Contextual aspects of typical viewing situations: a new perspective for recommending television and video content

Abstract

In this paper, we present a better understanding of the contextual aspects that determine TV and video viewing situations in the home. The results can be used to design recommender systems algorithms and interfaces for TV and video content that better fits with different viewing situations in the home. This is achieved by taking into account these typical viewing situations and the respective manifestations of contextual factors. In a first, ethnographic, study with 12 households to better understand everyday viewing practices, we obtained insights into the relation between the type of content and the amount of attention paid, the type of content and planned versus spontaneous behaviour, the role of the structure of the household, and the way people discover content. In a second, multi-method, study with seven households, we identified seven typical viewing situations and elaborated on how four important contextual factors-time, mood, content and viewers-constitute these viewing situations or experiences in the home. After combining the results from both studies, two additional contextual aspects were added: content delivery type and viewing mode. The insights from these studies allow us to suggest opportunities for the design of recommender system algorithms that take into account the four contextual aspects and to formulate implications for the design of recommender interfaces.

Challenges on the Journey to Co-Watching YouTube

“…Co-watching on TV at home was found to depend on contextual factors. Different viewing situations included family quality time, relaxing after school, and lazy afternoons, each of which was associated with a different time, mood, content, and viewer [33]. Similar to unengaged viewing, Ley et al reported that people in a household would co-watch TV but with "different interests" [16].…”

Temporal patterns of the online video viewing behavior of smart TV viewers

“…Time is an important contextual factor for TV or video viewing behavior at home, as pointed out by some qualitative studies based on small‐scale interviews, surveys and diaries (Abreu et al, ; Mercer et al, ; Vanattenhoven & Geerts, ). Datia et al () investigated temporal patterns of watching traditional TV programs based on data obtained by an audience meter system.…”

“…Time—particularly our daily and weekly cycles of free and busy time—influences every aspect of our lives. Time is an important contextual factor for the viewing behavior (Mercer et al, ; Vanattenhoven and Geerts, ). In broadcast programming, dayparting is a common practice which divides the day into several parts based on the usage patterns of the audience, and schedules different programs to appeal to the audience group most dominant in each daypart.…”

The Importance of Context When Recommending TV Content: Dataset and Algorithms

“…Both temporal and social settings are highlighted as key contextual indicators of consumed content. An example of collecting qualitative contextual TV consumption data using diaries is presented in [14] for 12 households over a three week period. The main difference between the studies listed above and our work, is 2 Available at http://kom.aau.dk/ ∼ zt/online/ContextualTVDataset.…”