From Telenovelas to Netflix: Transnational, Transverse Television in Latin America

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xvii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Joseph Straubhaar, Melissa Santillana, Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce, Luiz Guilherme Duarte

   Pages 1-12

3. The Growth of Latin American Television

   • Joseph Straubhaar, Melissa Santillana, Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce, Luiz Guilherme Duarte

   Pages 13-48

4. Why Latin American Audiences Stay Loyal to National Broadcast Television

   • Joseph Straubhaar, Melissa Santillana, Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce, Luiz Guilherme Duarte

   Pages 49-85

5. The Persistence of the Popularity of US Television

   • Joseph Straubhaar, Melissa Santillana, Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce, Luiz Guilherme Duarte

   Pages 87-122

6. Changing Class Formations and Changing Television Viewing: The New Middle Class, Television and Pay Television in Eight Latin American Countries 2004–2020

   • Joseph Straubhaar, Melissa Santillana, Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce, Luiz Guilherme Duarte

   Pages 123-157

7. Streaming Television, Netflix, and Transverse Transnationalism

   • Joseph Straubhaar, Melissa Santillana, Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce, Luiz Guilherme Duarte

   Pages 159-201

8. Netflix, Distinction, and Cosmopolitanism Among Latin American Middle Class and Elite Audiences

   • Joseph Straubhaar, Melissa Santillana, Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce, Luiz Guilherme Duarte

   Pages 203-235

9. Conclusion

   • Joseph Straubhaar, Melissa Santillana, Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce, Luiz Guilherme Duarte

   Pages 237-253

10. Back Matter

    Pages 255-265

    PDF

This book is about television in Latin America. Its national and regional industries create most television programming there within genres developed over time in the region. However, part of the programming has always come from the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. With cable, satellite and now streaming TV, that inflow of foreign programming has increased substantially. While many in the audience still prefer national or regional programs for their cultural proximity, an increasing number among the upper-middle and middle classes, particularly the young, are turning to the new foreign services, like Netflix, Amazon and Disney for class distinction, cosmopolitanism or other motives. Among the television industries, global, regional and national actors are creating a variety of programs and channels (broadcast, pay-TV and streaming) to segment and appeal to different parts of the audience. 

• Latin american TV
• Telenovelas
• Netflix
• Transnationalism
• World television
• Transverse television
• Regional television
• Digital television
• Latin american television industry

“Both From Telenovelas to Netflix and Latino TV provide a history and genealogy of their chosen subjects, albeit through completely different methodologies. Through these markedly different approaches, each book successfully tackles a wide range of material and achieves the goals set. While one text may be more accessible to a wider audience than the other, both books make an important contribution to the fields of Television Studies, Latino studies, and Latin American studies.” (Alexandra James Salichs, Critical Studies in Television, Vol. 18 (2), 2023)

• The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA

  Joseph Straubhaar

• Department of Radio-Television-Film, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA

  Melissa Santillana

• Texas State University–San Marcos, San Marcos, USA

  Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce

• University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA

  Luiz Guilherme Duarte

Joseph Straubhaar is the Amon G. Carter, Sr. Centennial Professor of Communication in the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin. He was previously Director of the Brazil Center in the Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies. He was co-author of Latin American Television Industries. His research focuses on global media, television in Latin America, and the digital divide in Texas and Latin America.

Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce is an Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University and a Research Fellow at the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. Her research lies in the intersection of transnational media, digital journalism, consensus building, and Latin America.

Melissa Santillana is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on international media flows, border studies, activist movements, feminist activism, digital media, and digital inequality.

Luiz Guilherme Duarte is an international media research executive with awards for the developments of pioneer television measurement services. He is also adjunct professor at University of Central Florida.

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