What are the elements of a hit TV series? Production changes and
its effects on audience reception in the US market of television
shows
Master thesis in Business Studies
Entrepreneurship and Management in the Creative Industries
Alexandra Ana-Maria Ovejanu
10604650
Supervisor: Dr. F.B. Situmeang
30
thJune 2014
2 Abstract
Humankind has always rejected change, searching for a stable environment, however most times these are impossible to avoid. This research paper investigates change in the creative industries, by looking at the relation between the television series and different changes in production elements. The empirical setting of the research encompasses 28 television series observed between 2011 and 2014, in the United States market. Based on branding literature and the concept of “star”, some of the proposals are supported. In this study it is proposed that the audiences rejects change and it decreases along with changes in main or recurring actors, in writers and directors and even to changes in transmission day and time. In this sense, it is found that only some of these negatively affect viewers. Even more, a main actor that leaves the cast helps towards attracting audiences. The same is proved for awards, which has the greatest impact on the popularity of a show. Overall, it is concluded that in their pursuit of innovation and quality, audiences willingly sacrifice stability.
Keywords: television, TV series, change, superstar, star power, sequel, brand extension, awards
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction ... 4
2. Literature review ... 8
2.1. Creative industries as knowledge-based economies ... 10
2.2. New product introduction as driver of change ... 11
2.3. Prospect theory and consumer response to high risk ... 12
2.4. Brand extensions as signaling devices ... 13
2.4.1. Overview of signaling theory ... 14
2.4.2. Brand extensions as signals of quality ... 15
2.4.3. Sequels as brand extensions ... 16
2.5. Reducing uncertainty in the film industry ... 18
2.5.1. Star power and brand actors ... 20
2.5.2. Superstar effect ... 22
2.5.3. Measuring talent and quality ... 25
2.6. The role of the production team in public reception ... 27
2.6.1. Reputation and “greenlighting” projects ... 29
2.7. Network scheduling ... 31
3. Research design and methodology ... 33
3.1. Research setting ... 33
3.2. Data collection and research methodology ... 34
3.3. Variables ... 36
4. Results and hypothesis testing/findings ... 41
4.1. Descriptive statistics and correlations ... 41
4.2. Hypothesis testing & Method ... 45
4.3. Results ... 47
5. Discussion... 49
5.1. Theoretical framework and hypothesis result ... 49
5.2. Limitations, future research, and contributions to the literature ... 54
5.3. Practical implications ... 56
6. Conclusion ... 57
Acknowledgements ... 58
4 1. Introduction
“It is not the strongest who survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most adaptable to change.”
– Charles Darwin
In recent years, the transition to a knowledge based economy has determined an increased interest in the creative industries, from an economic and managerial perspective. Comprising sectors like advertising, fashion, film, music, TV and radio, the resulting goods and services are based on talent and creativity (Howkins, 2002). As high as 6.1% of the world economy, the attention is turning towards these industries that offer great potential for innovation and new product introduction (Buitrago Restrepo & Duque Márquez, 2013).
Television series production is a part of the creative industries that reaches millions of Americans, but not only, and it has been on a growing path in the past few years. However, the academic research in this domain seems to be lacking, which is way the focus of the paper will be on the different factors that make this industry so successful. Most studies have focused on the film industry, mainly due to the increased importance for the economy, especially in the United States. The current research in the film industry has tackled issues such as the connection between consumption patterns and star presence and how sales are influenced (Elberse, 2007; Delmestri, Montanari, & Usai, 2005; De Vany & Walls, 1999), but also how stars and reviews are used as instruments to reduce uncertainty and signal quality (Basuroy, Desai, & Talukdar, 2006; Desai & Basuroy, 2005; Ravid, 1999). While the production process differs for these two creative products, there are many similarities between the artistic components, overall reach to consumers and the value added to the economy.
The film industry can be best described as complex and chaotic, characterized by uncertainty and unexpected turnouts, despite high budgets or a star-filled cast. Similarly,
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television production is highly risky and can only reach limited profits. The step before production is long and only a few dozen series actually reach the screen, with half of them not making it after the pilot or first season. For both films and series, more than 80% of the revenues in the industry come from less than 20% of the films produced (Vogel, 2011). Moreover, these two entertainment industries share an even more important aspect: they involve creative individuals, collaboration and trust, which can determine the success or the flop of product.
The television series industry has had its ups and downs, but currently there is an increasing interest in television shows in addition to an extensive variety, reaching the general public and every niche. In a recent report from Nielsen, more than 90% of Americans watch TV every month. The industry average spending on advertising is of $84 billion, with revenues of over $38 billion for broadcasters (Seth & Morgan, 2014; Thielman, 2014). While the most successful programs in television are football transmissions, television series bring constant revenues to broadcasters (Poggi, 2013). In 2014, The Big Bang Theory was the second most watched program in primetime. Reaching over 19 million viewers and demanding advertisers over $300.000 for a 30 second ad, it brings in more than $6 million in revenues per episode. Similarly, popular shows such as Modern Family, The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad, bring in more than $5 million revenues per episode (Mitchell, 2013; Poggi, 2013; Pomerantz, 2012). Overall the television series market attracts more than half of the advertising money, nonetheless recently the internet has become a veritable competitor. (Seth & Morgan, 2014; Thielman, 2014). Considering this, the industry represents an appropriate environment for research, especially due to a rather low rate of successful new product introduction (Goodman, 2013). Now, more than ever, there is a pursuit for understanding the factors that have an effect on audience response and consequently on viewership, determining ad sales and revenues.
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A “Forbes” article from 2013 offers an accurate overview of the current television industry: advanced technologies, new ways of reaching and interacting with audiences, while television has maintained at all points its popularity and its relevance to households. This represents the main market for television series, but recently online platforms such as Netflix have started developing their own programs and reaching consumers directly. Revenues come from advertising, but nowadays most broadcasters make use of subscriptions and are constantly competing with each other, but also with these new emerging platforms for audience’s limited attention. The high competition, but also the stabilized and fair prices of production, along with the many different ways of sponsoring a program have influenced the production process.
From excessively produced content on the market, targeted to a large audience, now the content is specialized and high revenues can be obtained from a niche audience (Satell, 2013). Still new series are produced every season and audiences are diversifying each day, so the following questions arise: What draws a certain audience to a certain show? Do star actors attract a larger audience, or does a popular director/writer bring a fan base to his new shows? How important is the time and day when a show is transmitted? Can changes in any of these factors impact the audience of the show? By analysing 28 shows, we look for changes made along its run between 2011 and 2014 and whether any of these have had an impact on the number of viewers. We seek to answer these questions by taking into account each episode, each season and the show as a whole.
The literature on the film industry has introduced concepts such as star power (Liu, Liu, & Mazumdar, 2013; Desai & Basuroy, 2005; Elberse & Eliashberg, 2003; Rosen, 1981) and bankable actors (Vogel, 2011; De Vany & Walls, 1999; Ravid, 1999), having the ability to increase the visibility of a film and even rise revenues, but also as risk reducing instruments for consumers and producers likewise. Similarly, reviewers are seen as
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predictors or influencers of the box office success of a film (Eliashberg & Shugan, 1997) and directors/writers with a high reputation can determine whether a film gets the green light (Elberse & Eliashberg, 2003; Litman & Kohl, 1989; Adler, 1985). Overall, the research has been limited to the film industry and not extended to other sectors of the creative industries, such as television production. This paper seeks to explore whether these findings have the same effect for television series, which might differ since they have longer running times, sometimes years and unexpected changes might surge.
Let’s take one of the most recent and talked about cases of changes in distributions: the replacement of Charlie Sheen as the leading actor in Two and a Half Men by Ashton Kutcher, and the disappearance of the character of Charlie Harper. The change took place at the beginning of the ninth season and many would have expected the audience reception to this change to be negative. Contrary to this expectation, the show has managed to maintain and even recover its ratings, moving from the 17th to the 11th most popular shows and attracting over 14 million viewers (Gorman, 2012). This is one of the most relevant examples where one big change in casting and leading actor could have “made or break” the show, and the results were surprising.
The present thesis aims to clarify these converging and contrasting opinions in order to create a clear snapshot of the audience of TV series. Moreover, we analyse the factors that have an influence on it, if there are any others apart from preference. The thesis is structured as follows: a critical review of the existing literature focused on research in the field of film production, followed by the research design and methodology, presenting the steps in data collection and analysis. Next, the results are briefly presented, followed by the discussion of the results in relation with the literature. In the end, the findings of this paper are presented in the conclusion.
8 2. Literature review
As defined in a recent report from IBISWorld, “Television Production in the US: Market Research Report” (2013), television production refers to content produced and sold/licensed to broadcasters or cable networks. Among others, it includes television series which bring in a significant part of the revenues in television production. The industry is reaching a mature stage in its life cycle, but the number of viewers is increasing, along with competition, determining changes in the production of a series. In order to maintain customer loyalty and capture viewers, shows are targeted to certain audience groups and in most cases they involve specialists from different domains. For example, in some crime series, crime experts are hired for know-how skills leading to lower costs of production and more targeted programs. This is essential since the audiences for each particular show are generally low, but audience engagement is growing, leading to a need in maintaining quality and initial artistic factors (IBISWorld, 2013). This is only an example of the different strategies producers adopt in order to differentiate themselves and we must wonder: how are audiences responding to these new strategies and how can their attention be captured?
The literature of the paper is based mostly on observations from the film production industry, since both industries deal with the “nobody knows” principle characterizing the cultural industries (Caves, 2000). While the effect can be more intensely observed when studying films, the similarities between the two could make them applicable for television series as well. The evolving stability of the television production industry over time makes it easier to study, along with the possibility to examine audiences from episode to episode. This
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can give producers the necessary directions towards which a show should go (Caves, 2003), similar to observing the response to films and the making of a sequel (Hennig-Thurau, Houston, & Heitjans, 2009; Sood & Drèze, 2006). But there are also many differences, for instance, in the characteristics of the production teams, which for television are based very much on trust and collaboration, on a higher level than for film production. Still, both products are project-based and teams change from a show to another or from film to film, but in the case of TV series, any changes can have a substantial impact on the success of the show (Delmestri et al., 2005).
Despite an apparent lower uncertainty in determining audience response for television series (Delmestri et al., 2005), that’s only for a short term due to the growing taste range among audiences combined with a great number of new releases. Along with this, there is also a higher than ever competition between traditional and cable networks, including internet newcomers, like Netflix and online video series. This background directly influences the production of new series determining an intense fight for talented directors and writers, but also for leading actors, all which could transform a series into a hit (Sarma, 2013).
In order to gain a deeper overview of the industry, there is a need to understand the mechanisms that directly influence both producers and consumers. The evolution of the market towards a more knowledge-based economy, the changes that this transition involves and how agents actively react to the subsequent uncertainty, all pose questions that are crucial to the actual entertainment market. Moreover, analysing television series from a marketing perspective, in which seasons can be considered similar to brand extensions is very important and it could lead to important insights into the minds of consumers. This will be followed by a more detailed overview of the role of stars in films, along with the importance of the crew for a successful project.
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2.1. Creative industries as knowledge-based economies
Recently, consumers are seeking more and more customized and different products, against the mass-production strategy. This determined a change of focus towards knowledge and the capability to use it towards attracting consumers. Knowledge based resources, like talent, skills and creative factors, carry the highest level of utility since they are harder to imitate by competitors and are most of the time unique to the organization (Miller & Shamsie, 1996).
Becoming one of the most important sources of revenue for multinational companies, knowledge-based resources can attract much higher returns, but not without involving a higher degree of risk and obstacles in managing them successfully. However, these represent a substantial source of competitive advantage for companies, and their importance has been strengthened by recent technological advances (i.e. internet, social media). In the creative industries, creativity and talent are extremely important as knowledge-based resources. These are characterized by high flexibility, comprising project-based organizations or individuals managing their designs. Further on, networks and third parties like reviewers and critics can determine the direction towards which the industry is moving, not only the consumers. There is a continuous transfer of knowledge between members of organizations, networks and even disconnected individuals form different industries, but part of the cultural economy (DeFlillippi, Grabher, & Jones, 2007). These attributes lead to a very flexible and highly adaptable industry, in constant change and evolution, but also to a series of paradoxes that scholars have been trying to understand and explain.
These issues arise for the constant need to reconcile the traditional management of resources and managing creativity plus the constant exchange of knowledge, which is hard to quantify. This transition has determined most companies to change their perspective upon employees from simple workers towards sources of talent and knowledge that must be lead
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properly. Considering this movement towards the knowledge based industry, understanding creative industries has practical application for different industries and managers alike. (DeFlillippi et al., 2007).
2.2. New product introduction as driver of change
The new business environment brings new challenges to all industries and there is a struggle for survival between new entrants, and performance among established actors. Advancing technologies, new emerging markets and more complex consumer demands require companies to adapt and change at a quick pace. A critical ingredient is the introduction of new products/services to the market. (Battilana & Casciaro, 2012).
Companies must maintain a culture of constant change, which develops over a long period of time, alternating between periods of stability and transition. Usually change affects directly the individuals and the company as a whole. In the business environment, many parties with specific interests are involved and each of them must be taken into account. The interactions between stakeholders directly influences the change process hence all desired outcomes must be reconciled and attained (Burke & Litwin, 1992).
The creative industries represent one of the industries affected by these changes dealing with variety-seeking customers, established companies but also many new market entrants. There is a need for isomorphic behaviour, by maintaining some similar attributes to the existing members of the field, in order to gain entrance to the market. This must be followed by a move towards differentiation in order to attain legitimacy among consumers, which can be done through continuous innovation towards increasing visibility (Glynn & Abzug, 2002).
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This is consistent with the finding that, while new product introduction is crucial, there is an important criteria that is a driver of business success and growth: innovation rather than efficiency, especially for the creative industries (Hotho & Champion, 2011). However, these two concepts are strongly connected and determine each other. The capability to create knowledge bridges the gap between the existing resources a company holds and the ability to introduce new products/services on the market and innovate. Through exchanges of information and ides between the members of the organization, new knowledge is created. Research emphasizes the role of ties and their strength, since they heighten the creation of new knowledge (Battilana & Casciaro, 2012). Yet, after a certain threshold strong ties can lead to a negative effect since familiarity and lack of variety leads to repeated and redundant information (Uzzi & Spiro, 2005).
2.3.Prospect theory and consumer response to high risk
The introduction of innovative technologies and new knowledge leads to rapidly evolving industries, characterized by risk and asymmetrical knowledge. This is even more visible in the creative industries where the response to the uncertain demand is compensated by an oversupply of products (Caves, 2003). The unlimited flow of information leads to an increasing need to understand decision-making processes, especially when the risk is high and more notably, unknown. The literature focuses on two models of choice under such risk, utility theory and prospect theory, on which we will turn our attention.
The utility theory sustains that people will choose the most beneficial outcome, with the greatest utility. However, Kahneman & Tversky (1979) propose the alternative of prospect theory stating that people make a difference between the gains and losses of a certain choice, rather than the final result. Prospect theory considers simple and certain rules for making a decision, and the highest value is elected. By value we refer to changes in
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welfare and not the final result of the decision, taking into account the risk aversion of individuals (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979; Tversky & Kahneman, 1992). According to behavioural assumptions of prospect theory, individuals guide themselves around a reference point (norms, industry average) and if this is not attained, they employ a risk seeking behaviour. Therefore, whenever there is a negative change or a sense of failing to reach standards, individuals seek to change by taking risk (Fiegenbaum & Thomas, 1988; Kahneman & Tversky, 1979; Tversky & Kahneman, 1992). Additionally, there is a strong emphasis on the how alternative outcomes are “framed” in the mind of individuals and what is desired when making a choice (M. Levy & Levy, 2002).
Overall, prospect theory implies that losses have a greater impact that gains, so agents take decisions towards minimizing losses. This can be observed in the creative industries where consumers often seek to minimize risks and look for a certain reference point, like reviews or the presence of a star as signals of the quality of products. Prospect theory represent a guiding tool for producers to better understand consumer behaviour and how they can display the added value of their products. As further presented, in line with this behaviour, we observe sequels as brand extensions and means of signaling quality to consumers.
2.4.Brand extensions as signaling devices
The oversupply of products and brands for each product category makes everyday decisions of consumers very difficult, especially in a setting where there is imperfect information for both sides of the market. Under this characteristics, consumers make use of different product elements to determine the quality (Alhabeeb, 2007). Quality cues are especially important for experience goods, since the quality cannot be determined before consumption and buyers need different signals to pursue a certain choice.
14 2.4.1. Overview of signaling theory
Hypothetically, considering only high quality and low quality sellers, the first has an interest in communicating the quality of his products while the latter in misinforming consumers. Consequently, consumers need to differentiate between the two and this is where the signal, the cue of the product quality can unveil the deceiving seller (Boulding & Kirmani, 1993). A wide availability of choices and limited time, money and energy makes it impossible for consumers to make a completely informed choice. This is where different cues that signal the quality of a product intervene.
According to Spence (2002), signalling theory aims to reduce information asymmetry between two parties and it focuses on the intentional actions sellers take to display the imperceptible but positive characteristics of a product. Many studies have been dedicated to understanding different signals and their mechanism, but these are especially abundant in the marketing literature. For example, both warranties (Boulding & Kirmani, 1993) and entrepreneur participation in company financing (H. Levy & Lazarovich-Porat, 1995) send strong signals of product quality.
There are many different situations where costumers depend on visible cues to assess quality. The creative economy deals with the exchange of creative products with uncertain features, leading to choice making under relatively high risk. Since products are very hard to evaluate by customers, the signals sent by producers affect consumer selection (Alhabeeb, 2007). In the existing literature we can look at film sequels as brand extensions and quality signals (Basuroy et al., 2006; Dhar, Sun, & Weinberg, 2012), but also to other production factors, such as actors, directors or budget that might represent in themselves cues for quality (Elliott & Simmons, 2008).
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Consistent with umbrella branding presented by Wernerfelt (1988), sequels act as signals similar to the importance of brands in transmitting information to customers. This is consistent with Basuroy, Desai and Talukdar (2006)’s findings: the same value spent on advertising has a higher positive effect on sequels than on nonsequels, suggesting sequels and advertising expenditure can act as signals of quality of a film.
2.4.2. Brand extensions as signals of quality
As mentioned, sequels as brands represent one source of quality signal from the producers to the customers and this will further be explored in the following section, along with brand extensions.
In a search to counterbalance some of the negative effects of the decision making process, producers try to make the benefits of a product stand out and be visible to the customers. Since consumers usually focus on what they know, on a certain reference point in order to make a choice, producers use previously existing and successful products to meet these needs. Furthermore, they minimize risks for consumers and the risk related to new product reception. In this sense, the brand extension strategy has been widely used and applied to varied sectors of the economy.
According to Keller (2013) a brand extension occurs when a new product is introduces under the name of an existing and established brand. Consumers possess a series of associations with brand products and these are transferred onto the new extensions. Additionally, based on the quality perceived by consumers, high quality positively impacts the extension by transferring this association onto the new product, while inferior quality harms the extension. Moreover, a similarity between the brand and the extension reinforce
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the relationship between the core brand and the extension. This is also the case for brand reputation, which is the brand quality perceived by the customer. (Aaker & Keller, 1990; Hem, De Chernatony, & Iversen, 2003).
Brand extensions are regarded usually as tools of reducing expenses of new product introduction, reducing the risk of failure due to the familiarity and knowledge the brand already possesses. Therefore, brand extension is a strategy used more and more for products that have a symbolic meaning and a strong positioning in the mind of consumers, such as creative products (Aaker & Keller, 1990).
2.4.3. Sequels as brand extensions
The creative industries is one of the main industries where the brand extension strategy had been implemented for different released products. Experiential goods are especially symbolic and contain a high level of uncertainty, which producers try to minimize by making use of different brands. This phenomenon is especially observable in fashion, where conspicuous consumption is very prominent, in music releases, museums, films and so on. The subject is approached by Sood & Drèze (2006) who study the concept of brand expansions related to film sequels, and Hennig-Thurau, Houston, & Heitjans (2009) who focus on measuring the monetary value of a sequel compared to an original new film.
The costs of producing and promoting a new film are increasingly higher every year, so studios try to capitalize on existing brand power by introducing sequels for successful films. Most research (Aaker & Keller, 1990; Keller & Aaker, 1992; Hem et al., 2003) emphasizes similarity between brand and extension as an element of favourable reception for the new product. However Sood & Drèze (2006) find that for experiential products a different extension from the parent brand is preferred. Applied in the film industry, where consumption is experiential and based on intangible attributes, sequels should follow the
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counter model and have a certain degree of dissimilarity to the original film in plot, genre and even name, otherwise there is a risk of satiation amongst consumers. Satiation occurs when, based on previous consumption, after a certain level consumers reach a point of station for the attribute of a product (McAlister, 1982). In the case of film production, a high similarity between the original film and the sequel may determine satiation with the overall brand, so a certain degree of dissimilarity for genre and name of a sequel can prevent this (Sood & Drèze, 2006).
Hennig-Thurau et al. (2009) and Knapp, Hennig-Thurau, & Mathys (2013) further explore brand extensions into new categories, like an adaptation of a book to the big screens. Taking into account factors that determine a successful brand extension (Aaker & Keller, 1990), two effects have been defined: the forward spillover effect, defined as the influence of a parent brand on the new extension product, and the effect that the extension has on a parent brand, labelled as the reciprocal spillover effect (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2009). A strong parent brand can have a strong spillover effect if moderated by a high parent-extension fit (Knapp et al., 2013).
In the creative industries, this is particularly visible in film sequels where research determined that sequels frequently bring in lower revenues than the parent brand (Basuroy & Chatterjee, 2008). Based on this assumption, researchers have focused on explaining and measuring their effect on parent brands, and ultimately determining whether buying and producing a sequel is justified. Hennig-Thurau et al. (2009) study both forward spillover effect and reciprocal spillover effect for the Spider-Man brand. Their findings show that a sequel generates higher revenues than a hypothetically identical film (nonsequel) without any attachments to the brand, confirming the forward spillover effect. Moreover, the presence of the leading star determines a fair return on investment justifying a sequel/buying the rights. In the case of the reciprocal spillover effects, the effect of a sequel on the parent brand DVD
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sales solidifies the hypothesis of a sequel-induced increase in brand awareness. Sequels also have attached less risk when investing in a film, compared to an original one (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2009).
Furthermore, Keller & Aaker (1992) evaluate the introduction of sequential expansions, and the influence a first successful extension has on the next one. In this case, a company that has already successfully introduced a product is seen as credible and capable of expanding its market into new categories, gaining easier acceptance for its future expansions. This effect can clearly be observed in the case of sequels: a successful sequel has a substantial impact on the value of additional sequels (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2009).
2.5. Reducing uncertainty in the film industry
The entertainment industry is in constantly changing, on a path of expansion and incorporation of new technologies, so both producers and consumers try to cover risks by employing different strategies. Further on, these implications will be discussed in connection to the film industry.
There is a high level of uncertainty or “nobody knows” at the production end of the cycle and according to Caves (2000; 2003) it is translated into an uncertainty about the demand for such goods. This is mostly due to the fact that consumers have almost no prior information about the product before consumption. Studio executives face an environment where tastes change constantly and there are no certain formulas for determining audience’s reception, at least not 100%. The trend at the moment is to invest in important, well known stars, be it actors or directors, or expensive special effects in order to attract audiences. This is consistent with the “signalling” hypothesis proposed by Ravid (1999), but it seems that the formula works more towards increasing revenues, but not profits, since both stars and special effects require large sums of money. At the same time, due to the uncertainty the industry
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faces, both ingredients may bring in large audiences, and in case the project flops they are used as a “cover” (Ravid, 1999).
Nonetheless, the public is fascinated with the private lives of celebrities while looking to reduce uncertainty, mainly due to the nature of films and even series, as experience goods (Treme & Craig, 2013). Most products are intended to satisfy intrinsic needs, through consumption, and the satisfaction derived is very hard to measure, being personal and different for each user (Caves, 2000; Caves, 2003). While the supply of products continues to increase, consumers are increasingly interested in being savvier in their choices of products and seek to make informed decisions. In order to reduce the uncertainty about the product characteristics, they look for signalling elements which might offer information in that respect.
Even though there are many input elements that lead to a successful final product, films have a set of common elements that might reduce uncertainty and increase visibility for the products. We can mention the script or adaptations, cast, crew, special effects and even advertising and marketing. Heavily promoted films have the ability to communicate with consumers and transmit a basic set of assumptions, which may or may not be true. Still, these can be valuable instruments used in reducing uncertainty for both consumers and producers, and making a film visible in the market.
The present paper focuses on shedding some light on the effects the presence of stars in cast or crew has on the whole production by analysing the response of the audience to these elements. Moreover, we have discussed about the sequel strategy, which shares some similarities with brand extensions. These can be characterized by a common set of characteristics from one film to another, contrary to the project based teams defining film production. The paper will further analyse weather these constants of production have a positive effect on consumer perception, consistent with Kahneman & Tversky (1979)’s
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prospect theory. Further on, we will focus on weather for creative products consumers usually disregard the components that are shared and focus on those that are different. In this instance, the presence of a star could be considered normal and the options without are disregarded (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979). In order to obtain a wider outlook upon the this issue, different perspectives of the concept of “star” will be discussed, more precisely from a financial point of view, as financial instruments, and a marketing perspective, as brands.
2.5.1. Star power and brand actors
The literature studying films and what makes them successful has over time considered stars and their presence in a certain film more or less influencing. From “bankable” actors to branded ingredients of a film (Desai & Basuroy, 2005; Levin, Levin, & Edward Heath, 1997), stars are an important part of the popular culture and more so, from an economic point of view.
In popular culture the phenomena of stars is a central part of the entertainment industry, however defining the concept poses certain difficulties. Stars have a highly charismatic presence (Powdermaker, 1960) and at a certain point in their career have been awarded/nominated for films or are a part of financially successful projects (Wei, 2006). Once that status has been reached, most of them will at some point be named “stars” and their status can be reinforced with mentions in various popular magazines, like People or Variety (Treme & Craig, 2013; Wallace, Seigerman, & Holbrook, 1993).
From a financial point of view there are the “bankable” actors or directors which draw an audience by simply being present or connected to a project. They bring in large sums of money with little effort or time, consequently giving them a higher bargaining power and the ability to choose their own projects. At the same time, salaries reflect the market value of stars and they are able to capture most of their value (Ravid, 1999). Although some findings
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in the literature do no support the belief of studios that stars bring in higher return-on-investment (Ravid, 1999), they still have a significant direct impact on audiences (Liu et al., 2013).
In a study regarding the joint influences of genre, star power and critics’ reviews, results show that star power has influence upon the box office only when combined with positive reviews. Having a star in the distribution of popular genres (i.e. comedy, drama) has less influence than for other genres and for films with less positive reviews, they do not improve market performance (Desai & Basuroy, 2005). This is reasonable, since most big stars have had both successful and low grossing films, which increases uncertainty about their influence on quality. Interest is risen by the presence of stars, and positive reviews combined with the presence of stars can mitigate these uncertainties for consumers, attesting the quality of the film. Intrinsically, stars should be viewed more like ingredients of a brand, since they play a less important role than speculated in the market performance of a film (Desai & Basuroy, 2005).
According to Keller (2013) a brand is “something that has a certain amount of awareness, reputation, prominence […] in the marketplace”. They can serve as symbolic devices, which consumers can identify with and are consumed primarily for the subjective and hedonistic value it offers. This kind of symbolic consumption is based on the pure enjoyment of the product as such, and not for its functional benefits. The sensory, emotional and imagery benefits result from the basic characteristics of experience products originate from their intangible, abstract and aesthetic features (Holbrook, 1981; Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982).
Levin, Levin, & Edward Heath (1997) have researched weather consumers use “stars” in a similar manner for experience products (films and books) as “brand names” for functional products, since they possess a few common characteristics: public image,
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recognition or a certain reputation based on previous projects. Employing stars has been viewed as a business strategy in order to differentiate products and attract audiences (Levin et al., 1997; Wallace et al., 1993). Similar to Ravid (1999)’s finding, star presence can gain and increase visibility for a film, attracting larger audiences than in the case of a star-less production, but not necessarily higher profits.
Yet, just like brands, stars represents a device that help consumers choose between products, giving out quality signals. Overall, there is a favourable response to star-studded films compared to unknown actors and according to film-goers, top stars are associated with good films and “sex-appeal” (Levin et al., 1997). While a film’s sequels not necessarily depend on the presence of a star, just as brand extension, stars use their reputation and help in determining a spillover effect upon the entire project.
2.5.2. Superstar effect
The Hollywood Film Star System has been influencing the production of films ever since producers discovered the compromise between increased audience for films and higher salaries for popular actors (Powdermaker, 1960). While this does not hold true to the same degree as 50 years ago, it is still visible to a certain degree in Hollywood films.
Due to the increasing interest of producers to cast famous actors/actresses in film in order to benefit from the visibility and image already possessed, there is an unequal distribution of salaries and money between agents. Among the creative communities there is an ordering known as the “A-list/B-list property” (Caves, 2003), according to which A-listed stars develop more opportunities for entering projects and demanding higher salaries. Also, they act as free agents, leading to a salary that captures their rent, the extra revenues from the stars’ talent compared to a normal actor.
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This effect is consistent with Rosen’s (1981) definition of the superstar and it implies that “relatively small numbers of people earn enormous amounts of money and dominate the activities in which they engage” (Rosen, 1981). Encountered in most industries, for the creative industries it is more pronounced since from an oversupply of artists a few performers gain popularity and have a much higher income. The television production industry offers a wide range of possibilities for actors to make themselves known, and one of these is represented by television series. The actors that are part of a cast reach a diverse and widely spread audience and those that have leading roles can be considered superstars in their field.
Rosen (1981) further references to broadcasted athletes or news presenters, and the impact of television on market expansion for artists and performers. There is a direct relationship between the size of an artist’s market and personal reward, which are generally higher for the most talented performers. However, there is imperfect substitution between more and less talented individuals. These two aspects combined leave room for the following effect: the small differences in talent are even more visible when there are great differences in earnings, and this is especially viable at the very top of the ladder (Rosen, 1981).
Adler (1985) goes as far as to say that a great difference in talent between individuals is not needed because luck is the one true determinant of stardom. Stars are those performers everyone is familiar with, which consumers prefer over those with potentially more talent, but less renown. This is viable since they bring value to consumers by reducing uncertainty and giving certain information about products (Adler, 1985).
The superstar effect has been analysed especially in the film production industry by Elberse (2007), who studies weather individual stars in a film have the power to influence or determine the success of a film and De Vany & Walls (1999), who try to determine whether the presence of a star in the distribution reduces the risk films face at the box office. Both
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studies have found a strong correlation between public reception and the presence of a star cast member, but only in combination with other factors of production.
Stars present in the distribution of a film can bring higher quality performances and have an impact on revenues (De Vany & Walls, 1999). Still, after analysing successful films and their correlation with the presence of stars in the cast/crew, on a list of 19 bankable stars (i.e. Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg), their impact on films is very variable and it is dependent on other factors such as budget. In contrast with Adler’s (1985) conclusion of superstars as risk minimizers, De Vany & Walls (1999) find that all stars have a certain level of risk and the industry is still very variable and dominated by the “nobody knows” rule (De Vany & Walls, 1999). Moreover, it seems that the general though is that actresses lack the ability to carry a film, which also applies to older actors and there is a direct correlation between the number of appearances on magazine covers and the impact this increased visibility has on box office revenues (Treme & Craig, 2013).
Nevertheless, Albert (1998) sees the actor as a “marker” of successful films and the importance it has on consumer behaviour as a means of reducing risk. While their presence does not guarantee success, these actors represent the only constant that are certain to attract audiences and represent certain mechanisms of determining the choices consumers make regarding films (Albert, 1998; Albert, 1999).
Overall, most of the studies from the film industry attach importance to stars in the distribution of a project, and stress the importance of creating an entire team that fosters collaborations and communication. In this case, a low audience engagement suggests a need for a change in cast members, which might favourably impact the number of viewers. However, a constant and satisfied audience suggests a functioning formula, in which case a change will determine a disruption in the overall process and be perceived as unnecessary. In
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order to better determine how audiences respond to changes in cast members, two hypothesis have been proposed.
Hypothesis 1a. There is a negative correlation between a change in leading actors and
the audience reception of the series (number of viewers).
Hypothesis 1b. There is a negative correlation between a change in recurring actors
and the audience reception of the series (number of viewers).
Looking at viewers per episode, which is similar to the sales of a film, we check if there is any negative impact on audience reception of changing leading and recurring actors. According to the literature on the role of star actors in films, there seems to be a certain correlation between the two variables, the viewers and the presence of a star in a film ((Albert, 1998; Albert, 1999; De Vany & Walls, 1999; Elberse & Eliashberg, 2003). However, they account for a small portion of the overall reception, which highly depends on storyline, budget, special effects and so on. Since most of these require data that is difficult to access, we control for Emmy/Golden Globes presence in order to measure quality signalling. The reasons for choosing these elements are presented in the following subchapter.
2.5.3. Measuring talent and quality
According to the whole concept of superstars presented above, in most instances the differences in talent are insignificant, but then image and a wider market of recognition might actually have a bigger impact on the status of an actor/actress. Similarly, the overall quality of a film could have a lower impact than the recognition given by accepted markers of quality (i.e. awards). Since films are generally defined by an aesthetic or artistic quality, the general consensus is that the evaluation of products should be left to specialists.
It is widely agreed that awards, especially those with global renown, like the Academy Awards or Emmy Awards, represent a recognition from members of the industry
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and are highly regarded. While this holds true in the short run, there seems to be a very low correlation between films that have been received Best Picture Awards and those that are considered the best films, having survived the test of time. Since this could be a sign of quality withstanding the passage of time, there is motive to consider awards as not the best indicators of quality (Ginsburgh, 2003). However, awards represent a quality signal in the short run, and since they are announced most of the time before the release of the film and they frequently influence box office revenues (Ginsburgh & Weyers, 1999).
Considering the difficulty of measuring the quality of a film/series as a whole product, the same applies to individuals that are part of the industry, in measuring talent. The superstar effect defined by Rosen (1981) is visible since high salaries paid to certain performers do not always reflect talent, but mostly a combination of characteristics such as charisma, personality and visibility. Research on the subject has not been broadly approached, but different strategies have been applied to measure talent: the number of times a member of the cast/crew appeared on the cover of popular magazines such as People or Us (Treme & Craig, 2013), whether they have been awarded or nominated for an Academy Award (Ravid, 1999) or their presence on lists of most powerful people in Hollywood, such as Premiere (De Vany & Walls, 1999; Liu et al., 2013), Forbes or Time.
There seems to be a gap in measuring talent versus popularity, since it can represent a function of more than one characteristic and appear highly specialized. The most visible and accessible way of determining the presence of talent can be done is by using awards as signals of quality, along with the number of connections one has established in his career (Blair, 2001; De Vany & Walls, 1999; Ravid, 1999). This poses increased value in understanding how films are produced, and how the different production teams could influence the audience response, along with critic reviews. There seems to be a contradiction
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among these two categories of consumers, due to the audience preference for popularity to the disadvantage of quality.
While in the case of films there is a considerable influence from reviews, which are released usually before or very close to the release of a film, for television series there are no such reviews. As such, there is high uncertainty for viewers which producers try to minimize by releasing pilot episodes (Caves, 2003). For television series, reviews are usually released after the airing of an episode and they are important for producers, since they can give an insight in the public reception of the show.
2.6.The role of the production team in public reception
The production of a film or series involves a sequences of complex steps, like deals between agents, production, distribution and the final product. The industry comprises both big studios that have high visibility, renown and recognition, or independent studios and producers affiliated to a certain studio or working independently. Among this agents a script is chosen for production, and the capital need needed to bring it to the screen is put together (Vogel, 2011).
Putting together the right set of professionals, crew and cast are the first steps in locking in a project toward getting it financed and ultimately aired. Litman & Kohl (1989) call this the creative sphere and it comprises the choices and energy depleted into a making of a film regarding the different creative characteristics. The first step in the creative process is to put together the right script, director and the actors that can work and add value to the project. Next, it is crucial to have the best mix between theme and the proper amount of sex, violence and other controversial factors, which have high audience appeal (Litman & Kohl, 1989; Litman, 1983).
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The attachment of a superstar to a film project can influence the making of a film or not, so the overall effect of a superstar in a film distribution remains very hard to determine (Albert, 1998; Albert, 1999). Yet, they are in fact connected at least partially to the film’s initial success. This result is clear in the strategy of production companies, who believe that actors are important in predicting whether a film will be successful or not, besides their appeal to the audiences. There is also strong evidence that star cast members complement each other, by inducing better performances and increasing the overall quality of the film (Elberse, 2007).
More so than the actors, it is believed that directors are the focal part of the film production process, determining all the creative inputs of the project. Even more vital, usually the reputation of the director contributes to bringing in money, getting the project locked in for production and financed (Litman & Kohl, 1989; Litman, 1983). Generally the director remains attached to the project as a whole, while actors may change if any problems arise (Hennig-Thurau, Fuchs, & Houston, 2013). As with actors, we can talk about superstar directors that have in their careers been awarded for previous projects, have been associated with successful productions and have a large social network.
Frequently, directors are behind the scenes while the leading actors take the centre stage, but more often than not directors are central in forming the team and underlining the direction of the film. Here we encounter again the main problem of the industry that is measuring talent, skills and abilities, since there is little knowledge about them. The first step is “getting in” the industry and then through contacts and recommendations there is a possibility of career advancement and attachment to variable projects. As such, the previous experience and work recommends cast and crew members to different directors, as well as work recognition such as awards. Since the work done can be highly specialized, especially
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for the crew member, there are many cases where teams of artist move from one project to another, once a good working balance has been established.
Especially in the films/series production, where usually a large cast and crew works closely together towards having a complete final product, there is a need for cooperation and collaboration between members of the industry, which can be reached through repeated interactions and close relationships. However, many time divergences arise due to different issues, like compensations or directors/writers who commit themselves for too many programs and are unable to deliver (Caves, 2003; Sarma, 2013). These are just a few of the many possible problems that can determine a change throughout the running of a series. In order to account for these possible discontinuities, we have elaborated the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2. There is a negative correlation between a change in director/writer and
audience reception of a television series (number of viewers).
2.6.1. Reputation and “greenlighting” projects
As presented above, there is still uncertain information on weather stars (i.e. actors, directors) have a significant effect on the audience reception of a film or on revenues. There seems to be a strong connection between the level of visibility a project gates based on awards and critic recognition, as these ingredients reduce uncertainty for consumers. The number of awards won or nominations and box office success, as well as the previous performances of other cast members can influence audiences and indeed minimize the risk of the new products on the market (Elberse, 2007; Adler, 1985). Furthermore, the superstar effect, defined by Rosen (1981) has a direct effect on reputation: a highly known actor has a high reputation and consequently a higher chance of getting roles which leads to recognition among consumers.
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An artist with high reputation, be it economic or artistic, has a greater impact on a cast, especially if the cast already has some A-listed actors. This is applicable very well to the new recruited members that join an existing cast or crew. As such there are many aspects that need to be taken into account when forming a team and regarding the level of compensation (Caves, 2003; Elberse, 2007). Overall, the impact the presence of a star in a film is increased by the presence of other stars, their number and their artistic reputations (Elberse, 2007).
Films represent both economic and artistic goods. They are characterized by innovation and authenticity, given legitimacy by relevant selectors and being chosen by consumers. Also, they have an economic component which directly affects the actors and how successful they are, influencing their survival on the market. For directors in a film production, the economic ties are important in attracting talented people for the core production team and influencing the commercial success of the film, at least in the short run. But while having strong relationships can determine a shared culture and purpose between the production team, such strong ties hinder innovation and creativity. As such, the artistic value of the product is negatively affected by strong and stable economic relationships but positively influenced by a strong reputation in the artistic world. For independent films it is even more important to maintain a network of strong economic and weak artistic ties in order to have diversity and innovation from one project to the other (Delmestri et al., 2005; Uzzi & Spiro, 2005).
This pattern of connections is mostly viable for film production where there is a need for less routine and more innovation, but in case of television production, where the audience can be more easily predicted there is less need for task diversity. This leads to the fact that in television there is a great need for communication and shared culture between production team members resulting in a positive effect of strong relationships (Delmestri et al., 2005).
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The importance of a star actor can be observed especially in the audience reception and the popularity of the project, and can go as far as influencing the development and the sponsorship of the film (Albert, 1998, 1999), along with the reputation of actors or directors. This has a direct influence on their present projects but it is a signal for their future career (Elberse, 2007).
Directors want a bankable star in the distribution in order to insure success or they link a big success to a personal attribute and not take into account the role luck might have played. Even if stars can play a role in reducing uncertainty, some of the biggest success at the box office are films without stars, leading the authors to the conclusion that not the stars make a successful film, but the quality of the product. (De Vany & Walls, 1999).
2.7.Network scheduling
Another potential influence can emerge from network scheduling. Adams et al. (1983) found supporting evidence for the hypothesis that scheduling of programs can have an impact on ratings and can lead to the survival or death of a show. One of their most important finding relates to the existence of the so called “death slots”. This happens when one or two competing networks hold so much the available audience that there is no audience left for other programs in the same time slot. While this depends on audience preference and available programs, there is evidence that such “death slots” exist and television series that are programmed at that time have a difficult time obtaining an acceptable rating (Adams, Eastman, Horney, & Popovich, 1983).
Cancellations are most of the time predictable since they are directly influenced by network manipulation and audiences have limited impact on network decisions (Adams et al., 1983). Weather networks realise the full impact their decisions can have on audiences,
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manipulating transmission time has been proved to be both beneficial and harming at times, and from these findings we develop the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3. There is a negative correlation between changes in transmission time,
from prime time to non-prime time, and the number of viewers.
Hypothesis 4. There is a negative correlation between changes in transmission days,
from week days to weekends, and the number of viewers.
Television series are complex cultural products in which the leading stars are identified by the audience with their characters, which in turn gives them bargaining power. Moreover, they can determine the success or the flop of a program and many times series are cancelled due to conflicts between production companies and stars. There is also great importance attached to the original production team, director and writers, which as a group can bring value to the show and can influence public reception to the program. This is mainly due to the high uncertainty that shows are faced with and the oversupply of creative products. Many shows have pilot episodes that are never presented to the public, mainly due to misunderstandings between the different actors involved and the high uncertainty and the “nobody knows” that still characterizes the market (Caves, 2003).
The revised literature focuses on the film industry and some of the important factors which influence audience reception and revenues. We find that star power and the different relationships between the production team members have a role in determining success film success. However, little information is known on the extent of the effects and how producers can make use of them. More importantly, while there is available information regarding films, there is little research done in the television series production. Due to the similarities between these two products of the cultural market, an opportunity to apply these findings to this industry has been raised. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the production of television series and to determine whether the presence of leading stars or directors/writers
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along with network scheduling and changes in transmission have an effect on audience reception, measured in number of viewers. The focus will be on the American market, which is in continuous change and expansion, having an important role in creating careers and stars, along with a high economic impact.
3. Research design and methodology
This section of the paper describes the research setting and the steps in the data collection. Successively, the variables of the analysis are presented and described. These include a dependent variable, the independent and the control variables and their operationalization. In the end, the method of analysis is defined.
3.1.Research setting
The paper focuses on the television industry, most specifically the production of television series in the United States. The industry is still one of the most successful of the creative industries, with revenues of more than $38 billion (IBISWorld, 2014), which has great financial importance. However, there is fierce competition from the online environment which is actively switching viewers to online platforms and away from the television. This suggests a need to better understand consumers and the elements that can make them remain seated throughout the running of an episode. The research in the area is scarce and focused on the film industry, which this paper seeks to expand/enrich by expanding the findings into a new, but similar industry. The trend is moving toward an oversupply of series on the market while audiences are diversifying each day. Consequently, the main research question of the thesis arises: What draws a certain audience to a show? Do star leading actors or popular directors attract a larger audience and how important is the time/day when a show is transmitted? Can changes in any of these factors impact negatively the audience of the show?
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As people-intensive creative products, behind every successful series there is a team of cast and crew members, from which the writer, director and main/recurring cast are the most visible. This determined the selection of these four team members as main factors chosen for this analysis, since they can influence directly the consumer. They are responsible for the concept of a show, as well as the portraying of the story. The main purpose is to analyse the response of the audience to changes that can only be seen in the final product presented on the screen. Similar to the research done by Hennig-Thurau et al. (2009), where the box office results were measured for films in two cases, with and without the main star, television shows can have changes in the cast that can be measured similarly. The director/s and writer/s form a main team, but they tend to interchange between themselves from episode to episode, or collaborate with each in different combinations. As for the cast, in most series there is a main cast that is featured on the opening credits and get more time in an episode, along with a recurring cast. The latter does not always have a mention on the opening credits as well as less screen time per episode. In order to account for the overall cast of a program, both changes in main cast and recurring cast have been accounted for (i.e. entering and leaving). However, many times recurring actors are promoted to main actors and vice-versa, so this was not considered as a change in the overall cast. Still, these transitions were also implemented in the overall model in order to gain a more complete picture of the true value of new cast members.
The present thesis aims to clarify these converging and contrasting opinions in order to create a clear snapshot of the audience of series and the factors that have an influence on it, if any apart from preference.
3.2. Data collection and research methodology
The study involves quantitative data research to collect numerical data and perform data
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them. Accordingly, the study will be an explanatory one, seeking to explain and provide insight
into what determines viewers to choose a program over another, explaining the causal
relationships between variables. The research uses panel data analysis in order to study data
across time, episodes and season, and fixed locations, a certain television series.
The data collection was done using social media research and online reviews databases.
The used data comes from several websites specialized in television series, review websites along
with online magazines. As such, the database combines different sources of secondary data giving
validity to the data set (Saunders & Lewis, 2012). We use longitudinal data, taken at fixed
situations in order to analyse the changes from episode to episode and the developments for every
season. This model is appropriate for the research since the questions longitudinal studies address
are related to weather there has been any change over time, in order to obtain a “diary” view
(Saunders, Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2011). Since for each series there is a particular number
of seasons and episodes per season, it would be difficult to apply a different model.
The empirical material for this research consists of television series that have had seasons
running throughout the years 2011-2014 and takes into consideration only series with more than
three running seasons, without getting cancelled. This is consistent with the Vogel (2011)’s
findings that only after three running seasons, a series starts to show real profits. Data was
collected on 28 television series, for each season running between 1st January 2011 and 17th May
2014. These were chosen randomly, taking into account genre and broadcasting networks in order
to have both the most popular and differentiated entities. The data includes information on the
director and writer, leading actors, time slot of transmission, air day, user and critic ratings, any
nominations/awards and lastly number of viewers, for each subject.
The sample data has a hierarchical structure, and it is recorded at every stage. In this case,
episodes are nested within seasons, which are in turn nested within series. Starting with the first
level, the series, we move on to sampling the sub-units from the available ones, the seasons of
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representative view upon the industry and to check for effect of the presentation and production
of a series and the audience reception.
3.3.Variables
Dependent variable
Viewers per episode. The five hypothesis of the study are focused on the audience
and how they react to different changes in television series production. Similarly to brands, viewers react on both a practical and symbolic direction, which usually poses challenges in trying to measure the reception to the product. In order to objectively capture the overall level of involvement of viewers, the dependent variable was chosen as the number of viewers per episode. This captures the commercial aspect of the product, the sales that a series brings to the network, observed in the number of viewers a program retains. This is a generally accepted method of measuring the success of a product. The variables has been designated VIWERS and is represented by discrete data.
Independent variables
Using the concept introduced by Litman and Kohl (1989), the creative sphere of a television series is extremely important, maybe even more so than that of a film, due to the long period of collaboration of members. The front stars, the main and recurring cast, and the behind-the-scenes stars, the writer/s and director/s have a central role in adding value to the overall project through better performances. Any disruption in the process can negatively affect not only the viewers, but also the rest of the cast, which is way there is a need to analyse to what extent new cast members and leaving ones add value and influence the creative sphere, so the following independent variables have been chosen:
Change of actor/actors. From season to season, a series is composed of a stable main
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order to have a higher reliability, three databases were consulted (i.e. imdb.com, tvguide.com, thefutoncritic.com) and after comparing and contrasting the information, the overall cast, main and recurring, was counted and presented for each season of every series, under 6 variables. mainDUMMY measures weather there was any change in main cast, as in a new entrance or leave of at least one member, and similarly for the recurring cast under the variable recurringDUMMY. As the name suggests, these are two dummy variables, with the values 0 for no change and 1 for at least a change in membership. Furthermore, mainLeave, mainEnter, recurringLeave, recurringEnter are variables that count the number of actors entering and leaving the main cast, but also the recurring ones. mainLeave counts all actors that leave the main cast, mainEnter all new actors that enter the main cast, and similarly for the recurring cast. However, the analysis is done from season to season since there is usually a stable ensemble of actors with no major changes from episode to episode.
Change in director/s. The literature has stressed the huge role the director has not
only in making a good film, but also in getting the project started and financed. This has not been yet verified in the television series production, which is way we focus on the impact of a change of director on the audience. Through the dummy variable directorDUMMY it is measured weather the director is changed from an episode to the other. In some cases there is more than one director working in an episode from a stable ensemble for the show as a whole. Still, it is not taken into account weather the director is new or not, just if it changed from the previous episode, alone or as part of a team.
Change in writer/s. Similarly to the construct of change in director, the dummy
variable writerDUMMY verifies weather the script writer for an episode has changed or one of the members of the writers’ team has changed from an episode to the other, as it is the case in most television series. This could again affect the performance of the cast and crew of a
