Interviewer: Do you consider yourself a television viewer?
Simon: No, not really.
Name interviewer Giulia Negri Name respondent
(pseudonym) Simon
Date interview March 25th, 2022 Location interview Zoom
Duration interview 49:47 minutes
Age respondent 56
Gender respondent Male
Sexual orientation Straight Class background
Residence Lovanio
Composition of household Married with children in their 20s National identification Belgian
Political preference /
Work, study Documentary producer for Belgian television
Way of living/lifestyle /
Remarks
Since the interviewee is not a native English speaker, I have occasionally corrected some minor grammar mistakes during the transcription process.
Interviewer: This is particularly interesting because you work in television, so why don't you watch it?
Simon: I am a television viewer, but not a very dedicated one; I watch some programs but I am not a very frequent viewer. I think it is a nice way to spend your spare time, but I don't have much spare time, because I'm either busy working or I am doing some social
activities, instead of constantly sitting in front of television.
Interviewer: But more specifically, what kind of programs do you watch, when you watch them? And how often, for how long?
Simon: Uhm, I watch the news, let’s say 3 times a week. I watch some series once or twice a week. And I watch “human interest programs” for another hour every week.
Interviewer: Okay, and do you watch them from linear, traditional television or from, for example, your computer or some other device?
Simon: I'm part of the generation that was conditioned to watch TV, so from television [laughs], but often not in the moment when [the program I am watching] is broadcasted.
For example when the news are broadcasted at 10 in the evening, I might watch them at 11.
Interviewer: So on television, but on demand.
Simon: Yes. I don’t have to pay for it because I have an account on TeleNet and on TeleNet there are 150 channel and I can watch whatever has been broadcasted in the past, I don't know, week… and I don’t ave to pay any extra for that.
Interviewer: You are the first person who tells me he watches the news are from television [laughs]. So, do you watch it from other sources, too?
Simon: In fact I also follow the news from several newspapers’ newsletters, sometimes I watch them from my iPhone, but sometimes in the evening you have the Belgian television news which has a very good reputation so it is nice to get an overview of the news of the day in 20 minutes.
Interviewer: Do you have streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, …?
Simon: Yes, I have Netflix and Streams, do you know Streams?
Interviewer: No, I actually don’t know it.
Simon: It is a Belgian platform, on TeleNet. I think it is a collaboration among big television channels. But the majority of the programs I watch are from TeleNet, because it has 150 channels and if for example I want to watch the news at 3 am, I can do it. So it is not linear television but the channels are the same ones that you can find on linear television. And if you pay a premium you get Streams, which is a platform but it is provided by TeleNet.
Interviewer: So do you consider these platforms- well, I guess you consider Streams to be television, but do you also consider streaming platforms like Netflix as television?
Simon: Uhm… Yes, because they offer television content. Of course there is a difference, but yes, I consider them as television, because what you see there used to be shown on television in the past. And now you can watch them on your phone or your laptop but they are the same kind of programs, you have fiction, do you have entertainment, … The content is the same so it is television.
Interviewer: And do you watch more of that or more of linear television programmes?
Simon: More of that [streaming platform content].
Interviewer: Okay, so more of tv shows, tv series, …? What do you watch on Netflix and Streams?
Simon: Series, fiction or documentaries, mainly. Like Succession, The Process, things like that. […] Yes, I think I watch more tv series than traditional television, I think it is 60-40…Or maybe, let’s say, 1/3 is television, the news and other programs broadcasted on television and the other 2/3 are fictions or documentaries on Netflix.
Interviewer: Do you prefer television or movies, and why?
Simon: Uhm… This is a difficult one. I like them both because film is for entertainment, while on television you have programs which are also for entertainment but are… you have different types of stories. But no, I don’t have a big preference for one or the other.
Interviewer: Okay. Do you prefer television or social networks, if you have any? And why?
Simon: Uhm… I use WhatsApp of course, I use… I on Facebook but I don't use that very often, I don't post that much. I don’t find television and social network comparable, on
social networks you can share your own experiences, try to give a good impression of your life [laughs]; television is for watching something that has been produced by professionals.
Interviewer: So, what do you prefer? [laughs].
Simon: Ah, television! [laughs].
Interviewer: Okay, so, what do you generally look for when you switch on your television?
Obviously that changes every time, but do you generally want a moment of relax, to be educated, to be entertained, to fill the silence…? What do you tend to look for?
Simon: Uhm, it’s mainly entertainment, but entertainment with a good story, let’s say. I like stories where there is an existential… there is, let’s say, a “human’s story” in it.
Interviewer: So, if you were to say what your favourite tv programs or favourite genres are, what would they be?
Simon: Uhm… Fictions, series in which there is a human, existential element in the story.
Or documentaries.
Interviewer: Okay, for example?
Simon: For example- I’ll give Flemish examples if that is okay?
Interviewer: Yes, sure.
Simon: Then for example The Weekends or Radio Aba… These kind of programs…
Interviewer: Did you work on them? {laughs}.
Simon: No, but my colleagues did [laughs]. Ah, there is another one, The Camping.
Interviewer: Is that a series or…?
Simon: It is a human interest program about a guy who organises a camping and hires 10 people who have difficulties finding a job. So, he employed them and tries to teach them skills that they can use afterwards to find a job, like organising the camping, receiving people, organising activities, …
Interviewer: So it is actually reality tv?
Simon: Yes, but in general I find reality tv annoying because they use people and they don't care about those people. The programs I like are those in which the program makers take care of the people they film, give them the opportunity to tell their stories and they do that in a very careful way. They are not there just to make [the viewers] laugh.
Interviewer: Okay, perfect. Switching the topic a little bit, do you watch different kinds of programs when you are with your friends and family compared to when you are by yourself?
Simon: Yes, when I am with my family I watch entertainment shows that aim for huge audiences, for example The Voice. But I don't watch the whole episode because it is too much [laughs]. I also watch detective or police TV shows that I wouldn't choose myself.
Interviewer: So, when you are by yourself- then it is when you watch programmes like the camping one?
Simon: Yes, yes. By myself or with my wife, I am not usually the one who chooses [what to watch]. But they [his wife and children] watch more TV than I do, so if they are watching something I join them, or I choose something I like as well, but it is different…
Interviewer: Yes, there has to be a compromise.
Simon: Yes. But [as far as] the series I watch, I don't watch them by myself, I can watch maybe one episode on my own but I don’t watch television on my own very often.
Interviewer: Okay. Do you usually talk- well I guess you do because that is also your job, but do you usually talk with your friends about tv programs? If so, which ones?
Simon: Yes. I talk about what I am currently watching, but I don't watch that many programs.
Interviewer: This is maybe a question for younger viewers, but do you ever feel “peer pressured” to watch certain programs or genres?
Simon: Not peer pressured, but as I said, if The Voice is on I watch it even if I wouldn’t choose that myself. Of course, if the whole family is watching I like to join them, but not because I like the program; just because I like being with them and having an “experience”
together. And that is a sort of peer pressure, I think.
Interviewer: Okay, but has it ever happened that you watched something because everybody was talking about it, or it was the program of the moment and you wanted to know what it was about?
Simon: Sometimes when I hear a lot of people talking about a program I would watch one episode, but not- let's say, more professionally, to know what it is about, but not for some sort of FOMO. You have to be professionally informed, so that's why I do it sometimes. But for example for Games of Thrones or Harry Potter I did not watch an episode, so I don't think I am very sensible to that kind of peer pressure.
Interviewer: Okay, cool. Do you think television is a collective or individual experience?
Simon: For me it is more collective.
Interviewer: Why?
Simon: Uhm… [stops to think about it for a while] because it is something that you do together, but it is also a trap, because people might think that they're doing something together when they watch a lot of tv together, but in fact it might also be a way to not talk with one another. I am becoming too philosophic, maybe? [laughs]
Interviewer: No, not at all! [laughs]
Simon: For me, the choice has to be made consciously: if you choose a moment to watch television together, then you are sharing an experience and it is something you are really experiencing together; if it's just to feel the silence or an habit and every moment you have together you switch on the tv, then I think it is an escape from being together.
Interviewer: Perfect. Do you think television is progressive or conservative?
Simon: It can be both. Because you can innovate through television and television
programs, you can show new evolutions… Through fiction or documentaries you can show new insights, ways to communicate, visions on social topics… So television can be
innovative, but I think that very often choices are made in function of what people are expected to want to see. So, I think that a lot of choices are made conservatively to make sure to maintain the same amount of viewers and to not show anything that is out of the box or that goes too far. Do you get what I mean?
Interviewer: Yes. But when you say “innovating”, you mean innovating what?
Simon: Innovating people’s mentality, the way they look at life and at some themes. For example, a program can show how gay people, or lgbtq+ people are people as everybody else, so you can make programs that put everyone on the same level. But in some cases, the series makers make choices that don't go too far, they don’t want to shock their
viewers.
Interviewer: Okay. Do you think tv programs can have a concrete impact on the real world?
Simon: They can. I think that one program cannot change the word, but can have some impact because it can show examples of, for example, how vulnerable people are very strong in certain ways. You can make a program where vulnerability is not a weakness but a strength, so you can influence people socially; but of course you need a lot of programs to change the world, to “indoctrinate” people… you could do it in a good way, but also in a bad one.
Interviewer: Has it ever happened to you as a spectator to be influenced? For example, to notice that you were acting in a certain way because of something you had seen on tv, that you were thinking of something or in a certain way…?
Simon: I cannot think of concrete examples, but I think that it might help you having a larger view on things, or a new view. If you have a certain opinion about something, after watching a program you might think “Oh, maybe it is more complicated than I thought”. It is a stupid example, but you might have a certain idea about a person, and if you watch a documentary about that person you might still be right, but you will realise that a person has a lot of shades and feel much more sympathy towards them than you did before.
Interviewer: Are there periods during which you watch more television?
Simon: I watch it more in winter than in summer. More in periods when I am working
“normally”, so not more than my usual 40 hours a week. So it depends on how much free time I have. I have never been a very addicted television viewer… but in the last nine months I have watched even less than what I normally do.
Interviewer: Because you were busy?
Simon: Yes. I do not recall a period when I was watching it very often. Maybe during the football European Championships.
Interviewer: Okay. Do you consider the tv programs you watch to be high or low quality?
And why?
Simon: High. [laughs]
Interviewer: Why do you define them “high quality”?
Simon: Good question. [Takes some time to think] Because they are well-made and story is well-told…
Interviewer: So it has to do with the production, right?
Simon: I think so, and with the way it is made on every level: the content, the storytelling, the production value, …
Interviewer: Maybe image quality, as well?
Simon: Yess but there are some good quality programs where they don't use the best cameras, or where image quality can contribute but is not a conditio sine qua non.
Interviewer: Okay and, since you mentioned it, is The Voice high or low quality?
Simon: Uhm, for me it’s medium… I think it is a very good concept, but I don't find it high quality because you can tell the story in a shorter way, whereas the program takes hours;
but I feel that it does just to generate advertisement income and not to make the best story possible. It is a commercial format, and it is a very good idea and a very good format, but you can tell the story in a better way than how it is told.
Interviewer: And do you think that the television offering right now, in this moment of time, is mostly qualitatively valid?
Simon: I think that worldwide, in general most television programs are not very high
standards, or very high quality. I have to say that Flemish television has been an exception up until now, not that there are only good programs, but for such a little part of the world and only 6 million people there are a lot of good television programs. But that could change in the future because of political decisions that they have been making since last year. Of course you can find good programs everywhere, since we are living in a
interconnected world, but they are getting more and more commercial and the stress on good content and good storytelling is lowering.
Interviewer: Do you think it is a top-down or bottom-up media?
Simon: [Laughs] It is top-down, of course, but I think that interesting programs are those that can also be bottom-up. So, that is what I partially mean by human interest programs, where you can show common people’s very personal stories and their vulnerabilities.
Interviewer: How does this make a program bottom-up?
Simon: Uhm… because you start on a small scale, you start with the person’s personal story and you make it bigger by showing how that person’s personal story is actually universal; that can be shown on national level and so can influence decision makers [by unveiling a social problem].
Interviewer: Okay, so the program is still planned and produced top-down, but then it works bottom-up.
Simon: Yes.
Interviewer: Last question and then you are free [laughs]: what is the last “big event” you watched on television and do you think television portrayed/explained it well?
Simon: I have two of them: the Covid crisis and the war in Ukraine. They are [largely]
explained, but a lot of the information you get is always seen from a single viewpoint.
People in Russia are convinced that there is not even a war and that what is happening in Ukraine is good, while we are 100% sure that it is a war and it is not good. So it is always difficult to be 100% sure about the information you get. It is very complicated to form an opinion about the vision that is proposed by television- or whatever media. So it is always a good characteristics for a program, whether it is fiction or documentary, to show different nuances; but television is not the media of nuances, it has to be quick and short, so it is far easier to say “this is black and this is white”, rather than to show all the nuances of grey.