ABOUT THIS BOOK

A study of the largely hidden world of primary media market research and the different methods used to understand how the viewer is pictured in the industry.

The first book on the intersection between market research and media, Creating the Viewer takes a critical look at media companies’ studies of television viewers, the assumptions behind these studies, and the images of the viewer that are constructed through them. Justin Wyatt examines various types of market research, including talent testing, pilot testing, series maintenance, brand studies, and new show “ideation,” providing examples from a range of programming including news, sitcoms, reality shows, and dramas. He looks at brand studies for networks such as E!, and examines how the brands of individuals such as showrunner Ryan Murphy can be tested. Both an analytical and practical work, the book includes sample questionnaires and paths for study moderators and research analysts to follow. Drawn from over fifteen years of experience in research departments at various media companies, Creating the Viewer looks toward the future of media viewership, discussing how the concept of the viewer has changed in the age of streaming, how services such as Netflix view market research, and how viewers themselves can shift the industry through their media choices, behaviors, and activities.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Justin Wyatt is an associate professor of communication studies, film/media, and journalism at the University of Rhode Island, the author of multiple books, including High Concept: Movies and Marketing in Hollywood, and co-editor of Screening American Independent Film and Refocus: The Later Films and Legacy of Robert Altman.

REVIEWS

Creating the Viewer is the definitive account of television market research. Justin Wyatt grants rare, privileged access to the industry thinking that underpins various types of market research studies. This book has broad appeal because of the smart and unique ways it intervenes in current debates over how to define the viewer and how to redescribe viewing in the streaming era of algorithms.

— Jennifer Gillan, author of Television Brandcasting: The Return of the Content-Promotion Hybrid

Creating the Viewer provides a detailed and illuminating account of contemporary television market research, how it’s designed and conducted, where it falls short, and how it must change in a rapidly shifting media environment. Anchoring his discussion in both media scholarship and professional experience in market research, Justin Wyatt provides new insights into alternative models for holistic, audience-centered research and concludes by suggesting how such models could also inform the reader’s own media practices toward a more attentive and mindful participation in media culture.

— Tasha Oren, author of Food TV

Justin Wyatt was one of the best researchers I worked with during my thirty-five-year career in television. His research efforts at Disney | ABC were filled with insights and presented with dignity and care. He has written a book that serves two readerships well: the professional in the field and the student in the classroom. My students at UCLA Anderson School of Management will be beneficiaries of his hard work and experience.

— Brian Frons, Adjunct Professor, UCLA Anderson and former President, Daytime, Disney | ABC Television Group

A smart study of television market research written by a veteran researcher. It offers a legit insider’s view of a complex topic.

— The Film Stage

Creating the Viewer is vast in scope, content, and firsthand knowledge, making for an impressive exploration of an underresearched corner of the media industry.

— Film Quarterly

A thoughtful contribution to its subject.

— CHOICE

Wyatt conducts a uniquely informed examination of how the television industry has traditionally constructed its audience, how recent changes in culture and technology challenge those traditional methods, and how the industry might effectively adapt to those changes. Along the way, the reader learns much about how the business of television works and how its insiders understand their relationships to the viewing public. The book is an important contribution to the study of today’s popular culture, valuable especially for its up-to-date exploration of a rapidly changing media landscape.

— Popular Culture Studies Journal

Drawing upon extensive research data, the book offers a highly informed and readable overview of twenty-first century television and streaming media market research methods...Creating the Viewer provides a vivid illustration of the contemporary viewer feedback economy in a state of radical socioeconomic transition and demonstrates also how media academics can consolidate the value of scholarly research methodologies through external industrial partnerships.

— Critical Studies in Television

The first and only book-length analysis on [television market research],...this is a strong overview of a niche field.

— Media Industries

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface
Part I: Introduction
- 1. Considering Viewership
- 2. The Terrain of Media Market Research: Partners, Projects & Collaboration
Part II: The Battery of Media Market Research Studies
- 3. Pilot Testing & Series Maintenance
- Appendix to Chapter 3
- 4. Brand Alignment & Derailment
- Appendix to Chapter 4
- 5. Talent Testing & Media Research: Gauging Awareness & Connection
- Appendix to Chapter 5
- 6. Ideation & Content Co-creation
- Appendix to Chapter 6
Part III: Rethinking the Viewer
- 7. The (Manipulated) Performance of Market Research
- 8. A Corrective for Media Market Research & You
- Appendix to Chapter 8
Acknowledgments
Glossary
Notes
Works Cited
Index