Emerging Dynamics in Audiences' Consumption of Trans-media Products

Carmen Spanò holds a PhD in media, film and television from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her academic research interests lie in media representations and convergence, audience research, media reception and consumption.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Rethinking Audiences in a Trans-Media, Transnational Age; 3. National Audiences and Consumption Trends in Nondominant Media Markets; 4. The Peculiarities of Mad Men and Game of Thrones in the Trans-Media Ecosystem; 5. Trans- Media Storytelling and Fans’ Modes of Engagement: An Overview; Appendix I: Survey Questions; Appendix II: Focus Group Topics; Bibliography; Index.

Combining transmedia studies with fan studies, Carmen Spano uses a range of qualitative and quantitative audience data to make a sophisticated case for the ongoing importance of primary textual structures at a time of transmedia storytelling/extensions. This book sets out a compelling contrast between Mad Men and Game of Thrones, as well as assessing national contexts of consumption, and evaluating the roles of ‘casual’ or ‘hardcore’ fandom. We’ve long known audiences are active; this study expertly teases out exactly how its contemporary audiences encounter transmedia TV. — Professor Matt Hills, author of Fan Cultures