A show for us: how racial and partisan cues about television audiences affect exposure intentions

Current explanations for political divides in entertainment media use identify divergent preferences for or evaluations of content. According to the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB), extratextual information such as cues about the audience may also influence exposure intentions due to viewers’ perceptions of ingroup norms. Social media users discuss and form communities around entertainment content while conveying partisan and racial identities. A preregistered experiment exposed Black and White partisans (N = 1,259) to tweets in which a television show was endorsed by co- or out-partisans who were racial in- or out-group members. Exposure intentions were stronger when endorsement came from co-partisans; however, this effect was stronger for White partisans. Treatment effects were mediated by perceived ingroup norms and perceptions of how much of the audience consisted of ingroup members. Implications of multiple identities (i.e., race and partisanship) for the TNSB and the study of partisan entertainment divides are discussed.