As April 2019 approached, the internet was buzzing with the news of multiple major franchises ending their narratives within mere weeks of each other. Game of Thrones and the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU) are two of the largest franchises in pop-culture history with about ten years of success after success. As both approached their premiere dates, fans began the defense against spoilers while pitching their theories for the final stretches. With the emergence of hyper-fan culture and these new unique communication twists, the new media landscape and its corporate giants faces a new set of peculiar challenges. In this paper, we will observe the GOT and Endgame properties, their fandom’s experience with theories and spoilers, and how this new wave of communication challenges the relationships with fan audiences.

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 With the rise of social media, came the rise of content creation and a desire to connect with audiences in a new and fresh way. The desire to build consistent relationships with audiences gave way to hashtags, blogs, and the focus of this paper, podcasts. According to HowStuffWorks.com, podcasting began its rise in 2004 after Adam Curry and Dave Winer developed software to “download Internet radio broadcasts to his iPod (Watson, 2005).” Over the past 15 years, podcasting has quickly become one of the largest content hubs via the internet, with companies, organizations, or average-joes starting their own content streams online. These podcasts are just one of many ways companies, organizations, and audiences connect through content, bringing convergence culture into the new media age.

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Appealing to audiences with different tastes of content is a rare talent in this day and age, but some specialized sites and communities have made it work. Sites, like Buzzfeed, have attracted massive diverse audiences with a wide variety of content topics and media sources, like articles, podcasts, and video. These platforms are built to appeal to audiences of all demographics, sometimes unintentionally, build communities that remain loyal to their platform. As Reed (2014) explains, early technologies were built from a default subject position of “the straight, white, middle-class, Euro-American male,” however some popular platforms are making strategic choices to include more than just the default (p. 84).

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As of March 2019, I am a member of eleven different social media platforms, and I have two to four accounts on each that I for myself or manage for others. Whether we are promoting a brand or sharing personal information, the ability to shift and mold a rather convincing authentic online persona has never been easier. In this digital age, it is not surprising to see our phones loaded with the potential to reach thousands with the click of a button. Users have access to entire libraries of information with applications to assist them in becoming whoever or whatever they want to be.

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In 1997, Netflix launched with a bold vision to bring watch power to the people in their homes. In the age of Blockbusters, Netflix took advantage of every opportunity to disrupt the consumption of media for the audiences. Netflix, as with many new technologies in the new millennia, challenged the new status quo of the internet. From the changes in language, like “Netflix and chill,” to the changes in how media is consumed, like binge watching, society has shifted significantly due to the technological advancements specifically when it comes to stream-able media (Deal, 2018).

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