Why a Consortium?

Founded in 2016 by Amanda Lotz and Ramon Lobato, the Consortium initially developed to bring grounded and specific knowledge to the complicated growth of Netflix and other national and regional services that span national boundaries. Such internet-distributed television services often differ markedly based on the particular regulatory, technological, economic, and cultural practices of specific countries, while simultaneously seeming like a consistent global entity. The Consortium sought to establish conversation and research among scholars expert in the particularities of various national contexts to better understand the implications of multinational, internet-distributed television services.

Though media conglomerates have long spanned national boundaries and operated globally, internet distribution has introduced considerable disruption to the standard practices of broadcast, cable, and satellite industries, and has enabled previously impossible strategies. The implications of this new mechanism of distribution remain highly dynamic and difficult to track in any single context, let alone by any single scholar attempting a comparative assessment. By pooling expertise Consortium members collectively investigated new and effective methods, concepts and theories for understanding the international dimensions of internet-distributed TV services.