Economic Analysis of Competition for Attention as Exemplified by Digital Entertainment Sectors

Netflix won users over with its ease of access, low cost, and extensive content catalog. However, today's streaming market is crowded, with Amazon Prime Video, Max, Disney+, and other services competing for viewers' attention with exclusive content. This fragmentation increases costs and the time it takes to choose among multiple services.
Similar changes are occurring in other digital entertainment sectors, but a key trend is the blurring of the lines between them. Faced with a vast supply of content, the problem of attention deficit—a resource limited by time—intensifies. Each new title must attract viewers at the expense of other content, regardless of its type.
There is therefore a shift from internal competition within sectors to cross-sectoral competition for audience attention. This process influences market organization (where the success of one title can undermine others), company strategies (which leverage technology to acquire and retain audiences), and consumer attitudes toward how their data is used. Despite the significance of these changes, the attention economy remains an area under-researched academically.
The project examines these issues, examining whether we have truly reached the limits of available attention and the extent to which companies compete for it across sectors. We will also examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these processes and the mechanisms by which attention is redirected towards monetized activities. Consumers' perceptions of data privacy and the value they place on services provided in exchange for attention and on time itself will also be key.
The research is based on data obtained from the internet using developed tools, supplemented by information from market monitoring companies. We will conduct field, laboratory, and survey experiments to analyze user preferences. We will utilize modern methods of econometric modeling and statistical analysis. The results will expand our knowledge of the attention economy and its impact on society and markets.