Global platforms, new media generations and Anglo-American hegemony: An exploration of young audience viewing and language preferences in four European countries

TY - JOUR

T1 - Global platforms, new media generations and Anglo-American hegemony

T2 - An exploration of young audience viewing and language preferences in four European countries

AU - Esser, Andrea

AU - Steemers, Jeanette

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

PY - 2025/7/11

Y1 - 2025/7/11

N2 - This article examines British screen content consumption among young audiences aged 16-34 in four European countries: Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy. It suggests a reconsideration of content flow theories that maintain ‘home advantage’ for domestic content, followed by shows from culturally or linguistically proximate countries. The research reveals a shift among younger viewers towards a re-asserted Anglo-American hegemony, driven by the accessibility of English-language content, declining interest in domestic content and growing English-language proficiency. This favours global streamers with English-language productions, primarily from the United States, even in Italy and Germany where dubbed shows have been the dominant viewing option.

AB - This article examines British screen content consumption among young audiences aged 16-34 in four European countries: Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy. It suggests a reconsideration of content flow theories that maintain ‘home advantage’ for domestic content, followed by shows from culturally or linguistically proximate countries. The research reveals a shift among younger viewers towards a re-asserted Anglo-American hegemony, driven by the accessibility of English-language content, declining interest in domestic content and growing English-language proficiency. This favours global streamers with English-language productions, primarily from the United States, even in Italy and Germany where dubbed shows have been the dominant viewing option.

KW - British Film and Television

KW - Linguistic proximity

KW - cultural proximity

KW - Anglo-American hegemony

KW - Global streaming platforms

KW - Netflix

KW - Young audiences

KW - Denmark

KW - Germany

KW - Netherlands

KW - Italy

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105013193600

U2 - 10.1177/17496020251360130

DO - 10.1177/17496020251360130

M3 - Article

SN - 1749-6020

JO - Critical Studies in Television

JF - Critical Studies in Television

M1 - 17496020251360130

ER -