Disruptive AVT workflows in the age of streamingThe Netflix equation
What is it about?
This article explores the new mediascape produced by the emergence of online streaming solutions. Drawing on the impact that subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services have had on the acceleration of AVT workflows worldwide, my analysis, based on documentary analysis, fundamentally qualitative in its nature, focuses on the disruptive force of streaming video content providers that are rapidly growing in popularity. In 2020, a year characterized by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the entertainment and localisation industries have witnessed and undergone ground-breaking transformations that have considerably affected media consumption. While this major shift has been well-documented by media studies scholars, is relatively under-researched within Translation Studies.
Why is it important?
Drawing on the impact that streaming solutions such as Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Netflix have had on the acceleration of AVT workflows worldwide as a way to localize a high volume of content created to reach global audiences, my analysis focuses on their impact on the way subtitling workflows are managed and turnaround times scheduled. This study focuses on the day-of-broadcast (DOB) model, the media release strategy intended to make audiovisual content available ‘now and everywhere’. The disruptive nature of DOB models in localisation workflows is investigated using a case study, the ad hoc subtitling workflow devised for Netflix’s Chelsea, and analyzed using a qualitative research method. The aim is to unveil the practices behind the scenes of the first global talk show subtitled in twenty languages with a turnaround time of only fourteen hours.