Original Article

Critical Studies in Television:

The International Journal of
Generation Z’s screen Television Studies
2021, Vol. 16(2) 91–109
culture: Understanding ª The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
younger users’ behaviour sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/17496020211005395

in the television journals.sagepub.com/home/cst

streaming age – The case

of post-crisis Greece

Anna Podara
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Maria Matsiola
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Rigas Kotsakis
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Theodora A Maniou
University of Cyprus, Cyprus

George Kalliris
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract
Post-crisis Greece is experiencing dynamic audiovisual market growth, faster than the
EU average. As Greek TV responds to the challenges of the streaming era, new paths are
forged by young viewers/users. This article, based on a survey of nearly 1,000 students,
attempts to characterise the viewing patterns of young audiences, who are early
adopters and heavy consumers of streaming television. We argue that whereas young
Greek media users favour streaming platforms, they value the social character of

Corresponding author:
Anna Podara, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Email: [email protected]
92 Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 16(2)

traditional television, which plays a prominent role in post-crisis Greece. Young media
users’ screen behaviour can be described as mobility-centred and algorithmically naı̈ve.

Keywords
Generation Z, Greece, television, streaming platforms, recommendation systems

Introduction
In 2010, former Time Warner CEO, Jeff Bewkes, remarked on the expansion of Netflix
and other video-on-demand services: ‘It’s a little bit like, is the Albanian army going to
take over the world? I don’t think so’ (Arango, 2010). Looking back now, this statement
could be characterised as the ‘tragic irony’ in a Greek tragedy. Since then, the TV
industry has changed dramatically in ways we could not possibly have imagined.
Based on a generational perspective and audience evolution theories, the present
article aims to facilitate a better understanding of the screen culture of young media
users, who are early adopters and heavy consumers of audiovisual content in the tele-
vision streaming age. For Generation Z (Gen Z), streaming is not a new way of watching
television, despite its differences to the traditional model, but rather a new generation’s
concept of what television viewing is (Tremor Video and Hulu, 2017).
A survey of nearly 1,000 people between 18 and 25 years old was conducted to
explore the viewing patterns of Gen Z in Greece, regarding traditional, satellite and
streaming television platforms (see RQ1 below) and how the suggestions of recom-
mendation systems affect their viewing choices (see RQ2). Since there are no cable TV
options in Greece, our research deals with free-to-air traditional TV and also
subscription-based TV platforms. As ‘traditional TV’ we refer to broadcast TV channels,
while under the term ‘TV platforms’ we include both local satellite platforms and
streaming television platforms (local internet protocol television providers or IPTVs and
global over-the-top television providers or OTTs). Unfortunately, at the time of con-
ducting the research, Greek OTT services had yet to be launched.
Media consumption differs from the consumption of other services because media
content can be seen as a symbolic system (Grindstaff, 2015). We draw from the
approaches of Jenkins (2006) and Livingstone (2015) to account for the modern diverse
and fragmented audience and their media usage. In this study, we employ the term
‘media user’, an individualistic term, as opposed to the collective term ‘audience’
(Livingstone, 2015). A media user can be characterised by varying degrees of inter-
pretative, selective and productive engagement with a range of media devices, content
and contexts (Picone, 2017).
The article examines the user patterns of Gen Z, particularly in relation to streaming
platforms and their algorithmic recommendation systems. In order to contextualise the
specific experiences of Greek users, the evolution of television in the streaming age
along with the emergence and the significance of the recommendation systems is dis-
cussed in the next section followed by the description of Gen Z’s screen culture. Prior to
the analysis of the original research, the Greek television landscape is presented focusing
Podara et al. 93

on the last decade and the relationship of young Greeks with the medium which can
explain some of the specifics of Greek Gen Z’s media use which will be analysed in the
final section.

Evolution of television in the streaming age

Our contemporary era of digitisation and convergence that followed the broadcast TV
and the cable and commercial eras can be theorised as streaming age. What we call in
this work the ‘streaming age’ is marked by trends of changing distribution and adver-
tising models and growing numbers of channels, platforms and audiences, which are
increasingly fragmented and autonomous (see Napoli, 2012).
Broadcast television delivered freely over the air (OTA) keeps the sense of ‘liveness’,
with live shows, sports games and news, operating as ‘ordinary TV’ (Bonner, 2003). This
landscape includes satellite and cable viewing options and, more recently, streaming
(content delivered over the internet). The convergence of internet and television has
given rise to IPTV and OTTs.
Aiming at exploring technology-driven needs and the social outcomes of media use in
the streaming age, we focus on how people engage with affordances of convergent media
such as activity, personalisation, choice and control (Tefertiller and Sheehan, 2019).
Thus, recommendation systems are another important focus of our research.
Recommendation systems are data-mining software tools which recommend suitable
items to a user or group of users (Alam et al., 2019). They are based on the principle that
users’ previous preferences/activities are recorded and updated regularly, revealing the
most relevant items from the broad content spectrum of the provider, giving a more
personalised experience (Roy et al., 2018).
Television streaming services rely heavily on recommendation systems, allowing the
experience they offer to be better customised towards personalised viewing. One of the
main factors of Netflix’s success is that they continually improve their content value
using data generated from tracking consumer preferences and behaviours. In other
words, they enhance Netflix’s worth as a product: as there are now vast repositories of
audiovisual material, it is impossible for users to search entire databases to find content
that would please them. Therefore, recommendation systems may bring forward selec-
tive material considering previous choices of the user. In this way, the content itself gains
value too, since it is not obscured anymore. It is thus little surprising that the company
characterises recommendation systems as a key pillar of their product (Gomez-Uribe and
Hunt, 2015).
In the streaming age of internet-distributed television (Lotz, 2017), where audiences
exert increasing control over the parameters of their viewing, it makes sense that
streaming technology, given the capabilities of recommendation systems, should address
the concerns of programme selection and attention (Podara et al. 2021; Tefertiller and
Sheehan, 2019). Gen Z have a particularly high requirement for filtering relevant content
to alleviate information overload (Benselin and Ragsdell, 2016). However, an issue
introduced by the employment of these systems is whether a computational procedure,
utilising algorithms to sort and classify the habits and preferences of media users, can
94 Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 16(2)

make ‘optimal’ predictions/decisions regarding cultural products (for example, movies),

thus creating an ‘algorithmic culture’ (Hallinan and Striphas, 2016).

The screen culture of Generation Z

Generation Z refers to people who were born after 1995 and cannot remember the
intersection between the analogue and digital world. As Tapscott (2008) argues, it is not
age per se but one’s generation that affects media motivations and use. Gen Z is the first
generation to have grown up with on-demand television content availability for most of
their lives (Tremor Video and Hulu, 2017). For them, the perception of television
viewing is no longer an exclusively domestic experience. They do not return home and
turn the TV on; they have easier access to media content; and they are constantly ‘on’
(Podara et al., 2020). They are also accustomed to being in control of their own media
environment and furthermore they use different affordances of each medium according
to their needs (Siapera et al., 2019). Unlike previous generations, they do not habitually
watch traditional TV in a way that Rubin (1984) would define as ritual viewing and
Moseley et al. (2014) as a routine watching. Thus, they readily embraced streaming.
In the era of big data, Gen Z is exposed to a vast amount of streaming content, which
may create stress and lessen their enjoyment of media use (Benselin and Ragsdell, 2016).
Therefore, they are selective, taking in information instantaneously but losing interest
just as fast (Veglis and Maniou, 2018). Additionally, they are ‘mobility centrics’,
prioritising the usage of mobile small screens (that is smartphones, tablets) for television
viewing (Ericsson Consumer Lab, 2017; Tremor Video and Hulu, 2017).

The case study of Greece

The evolution of television is as much a global history as it as a local one, reflecting
particularities related to the structures of the society within which it operates (Maniou,
2017). Greece was selected as a case study since it is a small European TV market facing
several specific challenges in its screen culture. Following a rather turbulent period after
the recession of 2008, the country has in recent years experienced a dynamic growth in
the audiovisual market – one of the fastest growth rates in Europe (Council of Europe
European Audiovisual Observatory, 2019). It is also interesting that Greeks present, by
far, the highest number of hours spent consuming television in Europe, dedicating 3.04
hours a day on screen-related activities (watching traditional TV or other media, playing
computer games etc.). This is nearly an hour more than the EU average (mean 2.37;
Eurostat, 2018).
Greeks have never been cord-cutters since they do not have a cable TV tradition like
many other Western countries whereas subscription-based platforms offering streaming
and on-demand audiovisual content just recently entered the market as major players in
the country’s television landscape. As well as free-to-air broadcast TV, there are satellite
and IPTV options. The first subscription-based satellite channel appeared in 1994
(NOVA, formerly known as FILMNET), but saw only slow growth. It was only 15 years
later, in 2009, that a second satellite channel was launched, owned by the Greek
Podara et al. 95

telecommunication operator COSMOTE. Also, two IPTVs emerged in 2018: Vodafone

TV and Wind Vision. In the early 2020s, all four providers launched OTT platforms,
aimed at younger audiences. Another protagonist in the Greek TV landscape is Netflix,
which entered Greece in 2016, meeting ever-growing acceptance and popularity, while
Amazon Prime Video and Apple TVþ platforms are also present. In the recently
re-regulated free-to-air broadcast industry in Greece, the pay-television landscape
remains unregulated which is not uncommon in small television industries (Wayne,
2018). In 2016, due to the recession, high taxes were imposed on the local subscription-
based TV platforms, including a luxury tax on consumers. This has increased the cost of
subscriptions, keeping subscriber growth rates almost frozen since then, hovering around
one million customers (Mandravelis, 2019). Taxes are not applied to global distribution
services, like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
The economic crisis after 2008 brought major shifts in the Greek broadcasting
industry, not only due to financial challenges but also to disputes over media credibility
(Bantimaroudis and Maniou, 2020; Pleios, 2013) and distrust in journalism
(Kalogeropoulos, 2017). Amid accusations of overstuffed bureaucracy and corrup-
tion, the public broadcaster ERT was abruptly shut down in 2013, only to reopen in
a re-structured form a few months later (Iosifidis and Katsirea, 2014). In the private
sector, there were two milestones of the austerity crisis: a) the bankruptcy of two out
of eight nation-wide private broadcasters (ALTER in 2012 and MEGA in 2018) and
b) the re-regulation of private television broadcasting in 2016, when the Greek
government launched an auction of broadcast licenses to replace the seven television
stations that had been operating with non-permanent licenses since deregulation
(1989). Among the characteristics of recession-period television was the notable
reduction of drama content on Greek TV (Nielsen, 2019) and the rise of traditional
broadcast viewing, which in 2018, for viewers aged between 18 and 54, increased by
11 minutes a day in comparison to 2002 (Vamvakas, 2018). In the contemporary
media environment, the distrust in legacy media remains while there are also low
levels of trust in journalism. Greeks prefer to get informed from online platforms,
with 32% of Greeks using YouTube for news content (Kalogeropoulos, 2017).
The cohort of Greek Gen Zers has grown up in an era of financial instability and social
violence (for example, terrorist attacks), with corruption and media distrust high on the
average family’s discussion agenda. Therefore, Gen Z’s ‘fresh contact’ (Mannheim,
1928/1952) with traditional television during these recession years can explain their
distrust of the medium (Podara et al., 2019b): Mannheim argues that the relationship
between generation and media usage is shaped by the generation’s original contact. Their
relationship with TV was a ‘love-hate affair’. Having limited screen options, they have
been raised with television as their main entertainment option.
Not surprisingly, in the streaming age of proliferating television content, streaming
platforms have taken a prominent role in the daily lives of young audiences. Nielsen
indicates in the 2017–2018 TV Yearbook that Gen Z and Millennials in Greece do not
give preference to traditional television. Those aged 18 to 34 watch between 1 hour 51
min a day (men) and 2 hours 51 min (women). These are low scores compared to the
average Greek viewer that watches, surprisingly, about 4 and a half hours of television
96 Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 16(2)

per day. According to Nielsen’s data of the same year (2017–2018), viewers of tradi-
tional Greek TV are mostly women 55þ (429m/day), women 18þ (405m/d) with low
education and men 55þ (359m/day). The traditional TV audience in Greece can
therefore be described to be an aging audience.
What does this mean for the industry? Gen Z, who are now entering the workforce,
comprise 20% of the total population, which will be a significant portion of the market
both in terms of consumer purchasing power and as workers in the years to come. As the
audiovisual industry tries to find new ways to respond to the challenges of an evolving
media landscape, it is timely to address questions about what and for whom we should
broadcast digitally.

Methodology
This study aims to assess viewing preferences, contributing to an ongoing academic
discussion on the determinant factors and characteristic features of generational media
habits. We explore the viewing habits of Gen Z, identifying trends in their media usage
regarding streaming television and how recommendation systems are perceived and
operated. The research seeks to answer the following research questions:

 RQ1: What are the viewing patterns of Generation Z in Greece, regarding tradi-
tional, satellite and streaming television platforms?
 RQ2: How do recommendation systems affect their viewing patterns?

The study does not consider the use of user-generated content (that is IGTV), focusing
on curated audiovisual content delivered in Greece freely and under subscription and
the RQ2 refers to global OTT platforms available in Greece at the time of the research
(Netflix & Amazon Prime).
The research was conducted among 18–25-year-old students at Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki in May 2019. An online questionnaire was delivered via email through the
official mailing lists of the University to all enrolled students regardless of their
demographics, having received the ethical clearance of the institution. Prior to the main
research, a pilot survey among 25 students at the Laboratory of Media Informatics in the
School of Journalism and Media was administered to ascertain the effectiveness of the
questionnaire.
The web platform of the survey was open to replies for 10 days, and in that period, it
was completed by 944 students, 67.7% women, 32.3% men. However, media con-
sumption in relation to gender was not analysed, as preliminary data from the authors’
qualitative studies indicate that there is no significant gender difference in the use of
OTT among this generation. Subsequently, the completeness, consistency and plausi-
bility of the responses were checked, resulting in the final number of 934 usable answers
which were then coded and transferred to a specially formulated sociological matrix of
SPSS (version 25.0).
Podara et al. 97

Table 1. Statistical distribution of the demographic variables.

Factors Answers Frequency Percentage

Academic discipline Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Environment 68 7.3%

(Faculties) Health Sciences 73 7.8%
Sciences 199 21.3%
Fine Arts 61 6.5%
Law and Economic and Political Sciences 140 15.0%
Education, Theology and Physical Education and 93 10.0%
Sport Sciences
Engineering 162 17.3%
Philosophy 138 14.8%
Residence Parent’s home 367 39.3%
Student’s own apartment 351 37.6%
Shared apartment 178 19.1%
Halls of residence 33 3.5%
Guest in someone else’s apartment 5 0.5%
Population of place of Up to 10,000 inhabitants 148 15.8%
origins 10,000–50,000 153 16.4%
50,000–100,000 134 14.3%
100,000–1,000,000 185 19.8%
More than 1,000,000 314 33.6%

Research sample
The sample represents *2% of the total number of enrolled students in Greece and
consists of a near-proportionate group of students from all academic disciplines. Such a
wide range avoids potential biases resulting from an over-representation of any par-
ticular field of study. Furthermore, the students’ places of origin also broadly represent
the country’s wider population, since, in terms of student enrolment, Aristotle Uni-
versity is the largest institution of higher education in Greece (Table 1). Participants
originate from a wide range of places, from small villages to large cities, resulting in a
geographically varied sample of Gen Z in Greek higher education. In Greece, the
majority of youth graduating high school choses to continue their studies in uni-
versities or colleges. According to Greek official statistics (Hellenic Statistical
Authority, 2018) almost 80%, out of the approximately 100,000 high school graduates
per year, are enrolled on university programmes. Of course, there is a drop out per-
centage after the first year of studies, which results in more than half of the youth in the
age group of 18–23 to be considered part of the student population. Besides that,
significantly different results are not expected in the case of inclusion of non-students
in the research since Gen Z, in general, are acquainted with technology use and are also
heavily consuming media. Previous qualitative research of the authors has indicated
that no significant difference could be expected in the media use of non-students,
relevant to their educational level (Podara and Kalliris, 2021).
98 Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 16(2)

Initially, to test the reliability and the internal consistency of the research on a multi-
item scale, Cronbach’s alpha was carried out on the overall total and groups of
questions, resulting in a ¼ 0.688 (overall) to 0.733 (recommendations’ group) and
0.777 (statements’ group).
Regarding the main part of the research, the variables involved frequency of use of the
platforms in general and then of specific content categories (for example, films, sports,
series, etc.). The survey also asked about devices used (for example, TV sets with
decoders, tablets, smartphones, etc.), personal navigation (for example, username and
password use) and features of the platforms that are suitable to the viewing habits of Gen
Z, such as viewing content unconstrained by time contexts or programme scheduling,
lack of time and device constraints and commenting and sharing. Finally, the influence
of system recommendations on participants’ choices was examined.

Findings
The initial aim was to map Gen Z’s daily media usage routine to help in later identifi-
cation of patterns of behaviour. The findings were organised in terms of the questions
concerning what and when they are watching, on which screen, why they watch TV
platforms and how they choose the content.

RQ1: What are the viewing patterns of Generation Z in Greece, regarding

traditional, satellite and streaming television platforms?
The data reveals that a significant number of Gen Zers never watch traditional broadcast
TV (28.3%). However, they have not totally moved away from it, with a respectable 16%
stating that they watch broadcast TV every day. As expected, watching YouTube is a
daily habit for 69.6% of them (Figure 1).
44.3% never use web TV platforms of traditional broadcast channels to consume
traditional TV channel’s content on demand. Despite the opportunity for video-on-
demand (VOD) viewing, our participants seem less interested in traditional TV’s con-
tent, regardless of the viewing experience.

Satellite and streaming television preferences

Subscription-based TV platforms are used by 52.6% (N ¼ 491) of the participants (usage
time in Figure 2). This penetration rate in Gen Zers is higher than the rate of the general
population, which is estimated at 44% as of the summer of 2019 (Focus Bari, 2020). As
observed, although Netflix is the most popular platform, only 22.8% use the platform
daily while the other platforms are infrequently used (Figure 2).
A 5-point Likert scale (totally disagree to totally agree) on fixed statements was used
to find out the reasons that would lead a young person to choose a TV platform. The
respondents were asked to state their degree of agreement or disagreement regarding a
variety of characteristics of Gen Z’s audiovisual consumption on subscription-based TV
platforms. The selected factors resulted from a literature review and the authors’
Podara et al. 99

Figure 1. Frequency use of preferred choices for watching video.

Figure 2. Frequency use of subscription-based TV platforms.

previous qualitative studies (Podara et al., 2019b). The data received is analysed in terms
of mean and standard deviation (StD) values.
The television platforms are mainly favoured for the flexibility they allow in viewing
content unconstrained by time contexts or programme scheduling, such as being able to
100 Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 16(2)

Table 2. Devices used to access content on a subscription-based TV platform.

Mean StD

TV set with decoder 2.49 1.515

TV set with game console 1.51 1.009
PC 2.06 1.419
Smart TV 2.40 1.545
Laptop 3.80 1.384
Tablet 1.65 1.152
Smartphone 3.99 1.418
Other 1.21 1.21

continue watching from the point I stopped (mean ¼ 4.51 StD ¼ 0.773) and I can watch
as many episodes as I want (mean ¼ 4.17 StD ¼ 0.952), shifting the users away from
‘appointment viewing’. Also, the viewers highly value the lack of time and device
constraints: I can watch anything I want at the time that I want (mean ¼ 4.33 StD ¼
0.982) and I can watch the content of a subscription-based TV platform on many
different devices (mean ¼ 4.14 StD ¼ 0.897) with ad breaks (mean ¼ 4.16 StD ¼
1.104). On the contrary, they are not really interested in the process of commenting and
sharing (mean ¼ 2.91 StD ¼ 0.991) and having access to other viewers’ comments
(mean ¼ 2.77 StD ¼ 1.079), which corroborates findings in the international literature
(Gomez-Uribe and Hunt, 2015).

Screens used for watching TV platforms

Regarding the devices used to access content on a subscription-based TV platform, the
findings reveal a mobile-centric approach, a typical characteristic of Gen Z viewers
(Ericsson Consumer Lab, 2017; Nielsen, 2019; Podara et al., 2019a). The question
employed a 5-point Likert scale (never to every day). As presented in Table 2, a TV set
with decoder or a smart TV is used 1–3 times per week. The most frequently used screen
is a smartphone with a laptop a close second.

Content consumed via satellite and streaming television

Additionally, participants were asked about their viewing preferences on TV platforms.
As Figure 3 depicts, a significant percentage (34.8%) watch series daily and movies 1–3
times per week (38.9%), whereas the least watched categories are sports and news.
As a second level of investigation, Gen Z’s viewing patterns were extracted through
statistical analysis to identify particular characteristics of their preferences. The Spear-
man correlation analysis was performed, seeking relationships among users’ viewing
patterns. The modes of media usage related to streaming television that we anticipated
are as follows.
Netflix viewers have a different viewing profile to viewers of TV platforms. The
majority of heavy Netflix users, for whom the platform is a substitute for traditional TV,
Podara et al. 101

Figure 3. Viewing preferences on satellite and streaming TV platforms.

following the functional displacement model (Twenge et al., 2019), never watch tradi-
tional TV (cor.coe -179). On the other hand, the other platform users are heavy users of
traditional TV (cor.coe 259 for COSMOTE TV users and cor.coe 234 for NOVA), who
consider pay TV a supplement to traditional TV, reflecting the complementary model
(Twenge et al., 2019) with 59.4% and 61.1% of COSMOTE TV and NOVA users
respectively watching broadcast TV daily.
The above results can be attributed to the different profiles of local and global dis-
tribution TV platforms. Netflix identifies itself as ‘the new internet television’ (Tefer-
tiller and Sheehan, 2019), promoting an experience comparable to traditional TV (with a
recent change to a horizontal cinema template and a dark interface) while also investing
in unique content. On the other hand, local subscription-based TV platforms can be
better described as portals (Lotz, 2017). They combine on-demand content with sports
broadcasting, providing many paid and free channels divided into categories, such as live
national and local sports, films, kids’ programmes, etc. Even other OTTs are offered
through these portals (that is, Wind Vision offers Netflix). Apart from COSMOTE TV,
which has recently started to invest in original programming, the others continue to
invest in live sports broadcasting to gain subscribers.
To participants, Netflix is the preferred option for watching movies (cor.coe 327) and
series (cor.coe 589), while other television platforms are used for watching sports
(COSMOTE TV cor.coe 381 and NOVA cor.coe 232). This pattern can be explained by
the media usage behaviour mentioned earlier: a) Young people prefer to consume
102 Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 16(2)

Figure 4. Perceived helpfulness of TV platform proposals.

entertainment content on the platforms and b) Netflix is by far their top choice. This can
be explained by the difference in the subscription cost. In addition, only 21.5% of TV
platform viewers surveyed pay the expenses of the platform themselves, while in 51.5%
of the cases, the subscription is a family member’s expense. After all, 39.3% of the total
number of students who took part in the research reside in their parents’ home. In other
cases, the cost is shared among other family members (for example brothers and sisters)
as well as with friends.

RQ2: How do recommendation systems affect Gen Z’s viewing patterns?

Besides screen and platform usage, it is necessary to understand how the emerging
cohort of Gen Zers is making choices in the proliferating television environment. A
recommendation system works as a kind of information filtering system that provides
personalised approaches to users facing a huge amount of available choices. In our
research, more than half of the participants who used global streaming platforms were
not aware of what a recommendation system is (51.7% gave a negative reply), although
they do take into consideration the platforms’ proposals and think that sometimes
(54.7%) and often (26%) these proposals are helpful (Figure 4). Furthermore, they
mentioned that their choices are affected sometimes (54.5%) or often (16.3%) by the
suggestions when connected to a global streaming platform.
As data on a five-point scale question (never to always) reveals, respondents are not
very interested in rating content they have watched (mean 2.17 and StD ¼ 1.194). Only
Podara et al. 103

22.2% of those who rate content notice differences in the subsequent platform recom-
mendations. This is not surprising since in many content recommendation tasks, users
rarely provide explicit ratings (in a sense of grading a production with a number of stars)
or direct feedback (as in commenting of adding ‘likes’) when consuming frequently
updated online content (Yi et al., 2014).
The recommendation systems do take into account the user’s content consumption
behaviour; however, it is important that users understand why a video was recommended
to them. They have to be aware that the choices they made were saved, processed and, in
that way, individually recommended material was delivered back to them. The com-
petence to understand, integrate and evaluate this process is related to information
management and, consequently, digital literacy skills. It is significant for users to
understand the usefulness of the recommendation systems, which function in their
favour, since the vast databases of video content would be useless without the search and
retrieval mechanisms. However, it seems that Gen Z tend towards passive behaviour as
far as their streaming television viewing decisions are concerned. They rely on the
algorithmic culture to make decisions for them and decide what appears on their screens
(Lotz, 2014) without having second thoughts about content that may have been obscured.
This new screen culture characteristic (Beer, 2013; Van Dijck, 2013), which has
emerged out of the streaming age, is taken for granted by young audiences, who are used
to having their online experience customised and curated (Seemiller and Grace, 2018)
The data also indicates that Gen Zers trust web platforms, in contrast with the distrust
that they traditionally show legacy media (Podara et al., 2018, 2019b). The participants
were asked whether they use a username and password when connected to subscription-
based TV platforms or other streaming platforms (like YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo) or are
having second thoughts on revealing to the platform their content consumption beha-
viour through implicit feedback. Nearly half of them (52.1%) prefer this procedure
(Figure 5) while 19.6% do not consider providing personal data to be an issue.

Conclusions and discussion

To better conceptualise the media habits of this new generation, the research asked, what
are the viewing patterns of Generation Z in Greece, regarding traditional, satellite and
streaming television (RQ1)? The responses indicate that young media users in Greece
mostly turn their back on traditional television, as almost one third of them mentioned
they never watch broadcast TV. However, a noteworthy 16% watch traditional TV daily,
even though it is not their top preference. One of the main reasons for this is their
proximity to parents, who usually belong to Generation X (called the ‘TV Generation’ or
‘couch potatoes’), for whom television is a daily routine (Strauss and Howe, 1991). This
family viewing activity can also be attributed to the fact that many of them live with their
parents for financial reasons or ‘crowded-nest syndrome’ (Caputo, 2019).
Most young media users are not intrigued by any kind of content of traditional TV,
even when it is offered on demand (for example, web TV platforms). This is probably
related to Gen Z’s preference for entertainment content, such as series and movies,
especially since, as stated, these are their favoured content on subscription-based TV
104 Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 16(2)

Figure 5. Username & password use.

platforms. Traditional Greek television, coming out of a crisis period, has focused on
news content and minimised the production of Greek fiction. Meanwhile, the local
broadcast industry has employed no strategies for content youthification, focusing
instead on older, financially strong consumers. Growing up in a digital environment,
young people are used to turning to web platforms in order to consume audiovisual
content that interests them.
The penetration rate of OTT platforms in Gen Zers is higher than the rate in the
general population of Greece, but still their consumption is not a daily habit. Netflix is by
far their top choice among subscription-based TV platforms. Their favoured screens for
viewing streaming platforms are smartphones and laptops, confirming mobility-centric
viewing and the preference for smaller screens that has also been noticed by interna-
tional peers.
A Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed that Netflix, which is preferred for
movies/series viewing, can be considered as a substitute for traditional TV; most of its
heavy users never watch traditional TV. In contrast, local TV platforms, selected mostly
for sports, are a supplement to traditional TV viewing, meaning their users are also heavy
users of traditional TV.
Another difference that was identified was that Netflix is preferred for movies/series
viewing while COSMOTE and NOVA are used mostly for sports. This can be attributed
Podara et al. 105

to the different profiles of local and global distribution OTTs. Given the localised nature
of the Greek television industry, OTT platforms should be considered more as a sup-
plement than as a substitute/competitor to traditional broadcasters. Since Gen Zers use
different media to fulfil different needs, the pluralised and personalised content of
television platforms can complement the social character and the liveness of traditional
broadcasting. In this way, they can co-exist under the same roof (or platform). Moreover,
Gen Z’s preference for Netflix can be more related to the higher subscription cost of local
TV platforms than to the content. Given the fact that they are both here to stay, more
regulatory decisions are necessary in order to deal with emerging streaming television.
As we move further into the streaming age, with young audiences being exposed to
more and more TV content, it is important to understand how their choice is arrived at
(RQ2: How do recommendation systems affect GenZ’s viewing patterns?). The findings
indicate that only half of the Gen Zers who use global streaming platforms are aware of
what recommendation systems actually are, although the majority use them: 68.8% take
into consideration the platform recommendations and 81.7% of this percentage consider
recommendations helpful. Gen Zers take for granted the algorithmic decisions struc-
turing their television viewing and value personalised content. They trust streaming
television, without having second thoughts about its use, which contrasts with the dis-
trust that they traditionally show broadcast TV. Although they do not typically provide
direct or explicit feedback (like ratings), they consent to supplying personal data,
revealing to the platform their content consumption behaviour through implicit feed-
back. It is typical that the more familiar users get with a technology, the more invisible it
becomes to them (Livingstone, 2002). The recommendation systems are taken for
granted, invisibly supporting viewing practices of young media users. It would be fair to
say that ‘algorithmically naı̈ve’ users consent to the mining of their data by algorithms.
This is indicative of their surface level usage of digital media (Henderson et al., 2017),
since having been born in a digital world does not mean they possess ‘media literacy’ by
default (Matsiola et al., 2019).
As the post-crisis television industry of Greece progresses further into the streaming
era, the new paths posed by the young generation of viewers/users need to be taken into
consideration. While the streaming era is not ‘killing TV’, it brings many new challenges
for the television industry and also issues around citizenship and the role of the state in
media literacy education. As technological structures continue to evolve for every
provider involved in the process, it is the authors’ belief that, at the end of the day, the
content will be the variable that wins over consumers.

Looking ahead
This study identifies certain limitations that could be investigated by future research. The
Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 seems to have affected the television industry and needs
further investigation. For example, in Greece two new TV platforms were created
(CINOBO/private and ERTFLIX/public) with high expectations regarding future audi-
ence penetration. Another limitation that every generational analysis faces is that of
generalities. Apart from the existence of intra-generational differences, there are also
106 Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies 16(2)

variations of factors such as media literacy and the digital divide. With internet access
being a prerequisite for television viewing in the streaming era, a new kind of digital
chasm may be created. Thus, future research could explore how streaming television fits
into the lives of young people who may belong to this generation, however, due to the
digital divide, may not present the same socio-economic affordances.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publica-
tion of this article.

ORCID iD
Anna Podara https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8929-9034
Maria Matsiola https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0697-8531

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Author biographies
Anna Podara is a PhD researcher in the School of Journalism and Mass Media of Aristotle Uni-
versity of Thessaloniki, Greece. She holds a BA in Journalism & MC and an MA in Journalism and
New Media from the same school. In 2013 she received a scholarship for her Master Studies in
New Media and she graduated with honours. Her Master Thesis was the web documentary lamp-
sakos.com which is the first web-documentary in Greece. She works as a broadcast journalist in
Greek Television while teaching at the Greek Vocational Training Institute – School of Journal-
ism. In addition, she has produced two films as a documentary film maker. Her scientific interests
include television studies, viewing habits of young audience, streaming platforms, new media
technologies and studies.
Maria Matsiola (Electrical Engineer, PhD on New Technologies on Journalism) holds the posi-
tion of tenured senior teaching instructor at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Her scientific interests include new media technologies and
studies, web and broadcast radio and television, audiovisual content management, and audiovisual
application systems in journalism education.
Rigas Kotsakis received his diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Polytechnic
School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He continued his academic studies in MSc in Man-
agement and Business Administration at the University of Macedonia, MSc in Advanced Com-
puter and Communication Systems at the Polytechnic School of Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki and PhD degree at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. He currently
is a tenured Senior Teaching Fellow in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. His
research interests include pattern recognition and semantic analysis techniques in multimedia con-
tent, management of audiovisual content and web-based multimedia applications.
Theodora A Maniou (Ph.D.) is a Lecturer in Journalism in the Department of Social and Political
Sciences, University of Cyprus. Her area of specialisation focuses on journalism practice, broad-
cast journalism in television and multimedia journalism. Prior to her academic appointment, she
was working as a journalist for several years in Greece.
George Kalliris holds BEng/MEng degrees in Electrical Engineering with Telecommunications
from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) and a PhD in audiovisual systems from the same
School. He is currently Professor of Electronic Media Technologies and director of the Electronic
Media Lab at the School of Journalism and Media Communication of AUTh.