Challenges and opportunities for audiovisual diversity in the Internet

Abstract

At the gates of the first quarter of the XXI century, nobody doubts the fact that the value chain of the audiovisual industry has suffered important transformations. The digital era presents opportunities for cultural enrichment as well as displays new challenges. After presenting a general portray of the audiovisual industries in the digital era, taking as a point of departure the Spanish case and paying attention to players and logics in tension, this paper will present some notes about the advantages and disadvantages that exist for the diversity of audiovisual production, distribution and consumption online. It is here sustained that the diversity of the audiovisual sector online is not guaranteed because the formula that has made some players successful and powerful is based on walled-garden models to monetize contents (which, besides, add restrictions to their reproduction and circulation by and among consumers). The final objective is to present some ideas about the elements that prevent the strengthening of the diversity of the audiovisual industry in the digital scenario. Barriers to overcome are classified as technological, financial, social, legal and political.