Prominence and Discoverability of European Works in SVOD Catalogues: A Methodological Protocol for an Eye-Tracking Study with Film Audiences

This protocol describes an exploratory, laboratory-based eye‑tracking study that examines how viewers in Poland and Portugal search for and encounter European works in Netflix and Amazon Prime Video catalogues under the AVMSD prominence obligation. It focuses on small and medium‑sized European film ecosystems and treats discoverability not only as a technical issue, but as a cultural‑industrial problem tied to platform power and the visibility of smaller national cinemas.

The design combines controlled eye‑tracking experiments with retrospective think‑aloud interviews, using tasks that simulate realistic, time‑pressured interactions with SVOD interfaces, from free exploration to targeted searches for European films and specific countries of origin. Participants (24 adults in Poland and Portugal) navigate newly created user sub‑profiles on Netflix and Amazon Prime, while a Tobii eye‑tracker and iMotions software capture gaze metrics (e.g. time to first fixation, fixation duration on key interface elements) alongside behavioural data such as task completion, clicks, and use of external search engines.

The protocol also details a multi‑step sampling strategy to assemble a workable pool of European titles from the CresCine ecosystem, documenting the limited availability and low prominence of such films in Polish and Portuguese catalogues despite formal presence in some cases. By specifying platforms, case countries, participant recruitment, apparatus, tasks, and measures, the protocol offers a transparent, reproducible framework to generate fine‑grained evidence on how European works are made visible (or marginalised) in global streaming environments and to inform ongoing policy debates on AVMSD-inspired prominence tools.