Self, Social, Team, and Situational Factors Influencing Televised Sports Viewership

This study examined personal, social, and team motives associated with the consumption of televised sports (CTS) while taking into consideration market constraints variables. Research participants (N = 304) were university students who responded to a questionnaire that consisted of four segments: (a) watching televised sports, (b) motives for watching televised sports, (c) situational constraints, and (d) demographics. Semi-structured interviews as an ad hoc study were conducted with additional 22 frequent viewers of televised sports to ensure inclusion of all relevant factors affecting CTS. Multiple regression analyses revealed that self, team, and social motives were significant factors (p < .05) related to CTS. Two situational factors (weather and ticket availability) were found to have a significant (p < .01) impact on the CTS. Findings from the interviews further revealed that four conceptual themes affected CTS: individual-related factors, team-related factors, event-related factors, and media features.