Journal of Digital Media & Policy - Online First

This article addresses the link between the rise of global streaming and the significance of media franchises by analysing the implementation of different strategies of control and development of media franchises employed by four of the main video streaming platforms worldwide: Disney+, Max, Prime Video and Netflix. The article identifies and discusses three different strategies regarding the control and development of media franchises in streaming platforms. The expansion strategy seeks to enlarge well-established franchises through streaming releases. While the incorporation strategy involves acquiring entire studios or adaptation rights to integrate already-developed franchises into a streaming service’s catalogue. Finally, the creation strategy aims to develop and consolidate franchises from the outset with the purpose of endowing a streaming platform with its own intellectual property. I conclude that the conjunction between global streaming and media franchises reveals the economic and cultural significance that both elements represent for the media industry. Through various strategies of control and development, such as those identified in this article, streaming platforms are established as an important medium for the exploitation of media franchises.

Media managers are facing a variety of profound and disruptive challenges generated by the impact of digitization and platformization on the production, distribution and consumption of media goods. Interestingly, platforms provide users with the opportunity to become providers of information (‘produsers’). The technological ecology requires publishing organizations to constantly rethink and adjust their competitive strategies and business models to achieve financial sustainability. Based on interviews with media industry players, this article intends to understand Portuguese newspaper companies’ funding models, business challenges in a pre-pandemic period, and how managers were reacting and adapting their practices. This study has found that the companies demonstrated the predominant implementation of management practices aimed at exploring mixed revenue sources – that is, through the traditional activity of selling advertising and newspapers and the support of paper and the sale of digital advertising content. Companies where the main source of revenue came from a mixed-model ended up, for the most part, investing more, or having more participation, in digital, with a few exceptions.

Information and communication technology is reshaping the world faster than ever. In parallel with the growth of content production and publishing tools, the volume of digital content has increased drastically. Malaysian authorities have established and authorized Content Forum to create a Content Code for imposing self-regulating standards on networked content. The Content Code served as the guiding principle for content creators in managing their content better. Industry players were early adopters of the Content Code. However, there has not been a strong awareness of the Content Code amongst the public. This research aimed to provide insights into the extent concerning how Malaysians are empowered in making an informed selection when consuming content across multiple screens and platforms. Thus, this research conducted focus group discussions and questionnaire distribution to fill this gap. The results showed that most people are aware of the Content Code, but not in detail. Instead, they have been selecting content intuitively based on their common sense and general knowledge. The findings of this study can provide insights to the authorities in increasing the awareness of Malaysians to exercise informed content selection when consuming networked content, therefore increasing the welfare of internet users.

The aim of this study is to understand how Jordanian journalists view social media networks as being related to the news industry in Jordan and the extent of their dependence on these networks in producing news. It also explores the opinions of Jordanian journalists on the pros and cons of these networks through the lens of the relationship between these networks and professional journalism. This study uses the qualitative approach by conducting interviews with a number of professional journalists. The findings indicate that Jordanian journalists perceive social networks as an essential and beneficial development. There is optimism among journalists about the relationship between professional journalism and social media. Also, social networks have brought several benefits to professional journalism. The results also show that journalists firmly believe that social networks cannot be considered a substitute for traditional media.

Nordic broadcasters have created guidelines that will shape their future radio and audio offerings. As large international enterprises occupy increasing shares of national audio markets, Nordic broadcasters are reconsidering their relationships with third-party platforms. For example, the Finnish Yleisradio (Yle) decided to close one of its FM radio channels. At the same time, the company removed its podcasts from third-party platforms. Currently, Yle aims to substantially increase its podcast offerings on its own digital platform. This comparative study of four public service media (PSM) organizations in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway and their audio strategies shows that the experts responsible for developing audio services have increasing doubts regarding the distribution of their content on third-party platforms. This study suggests that PSMs’ relationships with third-party platforms have become more complex than before, challenging the core PSM value of universalism. The study also argues that national media policies are incapable of regulating international audio distribution.

In this article, we explore the possibilities for the self-regulation of online platforms, here by using Facebook’s Oversight Board (OB) as an example. First, we analyse and systematize how the OB fits in the mosaic of internet regulation. Our analysis shows that the OB has tried to lay the foundation for global self-regulation, but because of its limited jurisdiction and indicative nature, it falls short of becoming a real ‘supreme court’ of Facebook. In addition, although the OB is a positive attempt to deal with many problems, it does not seem to be able to process enough cases, relies on idiosyncratic standards instead of general rules and principles and has problems deciding which human rights principles it should follow. Additionally, the OB is not compatible with the Digital Services Act (DSA) of the European Union or with the recent initiatives for social media councils.