When 18 Days of Television Coverage Is Not Enough: A Six-Nation Composite of Motivations for Mobile Device Use in 2018 Winter Olympic Games

Abstract

A survey of 2,296 people from 6 nations (Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United States) deciphered uses and gratifications for consuming content on a variety of media platforms during the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games. Results indicate that media diets significantly differed by platform and device, all 16 uses and gratifications were significantly different by nation, and the 2 inverse predictors of Olympic media consumption relate to the desire to interact (companionship and relationship building), whereas none of the 4 direct predictors (entertainment, arousal, competition, and Schwabism) pertained to interpersonal aims. Findings bifurcated by media platform as well; for instance, the inverse predictor of smartphone use—passing time—was a direct predictor of television use. Moreover, relationship building and habitual use were direct predictors of tablet use for Olympic consumption yet were both inverse predictors within the television realm. Implications for uses and gratifications and cross-nation media research are advanced.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Advanced Research Grant Program of the International Olympic Committee.

Notes on contributors

Andrew Billings

Andrew Billings (Ph.D., Indiana University, 1999) is the Ronald Reagan Chair of Broadcasting and Executive Director of the Alabama Program in Sport Communication at The University of Alabama. His research interests include the overlap of sport, media, and audience consumption.

Natalie Brown-Devlin

Natalie Brown-Devlin (Ph.D., The University of Alabama, 2014) is an assistant professor in the Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations at The University of Texas at Austin.

Kenon Brown

Kenon Brown (Ph.D., The University of Alabama, 2012) is an associate professor and graduate coordinator in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at The University of Alabama. His research interests include sports media effects, specifically related to athlete image management and international sport.

Michael B. Devlin

Michael B. Devlin (Ph.D., The University of Alabama, 2013) is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University. His research interests include the interweaving of social identity and personality to understand sport fan behaviors.