THE STATUS AND FUTURE OF AUDIENCE DUPLICATION RESEARCH - AN ASSESSMENT OF RATINGS-BASED THEORIES OF AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR

Audience duplication is recognized as a major component of program cho ice models and a fundamental aspect in understanding television viewin g patterns. This study evaluates the utility of a specific set of rati ngs-based audience theories developed over the past 25 years, and crit iques their future relevance in an increasingly dynamic, complex media environment. An integrated model of audience duplication is presented as a way to assess the ability of current structural theories to expl ain audience behavior in the future. Recommendations are given for the direction of this research.