
gateways to a wide range of audio-visual content, without having to rely 
on a schedule (Lotz 2017; Wayne 2017; Johnson, 2018), which changes our 
perception of the medium and deeply influences the modes of production, 
distribution and reception of /television/ itself.

In the new industry of Internet-distributed television (Lotz 2017), it 
goes without saying that the multinational company Netflix currently 
occupies the most enviable position. Even though contents offered by 
this streaming company are not only “televisual”, Netflix’s influence on 
contemporary TV productions is undeniable, and has even been documented 
by a significant number of scholars. Several topics have already been 
addressed, such as the question of algorithms and Netflix’s system of 
recommendations (Gomez-Uribe et Hunt 2015); Netflix’s role in the 
broader history of television (Jenner 2014, 2018); the multinational 
company’s production/distribution strategies and their impact on viewing 
habits (Matrix 2014); or the brand image and branding strategies of 
streaming platforms (Wayne 2018). Whole books are dedicated to the study 
of Netflix and its history (Keating 2012), its specific modes of 
production and distribution, its users’ viewing patterns (Barker et 
Wiatrowski 2017), or its impact on the television industry (McDonald et 
Smith-Rowsey 2016, Jenner 2018, Johnson 2018).

However, this centrality of Netflix within academic publications conveys 
a rather restrictive view of our media ecosystem, almost as if Netflix 
was the /only/ platform available. Indeed, publications on new forms of 
Internet-distributed television mostly focus on Netflix, even when they 
are published outside the United States. This situation leads us to ask: 
what about other OTT media services or streaming platforms? What about 
local media industries? What is the situation of other portals, whether 
they originate from the United States or elsewhere, and how do they 
manage — or not — to secure a position in the new industry? On the 
flipside, how do traditional broadcasters –– which, it must be reminded, 
are still in operation today – are influenced by streaming services and 
their in-house productions, and how do they try to secure (or preserve) 
a position for their own company? Also, in this era of multi-platform 
viewing practices, what are the various consumption and viewing habits 
adopted by viewers?

This issue of /Kinephanos/ seeks to better understand the advent of OTT 
media services (portals) and the new ways of viewing/distributing TV 
productions, by trying to look beyond (or beneath) Netflix in order to 
provide a more complete picture of our current TV industry. By 
deliberately putting aside the most popular platform, trying to think 
“outside the box”, this issue wants to encourage reflection on other 
streaming services and topics related to OTT, and, by doing so, to 
promote diversity (whether geographic, cultural, or generic). This issue 
of /Kinephanos/ is multi-disciplinary, and therefore open to many 
different forms of analysis and approaches (institutional, aesthetic, 
sociological, narratological, political, cultural, feminist, queer, 
reception-based, etc.).

Articles may cover, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  * Other streaming platforms and websites, their economics, operations,
    catalog, etc.,
  * The state of national televisions in the context of increasing
    competition with streaming services;
  * The regulations in different territories regarding streaming services;
  * The state of linear/traditional television (broadcasting, cable
    industry). The viewing habits related to linear television, and/or
    those adopted for streaming services and websites;
  * The circulation of contents on different platforms and websites;
  * Economic, political, or social issues related to new forms of
    over-the-top television;
  * Thematic, aesthetic, narrative (etc.) analyses of TV shows developed
    for portals other than Netflix, and/or their influence on other media;
  * The development of original content for streaming services, that is,
    TV shows commissioned and/or produced by those companies in order to
    be distributed exclusively (or primarily) on their platform;
  * Since “failure studies” can also help us better understand our media
    industry, we are also interested in articles documenting cases of
    streaming services that failed or went bankrupt –in other words,
    that did not find their audience.

_How to submit?_

Please send an abstract, between 300 and 500 words (excluding 
references), in English or French, by *February 28th, 2019*, to 
(belanger.audrey /at/ uqam.ca) <mailto:(belanger.audrey /at/ uqam.ca)> and 
(boisvert.stefany /at/ uqam.ca) <mailto:(boisvert.stefany /at/ uqam.ca)>

The abstract must specify the topic and the object(s) of study, along 
with the preferred methodology. Don’t forget to indicate key 
bibliographical references, your name, email address, and your 
institutional affiliation.

Selected contributors will be advised by email. Full papers will be 
submitted by summer 2019, and the exact calendar will be communicated to 
the accepted authors. The issue will be released at the beginning of 2020.


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