(The) importance of real-time interactions on audience satisfaction

Abstract

Today, Internet and digital communication technologies are reshaping the media industry worldwide. Even though they are not yet a serious threat to old, unidirectional broadcasting services, new interactive TV services are taking off. The most powerful online live streaming broadcasting service in Korea is AfreecaTV, which enables synchronous communication with other audience members and content providers called broadcasting jockeys (BJs). This study examines how important real-time interactions are on audience satisfaction by surveying the viewers of Afreeca TV. For the first step, with the same preceding regression analysis, this study showed consistent results compared to two previously related studies conducted in 1988 and 2010. While every viewing motive was significant to audience satisfaction in the 1980s, only entertainment and information showed significant impact in the 2010s. The result implies the movement of different usage of media platforms where the terms “online” and “live” become meaningful as real-time interaction. Therefore, this study includes “interaction” as one of the viewing motives and expands the level of “audience activity” into a structural equation model. It is found that the motives for information/audience interaction, as well as sexual curiosity and BJ interaction, are positively correlated with audience activity, which is in turn positively correlated with audience satisfaction. The motive for entertainment/habit-pastime, however, turns out to be negatively correlated with audience activity, but directly correlated with audience satisfaction. One of the most important findings of this study is that real-time interaction is an important factor that directly and indirectly influences the watching of online live streaming broadcasting services. This implies that interacting with other audience members and BJs plays a key role in the evolution process of future TV services. Moreover, it is found that intensive interaction motives drive advanced audience activity, including not only consuming and participating activities, but also generating activities such as derivative art works.