| This dissertation investigates the emergence of an industrial and cultural phenomenon known broadly as Social TV. Encompassing the popularization of social platforms like Twitter, the increase of multi-tasked viewing on "second screens" (smartphones, tablets, and laptops), and the collaboration between the television and technology industries, Social TV was positioned by executives, trend speculators, and trade reporters to revolutionize the experience of watching television in the 2010s. The utopian ideal for Social TV promised a democratized future where viewers, equipped with secondary devices, would communicate, collaborate, and participate with one another and representatives from the media industries on a grand scale. Amid corporate discourses promising a disruption of the viewing experience, Social TV initiatives instead reaffirmed the value of live viewing, pre-programmed flow, network branding, repurposing of paratextual content, and basic---and non-threatening---forms of interactivity and participation. Analyzing an archive of press releases, trade reports, the aesthetics and functions of Social TV platforms, and the activity of fans, celebrities, and brands on those platforms, I trace the ways that the television and tech industries utilized Social TV as a tool to structure audience behavior and access in familiar ways. Thus, I use Social TV to assess how core television industry strategies persevere with each new reimagination and remediation of television. |
