The influence of family viewing preferences on television consumption in the era of multichannel services

It is widely argued that the rise of multichannel television services, together with other ‘new media,’ have led to a decline in family television viewing and the emergence of more individualized media culture within the household. This study, however, argues that family viewing can be treated as a variable shaping people's use and evaluations of the medium. More specifically, the survey data analysis focuses on how individuals' perceptions of family television viewing preferences influence their consumption and evaluation of both conventional mass broadcast television and multichannel television services in Hong Kong. The results show that consumption and evaluation of mass broadcast television relate positively to preference for family viewing and negatively to perceived family television preference heterogeneity. Meanwhile, multichannel television service subscription relates positively to perceived family television preference heterogeneity. Yet actual consumption and evaluation of the medium remains positively related to preference for family viewing, thus pointing towards the dual nature of the medium.