Understanding TV audiences in the multiplatform era: How televisual viewing modes shape content popularity

The processes of convergence and digitization of television have brought about significant transformations, reshaping audience behaviours and viewing practices. The multiplicity of screens and platforms makes it challenging for traditional TV audience measurement methods to fully evaluate audience size and composition. Extensive datafication of audiovisual media is enabling the analysis of arrays of digital footprints. However, different measurement methods across platforms may yield divergent outcomes, highlighting the need for comparative analysis. The article explores the potential of multidimensional TV audience study to enhance understanding of contemporary TV audiences. Our analysis is based on numerous datasets of Estonian Public Broadcasting, incorporating live, time-shifted and video-on-demand viewing modes – all somewhat distinct in terms of their technical features. The analysis compares the viewing modes in terms of metadata of viewed content, demonstrating how a multidimensional study can provide a more comprehensive, yet differentiating, view of contemporary consumption patterns of televisual content.