Audiovisual Inclusivity: Configuration and Structure of LGBTQIA+ Production on Streaming Platforms in Spain

Comments 1: This is an outstanding and original piece of scholarship that breaks new ground by offering the first academic study focused on LGBTQIA+ audiovisual production across streaming platforms in Spain. The article is both well-researched and elegantly structured, drawing on a robust dataset of nearly 1,500 titles from ten different VoD services. Your clear articulation of the methodological framework—particularly the classification criteria for LGBTQIA+ content and the mapping of national and international production—is commendable and sets a precedent for future empirical studies in the field. The analysis is not only quantitatively rich but also theoretically sound, successfully integrating media industry studies with queer and cultural perspectives. Your insights on production agents, platform logics, and the global-local tensions that shape LGBTQIA+ content in Spain are especially compelling. I appreciated the way the article emphasizes the underrepresentation of certain regions and formats, and how it foregrounds the often-invisible role of independent creators. If anything, I would recommend considering the addition of one or two more visualizations (e.g., charts showing temporal trends or format distributions) to enhance readability, and perhaps a brief mention of theoretical perspectives from queer media studies to further enrich your conceptual framework. These are, however, suggestions rather than critiques: your article already stands as a well-rounded, methodologically rigorous, and intellectually significant contribution.

Response 1: Thank you for pointing this out. I/We agree with this comment. Therefore, we have added an extra graph in page 8:

Figure 1. Evolution of LGBTQIA+ productions on streaming platforms in Spain by decade and production origin (national/international). Source: Created by the author. 

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Comments 1: This paper makes an original contribution to existing literature dealing with gender inequalities and diversity inclusion in the contemporary VoD audiovisual landscape. The article offers an interesting discussion of the configuration and structure of LGBTQIA+ production on streaming platforms in Spain. The paper bridges both questions to answer them via quantitative and qualitative data produced in a research project conducted in a specific national context and on specific streaming productions.

The Introduction effectively sets out the context of the topic and raises relevant questions, which can be considered the aims of the paper. There is a strong connection between the paper's questions/aims, the empirical findings, and the theoretical discussion. The Materials and Methods section is clear and exhaustive.

The paper provides a good account of the topic and specific, detailed theorization on content complexity in the VoD era and how this phenomenon is evolving.

The sample is excellent.

The findings are robust and significantly advance the field, particularly those concerning strategic alliances between operators and independent producers, global/national co-production dynamics and complementary perspectives, and the interplay between commercial objectives and cultural responsibility.

The conclusions possess both academic and social relevance within the current political climate. This case study allows the authors to generate evidence on audiovisual inclusivity issues facing LGBTQIA+ communities, and also promotes evidence-informed audiovisual industry policy changes for improving the visibility and representation of sexual and gender diversity. In this way, it fosters cultural diversity and plurality.

This paper makes an original contribution to existing literature dealing with gender inequalities and diversity inclusion in the contemporary VoD audiovisual landscape. The article offers an interesting discussion of the configuration and structure of LGBTQIA+ production on streaming platforms in Spain. The paper bridges both questions to answer them via quantitative and qualitative data produced in a research project conducted in a specific national context and on specific streaming productions.

The Introduction effectively sets out the context of the topic and raises relevant questions, which can be considered the aims of the paper. There is a strong connection between the paper's questions/aims, the empirical findings, and the theoretical discussion. The Materials and Methods section is clear and exhaustive.

The paper provides a good account of the topic and specific, detailed theorization on content complexity in the VoD era and how this phenomenon is evolving.

The sample is excellent.

The findings are robust and significantly advance the field, particularly those concerning strategic alliances between operators and independent producers, global/national co-production dynamics and complementary perspectives, and the interplay between commercial objectives and cultural responsibility.

The conclusions possess both academic and social relevance within the current political climate. This case study allows the authors to generate evidence on audiovisual inclusivity issues facing LGBTQIA+ communities, and also promotes evidence-informed audiovisual industry policy changes for improving the visibility and representation of sexual and gender diversity. In this way, it fosters cultural diversity and plurality.

Response 1: [Type your response here and mark your revisions in red] Thank you for pointing this out. I/We agree with this comment. Therefore, I/we have….added 4 new references about queer studies that can be found in bibliography:

(Edmond et. al. 2024) Edmond, Maura, Khoo, Olivia, Perkins, Claire; Trott, Verity. (2024). Streaming diversity: Studying screen diversity in the streaming era. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 30(4), 1315-1330. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565241270887   

(Fraccari and Kerrigan 2024). Fraccari, Romeo; Kerrigan, Páraic. (2024). Exclusionary inclusion? Streaming platforms and trans inclusive policies and practices: A case study of Netflix. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 30(4), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565241270708    

(Griffin 2024). Griffin, Hollis. (2024). Sexual diversity and streaming television: Toward a platform studies approach to analyzing LGBTQ+ TV. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 30(4), 1459-1473. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565241265508  

(Monaghan 2024). Monhaghan, Witney (2024). Queer media in the age of streaming video. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 30(4), 1388–1401. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565241264155  

Adding to this, we have added a paragraph of each reference. The first one is in page 2:

The rapid rise of video-on-demand (VOD) streaming platforms has sparked both renewed hope and fresh challenges regarding screen diversity. In the age of streaming, the term ‘diversity’ has become a common point of reference across public, industry, and scholarly conversations about the screen industries. This discussion has been especially focused on major U.S.-based platforms such as Netflix. However, what is meant by ‘diversity’ in these contexts is often fluid, referring to a wide range of aspects including types of content, workforce composition, representation, language, country of origin, and industry-related policies and practices. In this regard, the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ diversity in the content of VoD platforms is essential in recent years as it offers visibility to identities and sexualities that have historically been marginalised in traditional media (Edmond et. al. 2024). 

The second one is on page 3:

But authors like Fraccari and Kerrigan, 2024, point out that Netflix illustrates how liberal ideas of trans inclusion and diversity are not necessarily expressions of radical cultural politics, but rather should be seen within the framework of Western neoliberal capitalism and imperialism adding to this that "adhering to liberal notions of diversity allows Netflix to push the trans liberal idea that their inclusive policies, industrial practices, and representational output have a major role in fighting trans oppression” (Fraccari and Kerrigan, 2024, p. 1437).

The third one is on page 5:

 It is necessary to underline that how Griffin, 2024 points out: the growing spread of television content across diverse platforms offers new opportunities for researchers but also challenges existing methods and theoretical approaches. In LGBTQ+ media studies—particularly television—the shortcomings of relying solely on textual analysis are often highlighted.  

The fourth one is on page 5:

In each platform this is different, some platforms use the label “LGBTQIA+” categories (though they still feature queer content), other services use labels like "LGBTQ" or "LGBTQIA+" to group and promote such media. Although this improves visibility, these broad labels often overlook the full spectrum of queer identities, with gay, lesbian, and transgender characters more prominently featured than bisexual, non-binary, asexual, or intersex ones. Some platforms also link queer media to Pride, using celebratory imagery and messaging focused on joy, inclusion, and equality (Monaghan 2024).    

The fifth one is on page 6:

It is necessary to underline the words of Monaghan 2024: “Classification and organisation of titles is a significant factor in the discoverability of content on streaming video platforms, so film and television must be labelled and categorised to be discovered” (p. 1398).