Relocating video cultures

Abstract

This special issue ‘relocates’ video cultures by focusing on the specific industrial dynamics and practices of six different countries. It is in conversation with scholarship that challenges the conceptualization of streaming as a universal force, and instead foregrounds the importance of location. The emergence of streaming and its disruptive influences on audiovisual industries have mostly been approached in relation to US-based multinational streaming services, and the articles in this issue demonstrate how the implications of streaming vary significantly depending on national contexts. Each contribution traces the trajectory of pre-digital cultures that led to the nation-specific consumption patterns of streaming video to date. We hope this special issue helps advance approaches that are attentive to locality and diversity beyond the US streaming culture.