The shift in sports viewing: scale development and validation for mediated sports consumption motivation

ABSTRACT

Research question

Mediated sports, the alternative consumption formats that substitute live stadium or arena experiences, are on the rise and have become a prevalent means of consuming sport. This study developed a comprehensive scale to capture fans’ motivation behind mediated sport consumption from the theoretical lens of self-determination theory.

Research methods

We achieved this objective through a series of studies: a free thought-listing survey, expert panels, an exploratory study based on a sample of 549 sport consumers, and a confirmatory study based on a new sample of 335 sport consumers.

Results and findings

The final scale consists of 21 items that measure seven motives: Convenience, Sociability, Emotional Hedge, Programming, Ownership, Team Identification, and Security. Findings revealed that mediated sport consumption demonstrated distinct motives integral to satisfying the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Implications

This study expands our understanding of mediated sport consumption behavior through the perspectives of Self-determination Theory. Sport fans tend to take advantage of various platforms and time zones and access many sporting events with fewer constraints. We suggest that mediated sport consumption that enhances a sense of choice or personal value provides a higher satisfaction of sport fans’ psychological needs.

KEYWORDS:

• Spectator sport
• self-determination theory
• psychological needs
• motivation
• sport fan behavior

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).