MUBI and the Curation Model of Video on Demand

The fastest-growing way to consume films and series is through subscription video on demand (SVOD), with curation-style services such as BFI Player, IFC Unlimited, the Criterion Channel, and MUBI being the most subscribed independent video on demand service. This book critically analyses MUBI to understand this mode of content aggregation, cultural recommendation, choice architecture, and community building. It offers an instructive example of the fate of art cinema and media diversity in a digital culture dominated by a few giant tech companies.

Format: Hardback
Length: 168 pages
Publication date: 13 August 2021
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

The emergence of subscription video on demand (SVOD) has revolutionized the way we consume films and series, offering a rapidly growing alternative to traditional cinema and television experiences. While market leaders Netflix and Amazon Prime have garnered significant scholarly attention for their innovative use of algorithms and big data to personalize content recommendations for their users, there is another significant model that has received less attention: curation-style services such as BFI Player, IFC Unlimited, the Criterion Channel, and MUBI.

These platforms leverage common concerns about algorithms, cultural surplus, and filter bubbles to promote discovery, human-generated recommendations, and quality over quantity of content. By deploying an original and holistic methodology that encompasses analysis of technological affordances, marketing rhetoric, business models, interviews with company executives, and a qualitative audience study, this book critically examines MUBI as a unique case study in content aggregation, cultural recommendation, choice architecture, and community building.

In doing so, it addresses a real but limited gap in the market, providing a valuable perspective on the future of art cinema and media diversity in a digital culture increasingly dominated by a few large tech companies. MUBI offers film, media, and business scholars an insightful example of the challenges and opportunities facing the industry in the age of digital media.

Subscription video on demand (SVOD) has emerged as the fastest-growing means to consume films and series, offering a rapidly expanding alternative to traditional cinema and television experiences. While market leaders Netflix and Amazon Prime have garnered significant scholarly attention for their innovative use of algorithms and big data to personalize content recommendations for their users, there is another significant model that has received less attention: curation-style services such as BFI Player, IFC Unlimited, the Criterion Channel, and MUBI.

These platforms leverage common concerns about algorithms, cultural surplus, and filter bubbles to promote discovery, human-generated recommendations, and quality over quantity of content. By deploying an original and holistic methodology that encompasses analysis of technological affordances, marketing rhetoric, business models, interviews with company executives, and a qualitative audience study, this book critically examines MUBI as a unique case study in content aggregation, cultural recommendation, choice architecture, and community building.

In doing so, it addresses a real but limited gap in the market, providing a valuable perspective on the future of art cinema and media diversity in a digital culture increasingly dominated by a few large tech companies. MUBI offers film, media, and business scholars an insightful example of the challenges and opportunities facing the industry in the age of digital media.

Subscription video on demand (SVOD) has emerged as the fastest-growing means to consume films and series, offering a rapidly expanding alternative to traditional cinema and television experiences. While market leaders Netflix and Amazon Prime have garnered significant scholarly attention for their innovative use of algorithms and big data to personalize content recommendations for their users, there is another significant model that has received less attention: curation-style services such as BFI Player, IFC Unlimited, the Criterion Channel, and MUBI.

These platforms leverage common concerns about algorithms, cultural surplus, and filter bubbles to promote discovery, human-generated recommendations, and quality over quantity of content. By deploying an original and holistic methodology that encompasses analysis of technological affordances, marketing rhetoric, business models, interviews with company executives, and a qualitative audience study, this book critically examines MUBI as a unique case study in content aggregation, cultural recommendation, choice architecture, and community building.

In doing so, it addresses a real but limited gap in the market, providing a valuable perspective on the future of art cinema and media diversity in a digital culture increasingly dominated by a few large tech companies. MUBI offers film, media, and business scholars an insightful example of the challenges and opportunities facing the industry in the age of digital media.

Weight: 368g
Dimension: 158 x 217 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030800758
Edition number: 1st ed. 2021