Platformization and Counter-Hegemonic Strategies: The Experience of Francophone Young Adults with VOD Platforms

The platformization of the audiovisual industry has facilitated the transnational circulation of serial fiction produced outside the USA. However, the global dominance of American platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, with their extensive catalogs and high production budgets, has marginalized local platforms. Additionally, the recommendation algorithms of these platforms tend to favor popular American and British series, exacerbating the issue of discoverability for French-language content. In response to this trend, counter-hegemonic strategies are emerging to promote alternative content. Given that television series play a key role in constructing, mediating, and defining social identities, I propose to present the results of my study on how young adults (18-22 years old) living in Montreal, whose first language is French, experience French-language VOD platforms (e.g., TV5MONDEplus, ICI TOU.TV, Club Illico, etc.). Based on audience ethnography, this study revealed that watching French-language series is often a continuation of family tradition and, in most cases, a conscious choice by the young adults surveyed, who wish to support the Quebec serial industry and frequently resist the "Americanization" of cultural industries. However, several factors appear to hinder the consumption of serial fiction on French-language platforms, including the socializing potential of major platforms like Netflix—whose audiences are larger than those of local platforms—and the limited features offered by local platforms compared to international ones.