FiT Publishing

Despite the growing popularity of over-the-top (OTT) services and their advantages for non-mainstream sports, empirical research on the demand for OTT sports content remains limited. Our study addresses this gap, offering detailed insights into substitution effects and nuanced viewer preferences, with a focus on the German volleyball market. Econometric models reveal that, even with the rise of OTT services, fans still prefer watching games on traditional TV platforms when given the choice. The study uncovers intriguing dynamics in volleyball viewership, indicating that OTT viewers of...Read more

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

An interview with Bill Powell, Vice President of Event Marketing and Sales/Team Leader of Amsoil Arenacross, Feld Entertainment and Motorsports.Read more

Ethical miscues in the 21st century sport industry are more prominent and deliver greater impact than ever before. News outlets now offer programming and content sites specifically dedicated to tracking ethical failures that occur “Outside the Lines.” Unfortunately, this unparalleled media exposure aggressively paints sport heroes and the organizations they represent in shades of bad, ugly and reprehensible, replete with distressing coverage of questionable deeds and shameful failures. Negative fallout in sports often becomes the marketer’s responsibility when they are called upon to...Read more

The purpose of this paper is to explore how nine motives impact media and merchandise consumption among consumers of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). The present study extends previous research by examining the relationship between motivations and merchandise and media consumption among consumers at a large, professional MMA event. A one-way MANOVA was computed to test for gender differences in relation to attendance motivations in the present sample. After significant differences among spectator motives were identified, two separate backward deletion linear regression analyses revealed...Read more

The United States sports industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. Corporations attempt to curry favor with consumers by aligning their products and services with this popular industry through sports sponsorship and endorsement opportunities. The upside to this association is well-documented in the sports marketing literature. Less well known however, is the impact on corporate brands when a scandal erupts around an athletic endorser such as a team, coach, or player. Numerous sports scandals such as the recruiting scandal at the University of Colorado or the Kobe Bryant rape case raise...Read more