Dataset supporting AHRC Project "Screen Encounters with Britain. What do young Europeans make of Britain and its digital screen culture?

Summary</b></p><p dir="ltr">Screen encounters across borders are transforming. Transnational video-on-demand services like Netflix have fundamentally changed viewing habits, but we know relatively little about how younger audiences engage with these services.</p><p dir="ltr"><i>Screen Encounters with Britain</i> addresses this gap by examining how video-on-demand (VoD) platforms like Netflix are reshaping viewing through the circulation, reception and consumption of British films and TV titles in Europe.</p><p dir="ltr">Focusing on 16–34-year-olds in <b>Denmark, Germany</b>, <b>the Netherlands</b> and <b>Italy,</b> this project examines <b>1)</b> how young audiences define, access, value and experience British productions, <b>2)</b> what motivates their choices and <b>3)</b> the values they attach to British content.</p><p dir="ltr">The project addressed six interrelated questions concerning: <b>1)</b> changing viewing practices; <b>2</b>) how UK content is discovered and accessed across platforms; <b>3)</b> motivations for engaging with British screen content; <b>4)</b> perceptions of “Britishness” (including locations, accents, diversity and creativity); <b>5)</b> the influence of screen content on perceptions of the UK; and <b>6)</b> how such encounters affect attitudes and behaviours towards Britain.</p><p dir="ltr">A mixed‑methods research design combined market analysis with quantitative and qualitative research on intermediaries and audiences.</p><p dir="ltr">Market‑level analysis (<b>Work Package 1</b>) included assessment of local industry reports, mapping of VoD catalogues to establish the availability of UK content, and analysis of how British programmes are marketed and promoted on the landing pages of three major VoD services.

The database provides access to four Excel files (one per country) for Denmark, Germany, the Netherland and Italy incorporating analysis of the presence of UK screen content on selected VoD platforms and landing pages. </p><p dir="ltr">The role of cultural intermediaries (<b>Work Package 2</b>) was examined through interviews with nine UK sales executives; five online roundtables with UK and European partners (20+ participants each); and 47 interviews with buyers, teachers, festival organisers and influencers across the four markets (9–15 per country).

Transcripts are not yet included due to anonymisation requirements.</p><p dir="ltr">Extensive audience research was conducted with young people aged 16–34 <b>(Work Package 3)</b>. This comprised an online survey in four local languages (n = 1,813, 409-555 per market), five‑day digital diaries (n = 102, 20-28 per market), in‑depth online interviews (n = 48, 12 per market), and small‑group interviews with 16–19‑year‑olds (n = 38, 8-10 per market).

The database includes data from four online surveys carried out in Denmark (2022); Germany (2023); the Netherlands (2023) and Italy (2024). Transcripts from audience interviews are not yet included due to anonymisation requirements. </p><p dir="ltr">Findings challenge established theories about the ‘home advantage’ of domestic media and ‘cultural proximity’ with neighbouring countries. Instead, evidence points towards a re-assertion of Anglo-American dominance, driven by large US-owned platforms and based on the continuing global role of English as the language of advantage.</p>