Diversity of exposure in television viewing: audience fragmentation and polarization in Guangzhou

Elaine J Yuan

doi:10.1080/17544750701861954

Abstract

Chinese television has gone through tremendous growth and change recently. The new media environment has the potential to reshape patterns of television consumption and, in turn, affect the democratic development of Chinese society. This study examines audience fragmentation and polarization, two measures of diversity of exposure, in Guangzhou by conducting a secondary analysis of people meter data. The results show that structural changes have increased the degree of audience fragmentation and polarization in Guangzhou. Most notably, the rapid development of both overseas and local television services has greatly diminished the audience for national, government operated channels in the market. Overall, though, patterns of audience fragmentation and polarization are more limited than analogous audience behaviors reported in the West. Guangzhou audiences still concentrate on popular programs with general appeals and show very little evidence of forming into “enclaves” that confine their television consumption to a limited diet of like‐minded speech.

Highlights

China’s mass media have gone through rapid growth and tremendous change in recent years
The respective TV households (TVHH) universe of those channels is the sum of the two systems
TVHH Universe summarizes the percent of all television households capable of receiving the channel signal in question

Summary

Introduction

China’s mass media have gone through rapid growth and tremendous change in recent years. An increasingly diversified media system will eventually lead to democratization of Chinese communication (Zhao, 2003). Against this backdrop, the current study assesses television audience behavior in one of China’s most developed media markets, Guangzhou, within the framework of media diversity. By bringing audiences into the ongoing discussions about the prospect of China’s media system, the study aims to offer some empirical evidence to evaluate the assumption that underlies our understanding of media diversity and societal change

Methods

Results

Conclusion