Reality TV Engagement: Producer and Audience Relations for Reality Talent Shows

This article focuses on media engagement within the reality television industry. It
draws on qualitative research of production practices and audience participation
in live reality events to explore the multiple meanings of engagement as a series of
relationships between creative and executive producers, broadcasters, performers,
and audiences. A key question concerns how do producers and audiences
cocreate, shape, and limit engagement with reality television? John Corner’s idea
of stages of engagement is used to analyze multiple modes of engagement across
production and reception contexts. The case study of talent show Got to Dance is
used to think through the crafting of engagement within live reality television, and
the ways producers can make or break engagement with their regular audiences,
participants, and loyal fans. The idea of a spectrum of engagement is developed
to capture the multidimensionality of this term and to open up understanding of
the value of engagement within industry and academic research. From an industry
perspective, this research contributes to strategic thinking and creative knowledge
on how to build engagement and trust with diverse audiences and fans for crossmedia
content, while offering critical analysis of how television as an institution is
failing to nurture the “reality relations” so crucial to durable engagement with an
entertainment brand. This article uses research that is part of the project Media
Experiences, funded by the Wallenberg Foundation, Sweden, and in collaboration
with Endemol Shine.