Abstract
One of the most distinctive characteristics of the media marketplace is the role and function of the audience. In the dual-product marketplace that characterizes media, in which content is sold (or given) to audiences and audiences are, in turn, sold to advertisers, audiences occupy the unique position of being the customer in one market and the product in the other market. This dynamic is further complicated by the ways that digital, interactive media are increasingly providing audiences with the opportunity to also serve as content producers, capable of producing content of significant value to other media consumers and to advertisers. This chapter will outline the key distinctive characteristics of audiences as product in the media marketplace and the implications of these distinctive characteristics for media management. This chapter will also examine audiences as both consumers and (increasingly) producers or creators of media products, with an emphasis on the unique management challenges and opportunities associated with the contemporary media audience.
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Napoli, P.M. (2016). The Audience as Product, Consumer, and Producer in the Contemporary Media Marketplace. In: Lowe, G., Brown, C. (eds) Managing Media Firms and Industries. Media Business and Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08515-9_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08515-9_15
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