How Have Video-on-Demand Platforms Shaped Our Preferences? Endogenous Preferences in a Cultural Market

Abstract

In this paper, I investigate the effect of the introduction of video-on-demand (VoD) platforms on the preferences for diferent language versions of movies. By using survey data gathered from 2014 to 2019 in the bilingual region of Catalonia (Spain), I explore whether the exposure to VoD affected the likelihood of preferring the Catalan, Spanish or original versions. I found a negative effect on the preference for Catalan and Spanish versions, although this was not significant in all the specifications. Regarding the impact of VoD exposure on the preference for original versions, I identified a positive, significant and very robust effect in all the specifications. The effect is heterogeneous and varies depending on an individual’s language, education level and age. These results prove that people adapt their preferences to what they experience, so the introduction of a new technology into a market (in the case of this paper, the movie market) can rapidly change the preferences of consumers, who accustom, or accommodate, their preferences to the new paradigma.