Global Dynamics of Top-Ranked TV Shows on OTT Platforms: An Empirical Analysis of Economic and Cultural Factors

초록

This study investigates the reconfigured dynamics of international TV show flows in the global OTT era. Our analysis proceeds in two stages: we first conduct a data-driven exploration of 136,800 observations from Netflix’s daily Top 10 lists across 80 countries to empirically identify dominant consumption patterns. This focus on top-ranked titles allows for an analysis of content visibility in the new “attention economy” where content access is abundant. This exploration reveals a global-regional structure, with the U.S. acting as a central global hub alongside distinct regional hubs (UK, Korea, Mexico/Colombia). Building on these observed patterns, we then test a model using established economic (GDP, self-sufficiency) and cultural (language, geographic and cultural distance) factors to explain the mechanisms driving these flows. Results show that while the global hub’s content transcends many of these factors, the success of regional hubs remains highly dependent on linguistic and geographic proximity. The study demonstrates how OTT platforms do not erase traditional economic and cultural drivers but instead reconfigure them, creating a complex media landscape where global standardization and regional preferences dynamically coexist. © 2025 Institute for Media and Communications Management.