Beyond the streaming black box: Navigating the textures of access and data secrecy in media industries research

Global streaming services have reshaped the media landscape, through their business and distribution models, and their unprecedented collection of and control over data. This article examines how researchers navigate data secrecy and access in contemporary media industries research. Building on critiques of the transparency ideal and black box metaphor, we approach data access as an ongoing, textured, and relational process. Drawing on multi-sited and mixed-method research from previous studies, this study maps the fragmented terrain of data access across research into production, platforms, and policy. By synthesizing these previously siloed approaches, we conceptualize varying levels of data secrecy, identify shared challenges, and discuss innovative hacks as well as tried-and-true methods for circumventing these barriers. We conclude by proposing a framework for streaming research founded on collaboration, industry partnerships, and reciprocity, addressing the infrastructural and ethical limits of open science in the streaming era.