Reality TV Engagement: Producer and Audience Relations for Reality Talent Shows

Abstract

This article focuses on media engagement within the reality television industry. It draws on qualitative research of production practices and audience participation in live reality events to explore the multiple meanings of engagement as a series of relationships between creative and executive producers, broadcasters, performers, and audiences. A key question concerns how do producers and audiences cocreate, shape, and limit engagement with reality television? John Corner's idea of stages of engagement is used to analyze multiple modes of engagement across production and reception contexts. The case study of talent show Got to Dance is used to think through the crafting of engagement within live reality television, and the ways producers can make or break engagement with their regular audiences, participants, and loyal fans. The idea of a spectrum of engagement is developed to capture the multidimensionality of this term and to open up understanding of the value of engagement within industry and academic research. From an industry perspective, this research contributes to strategic thinking and creative knowledge on how to build engagement and trust with diverse audiences and fans for cross-media content, while offering critical analysis of how television as an institution is failing to nurture the "reality relations" so crucial to durable engagement with an entertainment brand. This article uses research that is part of the project Media Experiences, funded by the Wallenberg Foundation, Sweden, and in collaboration with Endemol Shine. Sky 1, Princess, is a reality talent competition showcasing adult and child dancers, with a series of live events, public voting, and integrated online content. This article draws on empirical data from production and audience research of the fifth and final series of Got to Dance (2014). A total of one hundred interviews were conducted during the auditions and live shows, and the data range from qualitative interviews, ratings, social media analytics, YouTube videos, to photographs. This article focuses on engagement within the reality television industry because it is a rich site of analysis for critically examining the crafting of engagement through production practices, and the multidimensional meaning of engagement for participants and crowds of live events, and audiences and fans for digital