Technological affordances of video streaming platforms: Why people prefer video streaming platforms over television

Abstract

This article investigates to what extent technological affordances are associated with people's preference for video streaming platforms over traditional television services. Such affordances refer to properties of these platforms (including personalized recommendations and easy-to-navigate interfaces) that provoke certain uses of the technology and satisfy social and psychological needs. Based on a quantitative study of 25–50-year-olds in Belgium ( N = 596) and a hierarchical regression analysis, the study builds further on the conceptualization of technological affordances as presented in the MAIN model, which suggests that four affordances (Modality, Agency, Interactivity and Navigability) are central to digital media technology. As such, the study presents an affordance-based measure of video streaming platforms, and helps to understand how video streaming technology shapes new patterns of audiovisual consumption and enhances the viewing experience beyond that of traditional television. Whereas most research attention has focused on user-oriented gratifications of video streaming platforms, this study addresses a gap in the literature by dealing with platform-oriented gratifications of video streaming platforms.

Identity development in the digital context

“…As in the case of manipulation, it is important to note that evocation occurs only in digital environments characterized by interactive affordances. For instance, one cannot evoke responses from mediums low in interactivity like cable television, but can do so if the television content is viewed through more interactive video‐streaming platforms (e.g., Hulu, Netflix; Evens et al., 2023). The study of evocation requires an understanding of what individuals' idiosyncratic media experiences look like within platforms, making it a challenging mechanism to study.…”

Streaming Consumers: Series Versus Videos, What Distinguishes Them?

“…According to Limov (2020), users will rely on Netflix’s recommendation system to find foreign content more frequently than other common discovery sources, like their peers or reviewers. Evens et al (2023) state that algorithmic platforms may direct viewers towards popular series based on their viewing behaviour, almost reducing that choice. This might not be the case for the affordances categorised under the ‘Modality’ umbrella, which instead seem to describe the technology.…”

Adaptive Video Streaming: Navigating Challenges, Embracing Personalization, and Charting Future Frontiers

“…To optimize the video streaming experience, it is crucial to delve into the intricacies of user preferences and behavior 0, [16], [3]. Users exhibit diverse tastes, ranging from preferred genres to specific viewing times.…”

“…The emergence of adaptive streaming marked a pivotal shift, allowing the seamless adjustment of video quality in response to changing network parameters. This evolution has been accelerated by the proliferation of high-speed internet, the rise of content delivery networks (CDNs) [22], [21], [3], and the widespread adoption of streaming platforms. Adaptive streaming protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) [1], [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] and Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) [20], [5], [18], have become industry standards, shaping the contemporary landscape of video streaming.…”