Professor of Media & Globalization University of Roehampton, roehampton.ac.uk

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Barnaby Morton
5 years ago
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1 Professor of Media & Globalization University of Roehampton, roehampton.ac.uk

2 Outline 1) Form 2) UK platform 3) UK audiences of Danish drama series Argument: Need for a holistic research approach Explanation for success of Danish TV series & emergence of transnational audiences lies in the combination of form (quality), platform (TV channel & market context) & niche media consumption.

3 Form Theoretical perspectives to date 1) Alternative trade flow paradigm Narrative transparency (Singhal & Udornpim 1997) Cultural shareability (Olson 1999) Exoticism (Jensen 2016) 2) Global production approach Eye to international market / internationalisation from within (Redvall 2011, Jensen & Waade 2013, Agger 2015) Transnationalisation (Weissmann 2012, Nielsen 2016) Dramas are fundamentally constructed in recognition of the other culture, which is being used as inspiration and as an additional market that needs to be catered to. (Weissmann 2012: 6)

5 Form 3) Text inherent qualities Innovative, unique & cinematic aesthetics Narrative complexity Deeper layer/subtle moral message Strong gender dimension Distinctive use of landscape Slow and understated pace and sparse dialogue (Redvall 2103, Nielsen 2016, Agger 2015, Creeber 2015, Waade & Jensen 2013, Weissmann 2012) 4) Genre International appeal of crime But (Waade understanding 2011, Bondebjerg the and specific Redvall 2015) local conditions that shape the transnational exchange of content too is crucial! (Barker 1997: 205)

UK TV Market 5 th largest in the world TV

5% On BBC4 (2011-2012) Unexpected success

6 UK TV Market 5 th largest in the world TV fiction mostly produced domestically Imports come from US, Canada, Australia Imports from Europe historically: ~ 0.5% On BBC4 ( ) Unexpected success Audience: > 1.2m Widespread press coverage

7 UK TV Market Individuals: 64m Multi-channel households: > 90% No. of channels in these households: Highly fragmented! 1) BBC1 + ITV (37% audience share) 2) 4 channels (2-6%) 3) 300+ (< 2%; most <1%) Source:

8 BBC4 PSB niche channel Well-educated, older audience ~ 1% audience share Only channel to show subtitled drama at the time Age and socio-economic audience profile of the 20 most viewed channels, 2015; Source: BARB

Klein intended to turn Saturday night into posh soap for people who want to drink wine I have got no money, but I know drama is a very good way of giving a channel character.

9 Klein intended to turn Saturday night into posh soap for people who want to drink wine I have got no money, but I know drama is a very good way of giving a channel character. Giving it a voice. Making it feel like this is our channel.( ) And it was very clear to me with Wallander that you could buy this foreign stuff cheaply. (Richard Klein, BBC4 Controller)

10 Narrowed remit in revised service license, Feb 2011: BBC Four s primary role is to reflect a range of UK and international arts, music and culture. -> The Killing a game changer and stroke of luck had no idea The Killing would become iconic. (Klein, 2016)

11 Maximum number of viewers (in thousands) of subtitled TV drama series on BBC4 ( ) and their performance as compared to the average ratings in the weekend primetime timeband (9-11pm) Title Year Slot 1 Max. ratings Average ratings Performance vs Timeband '000 '000 The KillingI 2011 Sat 9pm % The KillingII 2011 Sat 9pm 1,237 1, % The Killing III 2012 Sat 9pm 1,262 1, % Borgen I 2012 Sat 9pm % The Bridge I 2012 Sat 9pm 1,254 1, % Wallander (H) 2011 Sat 9pm % Wallander (L) 2012 Sat 9pm % Spiral III 2011 Sat 9pm % Montalbano 2011 Sat 9pm % Montalbano 2012 Sat 9pm % Age and socio-economic audience profile of the 20 most viewed channels, Source: 2015; Esser Source: based BARB on BARB data. consuming drama like books (Klein & Sadler, 2016)

12 What they say about Danish Drama fine acting unclichéd subtle realistic totally real characters authentic stylish Attractive aesthetics something new and fresh strong intellectual females refreshing

13 Summary v Danish TV drama series helped create transnational audience for subtitled TV drama series in the UK

Summary v Many factors contributed to the UK success

audiences for subtitled drama Form: multiple quality

(+lucky timing) Audiences: educated taste, chance to

14 Summary v Many factors contributed to the UK success of Danish TV drama series and the emergence of UK audiences for subtitled drama Form: multiple quality indicators Platform: specific situation of BBC4 (+lucky timing) Audiences: educated taste, chance to discover subtitled quality drama, new consumption practices

15 Discussion What do you think is likely to happen? Is subtitled TV drama a fad that will subside? Or will audiences continue to transnationalise?

16 New digital platforms Netflix Amazon Prime Apple TV Sky Viasat Viaplay HBO Hulu etc Netflix content budget: 5.2bn Almost twice that of BBC + ITV + C4

17 What about teenage audiences?

18 Questions What do you know about your students media consumption habits? Could they work in teams to research a case study of their choice? From various perspectives, thinking through the complexity of what makes media content visible and popular? Have you experienced any highlights and/or difficulties in teaching audiences and global media?

19 Selection of useful references BARB, Weekly top10 programmes. Available at: Bondebjerg I and Redvall E (2015) Breaking borders: The international success of Danish television drama. In: Bondebjerg I, Redvall E and Higson A (eds) European Cinema and Television. Cultural Policy and Everyday Life, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp Esser A (2017) Form, Platform and the Formation of Transnational Audiences: A case study of how Danish TV drama series captured television viewers in the UK, Critical Studies in Television, 12:4, Jensen, PM (2016) Global impact of Danish drama series: A peripheral, non-commercial creative counter-flow, Kosmorama, 263. Available at: Jensen, PM and Waade, AM (2013) Nordic Noir challenging the language of advantage : setting, light and language as production values in Danish television series. The Journal of Popular Television, 1(2): Ofcom, The Communications Market, Available at: Sundet, VS (2017) From secret online teen drama to international cult phenomenon: The global expansion of SKAM and its public service mission. In: McCulloch, R & Proctor, W (eds) The Scandinavian Invasion: The Nordic Noir Phenomenon and Beyond. Peter Lang. Wikipedia (2018) Skam TV series,

Form, Platform and the Formation of Transnational Audiences: A case study of how Danish TV drama series captured television viewers in the UK

CST 12 : 4 : ESSER : 1 Form, Platform and the Formation of Transnational Audiences: A case study of how Danish TV drama series captured television viewers in the UK Andrea Esser, University of Roehampton,