The Motivational Drivers of Sport Fans’ Watching Intention of Athlete Live Streaming

• Published in: Journal of sports media 2023-10, Vol.18 (2), p.1-29
• Main Authors: Jiang, Stella Benqiao, Choi, Jun Woo, Norris, Braden E, Byon, Kevin K, Williams, Antonio S, Pedersen, Paul M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Athletes; Celebrities; Computer & video games; Consumers; Esports; Professional basketball; Social networks; Streaming media; Streaming services
• ISSN: 1558-4313; 1940-5073; 1940-5073
• DOI: 10.1353/jsm.2023.a945466

As an emerging area of social media, live streaming (i.e., the broadcasting of content in real time through an online service) has been attracting viewers around the world. While live streaming is quickly becoming popular, there is still much to explore involving athletes’ participation in this specific segment of the industry. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the motivational drivers of athlete live streaming and sport fans’ continuous intention to watch such content. With consumption decisions becoming more consumer based compared to previous times when outlets had more control over what was watched, the uses and gratifications theory helps guide research uncovering how sport fans make decisions about what they want to watch. Data were collected from 280 participants who met the criteria of a screening question regarding athlete live streaming consumption through Amazon M-Turk. A total of 25 items were adapted from several sport consumption, live streaming, and athlete studies. Among seven motivations, athlete identification, athlete support, acquisition of knowledge, and socialization were significant predictors of users’ continuous watching intention of athlete live streaming, while escape, entertainment, and physical skill of the athletes were not proven to be statistically significant on continuous watching intention. The results add to the literature in sport media by unearthing the motivational drivers associated with watching athlete live streaming through the lens of uses and gratifications theory. In addition to the scholarly contribution, the findings of this study will be useful for practitioners such as content creators, managers, and marketers in the development of tailored management and marketing strategies related to sport fans and their consumption of athlete live streaming services.