Analysis of the social media strategy of audio-visual OTTs in Spain: The case study of Netflix, HBO and Amazon Prime during the implementation of Disney +

Abstract

OTT platforms lead the transformation of the audio-visual consumption model. The penetration of these platforms among audiences is increasing, which has repercussions on two fronts. We are witnessing a process of change in the current television model, where traditional leaders are being transferred from their dominant role and, secondly, there is competition between the OTT platforms themselves like Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime and, more recently, Disney +, to lead the subscription market. Within this competition, social networks, specifically, Facebook and Instagram, are part of the communication strategy that all platforms carry out in order to seek to attract new subscribers. In this sense, the purpose of this work is to analyse the strategies carried out by the different OTTs in the Spanish market on both social networks and determine the impact of the arrival of Disney+ in this context. The study is based on a quantitative methodology where variables such as the frequency of publications, the typology of the contents disseminated or the interaction with the users of the different social networks are analysed. The results allow us to understand the current panorama of influence of these platforms in the Spanish context.

Full text

Technological Forecasting & Social Change 173 (2021) 121178
0040-1625/© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Analysis of the social media strategy of audio-visual OTTs in Spain: The
case study of Netix, HBO and Amazon Prime during the implementation of
Disney +
María Eugenia Martínez-S´
anchez, PhD , Ruben Nicolas-Sans, PhD
*
, Javier Bustos Díaz, PhD
ESIC Business & Marketing School, Passeig Santa Eul`
alia, 2. 08017 Barcelona, Spain
ARTICLE INFO
Keywords:
Audio-visual platforms
OTT
Social media
Social networks
ABSTRACT
OTT platforms lead the transformation of the audio-visual consumption model. The penetration of these plat-
forms among audiences is increasing, which has repercussions on two fronts. We are witnessing a process of
change in the current television model, where traditional leaders are being transferred from their dominant role
and, secondly, there is competition between the OTT platforms themselves like Netix, HBO, Amazon Prime and,
more recently, Disney +, to lead the subscription market. Within this competition, social networks, specically,
Facebook and Instagram, are part of the communication strategy that all platforms carry out in order to seek to
attract new subscribers. In this sense, the purpose of this work is to analyse the strategies carried out by the
different OTTs in the Spanish market on both social networks and determine the impact of the arrival of Disney+
in this context. The study is based on a quantitative methodology where variables such as the frequency of
publications, the typology of the contents disseminated or the interaction with the users of the different social
networks are analysed. The results allow us to understand the current panorama of inuence of these platforms in
the Spanish context.
1. Introduction
Current television consumption is linked to the subscription to
platforms of the so-called OTT (over-the-top), and specically, accord-
ing to the data provided by Barlovento Comunicaci´
on (2020), for the
Spanish context, 56.9% of the current television consumption universe is
linked to this modality. In terms of gures, according to the same source,
this represents 23 million Spaniards. In this sense, various studies, such
as the one by Gonz´
alez-Neira et al. (2020) show that this trend, in Spain,
is particularly prevalent among the population under 30 years of age and
has an impact that few other platforms have had, i.e., the authors state
that, since its implementation, Netix, (1999) has had a total of 1,163,
000 subscribers during the rst three years since its introduction.
As extracted from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), in the report
Entertainment and Media Outlook 2018-2022, we are witnessing a
process of Convergence 3.0. in the current context. In this model, where
the lines of the entertainment and media industry and technology and
telecommunications are blurring to create a new way of understanding
the consumption model, platforms play a fundamental role. Thus, digi-
tization is the pillar on which the new business models are built and
social networks are part of the relationship with consumers and,
therefore, of consumers with OTT platforms (Fern´
andez-Rovira et al.,
2021). In this sense, digitalization, as a basic element in the distribution
of content, has radically transformed the audio-visual industry and the
impacts on it are yet to be discovered ( ´
Alvarez, 2020).
However, according to ´
Alvarez (2020), we are still far from knowing
the impact it has had on the sector. What we do know, in line with the
research carried out so far, is the existence of a change in the way of
consuming video content; since, due to the commercialisation of large
platforms, its access is within the reach of most audiences (Chen, 2020).
In accordance with this question, we must also add that it is not only a
question of ease of access to content, but also to the platform itself, since
the very technology that the user currently has, tablets, smartphones,
Smart TV, or computers, increases the possibilities of the user accessing
the content from anywhere (Marcos et al., 2020).
This shows that, in the current television panorama, there is a great
deal of competition between the different OTT platforms that until now
dominated the audio-visual spectrum: Netix, Amazon Prime Video and
HBO. To this fact, we must add the arrival of Disney +on March 24,
2020. Additionally, the arrival of Disney +in Spain coincided with the
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: mariaeugenia.martinez@esic.edu (M.E. Martínez-S´
anchez), ruben.nicolas@esic.edu (R. Nicolas-Sans), javier.bustos@esic.edu (J. Bustos Díaz).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Technological Forecasting & Social Change
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/techfore
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121178
Received 25 May 2021; Received in revised form 20 August 2021; Accepted 25 August 2021