Axelle Asmar

Axelle Asmar serves as a Researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel within the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences and Solvay Business School, specifically in the Department of Communication Sciences. Her academic profile centers on critical analysis of digital media ecosystems, with emphasis on transnational streaming platforms and their socio-cultural implications in contemporary media landscapes.

Her educational trajectory includes a Master's degree in Communication Sciences from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (2017), where she completed her thesis "The Pornography of Suffering: on the Visual Representations of Refugees in European Media" under supervision of Professors De Cleen and Van Brussel. She is currently advancing doctoral research in Media, Innovation and Technology at the same institution.

Asmar's scholarly focus interrogates the interplay between global streaming infrastructures and local cultural contexts, particularly examining how platforms like Netflix construct narratives of diversity through production discourses and content strategies. Her work critically analyzes the tension between corporate globalization imperatives and regional media ecosystems, with special attention to Flemish media markets and teen television programming. Methodologically grounded in cultural studies and media sociology, her research reveals how streaming services navigate inclusion/exclusion dynamics while branding cultural difference.

Recent publications (2023-2025) demonstrate concentrated investigation into Netflix's transnational operations, revealing patterns in how the platform manages cultural diversity through teen series production, VOD catalog curation, and corporate storytelling. Her analysis identifies recurring strategies where global expansion coexists with localized tensions, particularly in how difference is simultaneously commodified and constrained within streaming frameworks.

Professional activities include supervision of 11 students as documented in institutional records, alongside active conference participation presenting findings on streaming diversity and transnational media flows. Her research impact is evidenced by an h-index of 4 (Scopus) with 116 citations, reflecting growing influence in digital media scholarship.