Television documentaries as spearheads in public service television: Comparing scheduling practices on the linear channels and video-on-demand services of Danish TV 2 and DR

Abstract

Abstract This article presents findings from a study of how the public service television (PSTV) companies DR and TV 2 in Denmark are changing their scheduling practices to address the competition from transnational streaming services. We focus on a comparative analysis of how television documentaries are scheduled and argue that the documentary genre is part of an editorial prioritisation of productions with high degrees of linguistic and national proximity targeting a mainstream audience. Furthermore, we argue that new scheduling practices support a merger of linear and non-linear modes of watching television indicative of a transformation in which the video-on-demand (VoD) services are the new entry points to PSTV. This transformation might be a vital part of how Nordic PSTV companies adapt to the changes in the television industry and to new viewing habits.