| Chapter title | Public Service Media and Entertainment: The Challenge of Engaging Younger Audiences |
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| Authors | D'Arma, A., Esser, A., Hilborn, H. and Steemers, J. |
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| Editors | Balčytienė, A., Balčytienė and Sousa, H. |
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| Abstract | In a world dominated by digital platforms, this chapter examines the ongoing role of legacy Public Service Media (PSM), originally designed to promote the common good and societal cohesion through information, education and entertainment. Focusing on younger audiences and PSM’s contribution to screen entertainment, the chapter highlights clear shifts among younger audiences in Europe regarding favoured platforms (global streaming services), genres (scripted over non-scripted), country-of-origin preferences (US rather than domestic shows), language settings (watching more in English) and discovery methods (platform algorithms and social media). These shifts render PSM content less visible (as global streamers increasingly become the default gateway to screen content), less relevant and less popular with younger audiences (as perceptions of lower quality circulate and become self-reinforcing). Understanding young audience perceptions of domestic shortcomings offers insights into how PSM might better engage younger audiences despite platformisation so that entertainment and fiction continue to serve as “a central reference point of knowledge and shared emotions in a fragmented society” (Biltereyst, 2004: 343). |
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| Keywords | Cultural Proximity, Public Service Media, Social Media, Video Streaming, Video-on-Demand |
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| Book title | Digital Media Shadowing Democracy: Technology, Communication, and Power |
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| Year | 2026 |
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| Publisher | Nordicom |
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| Publication dates |
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| Published | 13 May 2026 |
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| Place of publication | Gothenburg, Sweden |
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| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.48335/9789189864290-7 |
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| File | License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
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| Web address (URL) | https://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/publications/digital-media-shadowing-democracy |
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