Esports Spectating Motives and Streaming Consumption: Moderating Effect of Game Genres and Live-Streaming Types

Abstract

Previous studies have paid little attention to spectators’ consumption behaviors and motives for watching different types of esports live-streaming and game genres. This study, therefore, investigates spectator motives and consumption behaviors based on the interaction effects of live-streaming types and game genres. Convenience sampling was conducted to collect 312 responses from Taiwanese individuals via the Professional Technology Temple. The measurement tools include the motivation scale for sport consumption, esports streaming consumption behaviors, and two moderators (i.e., game genres and live-streaming types). The moderating effects were examined using the PROCESS macro. The results showed that esports spectating motives and consumption behaviors are determined by different types of live-streaming and game genres. A matrix of esports spectator segments was developed to illustrate the findings and managerial implications. The study’s findings broaden our understanding of esports consumption behaviors and can contribute to the fast-growing esports marketing literature. In addition, the results are expected to help practitioners better segment their consumer groups to develop more tailored marketing programs.

A systematic review on spectator behavior in esports: why do people watch?

“…, 2021a). Interaction effects between game genres and aesthetics and between game genres and knowledge acquisition on time spent were found (Ma et al. , 2021).…”

“…, 2020; Hamari and Sjöblom, 2017; Hilvert-Bruce et al. , 2018; Kim and Kim, 2020; Ma et al. , 2021; Pizzo et al.…”

“…, 2019a; Rogers et al. , 2022), generations (Ma et al. , 2021) and the number of years considering oneself as esports fan (prior esports experience, Jang et al.…”

“…, 2020), esports game genres (Hilvert-Bruce et al. , 2018; Jang and Byon, 2020; Kim and Kim, 2020; Ma et al. , 2021; Pizzo et al.…”

“…The following section gives a more detailed look at passive esports consumption. Significant direct and/or indirect predictors or associations in esports spectatorship (consumption) were found (Brown et al, 2017;Cabeza-Ram ırez et al, 2020;Hamari and Sj€ oblom, 2017;Hilvert-Bruce et al, 2018;Jang et al, 2021a;Ma et al, 2021;Qian et al, 2019a, b;Tang et al, 2022;Xu et al, 2021a, b).…”