Blurred Lines, Distinct Forces: The Evolving Practices of Italian TV Audiences in a Convergent Scenario

Abstract

This chapter builds on the final results of a several-years-long qualitative research on Italian convergent television, mainly focusing on the different professional and cultural approaches to television and media convergence and on the changes in television viewers’ consumption habits and practices, following or reacting to broadcasters’ production strategies. An original “pyramid” model of “weak” and “strong” audience engagement is presented, to represent effectively the relationships between television shows and their audiences and the different possible practices. The model is also particularly effective in explaining the more recent trends inside the Italian scenario. These changes in viewing practices and in the interplay between broadcasters and audiences have been divided into four categories to offer a fluid and unstable yet accurate portrait of television convergent consumption.