Independent Research Fund Denmark: Researching Young Audiences. Serial fiction and cross-media story worlds for children and young people (RYA)

The media use and viewing habits of children and young people have changed dramatically in the past few years. Fictional content and ‘media snacks’ on Netflix and YouTube are now a major part of their media diet while their encounters with national film, TV and online fiction are declining. If national productions and perspectives are still to have an impact among Danish children and young
audiences – as explicitly stated in the film agreement and the public service contract – now is the time to carefully esearch how to best reach this audience and further scholarly theories about digital childhoods and industry notions of conducive production practices. The aim of this research project is to provide detailed knowledge about the national production and audience reception of serial fiction and cross-media storyworlds for older children and teenagers by offering in-depth analysis through three closely linked research work packages focusing on: 1) the
understandings of childhood in a digital media landscape among commissioners and producers of content for children and teenagers; 2) the development and production strategies behind successful public service fictional content for this target group; and 3) the reception of these productions and other content among young audiences and their notions of quality and relevance in this regard.