This reading list is a first attempt at categorizing and integrating the methods used to study VODs. Building on the literature review by Lobato et al. (2024), it provides illustrative examples of VOD research organised by method.
The list is not comprehensive; please send us your suggested additions.
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Catalog studies
Single VOD and single territory
- National content in Netflix Italy (Bonini and Bertolucci 2019)
- Netflix originals in Netflix Argentina (Mastrini and Krakowiak 2021)
- Netflix originals in Netflix Spain (Albornoz and García Leiva 2022)
- National content in Netflix global catalogs (Aguiar and Waldfogel 2018)
- European and Catalan works in Netflix Spain (Catalan Audiovisual Council 2020)
- Availability and prominence of Spanish content in US SVODs (Albornoz, García Leiva and Gallo 2023)
Single VOD and multi territories
- MUBI catalogs in Belgium, UK and US (Frey 2021)
- Investment strategies in Netflix Belgium, Romania, Spain and Sweden (Iordache 2022)
- National content in 17 Netflix territories (Lotz et al. 2022)
Multiple VODs and single territory
- National content in Brazilian VODs (ANCINE 2017)
- National content in Australian SVODs and BVODs (Lobato and Scarlata 2019); (Scarlata and Lobato 2023)
- National cinema in Spanish VODs (Aranzubia and Gallego 2021)
- National cinema in German VODs (Smits 2022)
- National content in Spanish VODs (Albornoz et al. 2023)
- Programming strategies, Flemish content in Belgian VODs (Iordache et al. 2023)
Multiple VODs and multiple territories
- European Audiovisual Observatory studies of national content in EU VODs (Fontaine and Grece 2016; Grece 2018; Grece and Jiménez Pumares 2017; among others)
- Czech films in EU VODs (Szczepanik 2020)
- National content in five VODs in Mexico and Canada (Larroa 2023)
Other empirical catalog studies
- Auteur/festival cinema in catalogs (Farchy et al. 2019)
- Age and exclusivity of content (Lobato and Scarlata 2019)
- SVOD investment strategy (Iordache 2022)
- Categorisation of queer media (Monaghan 2023)
- IP sources of Netflix originals (Cuelenaere 2024)
- Pricing of content (Suzor et al. 2017)
Interface studies
Case studies of VODs
- Hulu (Sanson and Steirer 2019)
- Netflix (Lobato 2019; Van Esler 2021)
- Shudder (Balanzategui and Lynch 2023)
- BBC iPlayer (Grainge and Johnson 2018; Kelly and Sørensen 2021)
- ITV Hub (Johnson 2017)
- Disney+ (Baker and Balanzategui 2022)
- Mubi (Frey 2021; Smits and Nikdel 2019)
- DRTV (Lassen and Sørensen 2023)
Comparison of VOD interfaces
- EU public-service broadcaster VODs (Iordache and Raats 2023)
- iPlayer and DRTV (Kelly and Sørensen 2021)
- TV2Play and DRTV (Bruun and Bille 2022)
- 7Plus, 9Now, and 10Play (Scarlata and Lobato 2023)
Thematic studies
- Broadcasters and BVODs (Bruun 2019, 2023; Bruun and Bille 2022; Bruun and Lassen 2023; Lassen and Sørensen 2023)
- Power and control in VOD interfaces (Chamberlain 2011; Johnson 2017, 2019; Hesmondhalgh and Lotz 2020)
Studies of VOD interface features
- Netflix Top 10 rankings (Scarlata 2023)
- Netflix and personalised cover art (Eklund 2022)
- Recommender systems (Frey 2021; Gaw 2022; Khoo 2023; Pajkovic 2022)
- BVODs and linear schedules (Bruun 2019; Bruun and Bille 2022; Bruun 2023; Bruun and Lassen 2023)
- Badges and live TV tiles (Lassen 2023)
Prominence and promotion studies
- EU TVODs prominence – empirical analysis (Fontaine 2021)
- BBC Three – prominence with ratings analysis (Thurman et al. 2023)
- Discoverability as an audience activity (Johnson et al. 2023)
- Users’ contexts and actions in the consumption decision-making process (Iordache et al. 2023)
- see also: Policy studies
Experimental methods
Empirical studies of recommendations
- Simulating and testing effects of different profiles (Bideau and Tallec 2022)
- Reverse-engineering of rec algorithms (Pajkovic’s 2021; Česálková 2023)
- How to define and measure locality of Netflix originals (Idiz et al. 2024)
Production studies
Interviews with screenwriters
- Arabic SVOD series (Haddad and Dhoest 2021)
- Italian Netflix teen dramas (Barra 2023)
- US writers on platfomization (Navar-Gill 2020)
Interviews with other production professionals
- SVODs and EU production cultures (Idiz 2024)
- Use of Netflix data by EU creatives (Rasmussen 2024)
- Netflix’s Tidelands (Scarlata, Lobato & Cunningham 2021)
- Tencent Originals (Lin 2022)
- Four major sources of dependence encountered by cultural producers (Idiz & Poell 2024)
Methodological inspirations
- Interface ethnography (Ortner 2010)
- Ethnographic interviewing (Mayer 2008)
Policy studies
Thematic studies
- A framework for analysis for prominence and discoverability (Mazzoli 2020)
- Prominence and discoverability (Garcia Leiva 2021; Lobato and Scarlata 2022)
- Policy case study of Netflix in the Netherlands (Idiz et al 2021)
Interviews with policymakers
- Netflix and the Korean media industries (Kim 2022)
- Implementation of AVMSD in Portugal (Costa e Silva and Lameiras 2022)
- Netflix as policy actor in Latin America (Fernandez and Albornoz 2023)
- Prominence and discoverability in Europe (Garcia Leiva 2024)