Explanatory factors of preferences for domestically-produced versus American-made fiction series

Abstract

Fiction series broadcasted by TV channels can be domestically-produced or foreign-made. The former may contribute to the definition of a TV channel's corporate identity. The latter, usually US-made, series tend to have widely recognized quality standards and offer a reasonable guarantee of high audience ratings in the countries to which they are exported. The definition of viewer preferences for home-produced or American-made fiction series is a key issue in this regard. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect that certain viewer factors may have on preferences for domestically-produced or American-made fiction series in Spain; in specific terms, the variables taken into consideration here are gender, age, educational level, nationality, preferences for TV genres and the perceived quality of television series. © 2013 Communication&Society.