Understanding TV Audiences in the Multiplatform Era: How Televisual Viewing Modes Shape Content Popularity

The processes of convergence and digitization of television have significantly reshaped audience behaviours and viewing practices. The multiplicity of screens and platforms makes it challenging to fully evaluate audience size and composition using traditional TV audience measurement methods. Extensive datafication of audiovisual media is enabling the analysis of arrays of digital footprints. However, different measurement methods across platforms may yield divergent outcomes, highlighting the need for comparative analysis. The article explores the potential of multidimensional TV audience study to enhance understanding of contemporary TV audiences. Our analysis is based on numerous datasets of Estonian Public Broadcasting, incorporating live, time-shifted and video-on-demand viewing modes – all distinct in terms of their technical features. The analysis compares the viewing modes in terms of characteristics of viewed content, demonstrating how multidimensional study can provide a more comprehensive, yet differentiating, view of contemporary consumption patterns of televisual content.