Click It, Binge It, Get Hooked: Netflix and the Growing U.S. Audience for Foreign Content

Abstract

Analysis of survey results from U.S. residents (N = 288) watching foreign content on Netflix found that respondents watch foreign content more than they did before starting to access it through the platform and hold favorable attitudes toward foreign countries and subtitles. The data also support a theorized synergistic relationship between viewing frequency and use of the recommendation system for foreign content discovery. Results are discussed in terms of accessibility and cultural affinity as video on demand (VOD) platform affordances that may affect global media flows from the reception side. Implications for passive soft power accumulation are also considered.