FiT Publishing

Organizers of major sports events regularly report impressive multibillion TV audiences to emphasize the success of their competitions, yet such claims are seldom substantiated with hard evidence, nor is it usually made clear what the numbers actually stand for. The aim of this paper is to provide a better insight into the ambiguity of reported audience sizes for sports events and to beg the question: What is the TV audience size for a live sports broadcast? By detailing seven pitfalls, we critically discuss the problems associated with a correct understanding of TV audiences for live...Read more

This paper analyzes TV demand for cycling in Flanders. Using data for 338 Tour de France broadcasts, average and peak TV audience per stage is estimated by an OLS regression model. A first set of independent variables measures the importance of stage scheduling and includes variables that define the stage type and date, as determined by the race organizer. A second set of variables consists of stage features out of control of the race organizer. These variables measure the importance of outcome uncertainty, patriotism, doping, and substitute activities. Our findings suggest that TV...Read more