The Determinants of Television Audience for Professional Cycling

Abstract

This research is intended to assess the determinants of the television (TV) audience in Spain for professional cycling. Our data refer to cycling races broadcast on several Spanish TV channels and make it possible to compute three different audience variables: rating, share, and number of viewers. The most original contributions of this research are the new indicators of competitive balance for cycling races that are proposed here. The outcomes show that audience ratings depend mainly on the following features: competitive balance, the type of stage and race, the nationality of the race leader, and inertial behaviors on the part of viewers.

The importance of suspense and surprise in entertainment demand: Evidence from Wimbledon

“…17 Descriptive statistics of the main variables at the tournament-stage level are provided in Appendix C, Part II. 18 Rodríguez et al (2015) illustrate the importance of including a large set of control variables when examining aggregate TV audience measures. As their dependent variable is the average TV audience over the length of the program (they analyze professional cycling races), they also control for, among other things, calendar variables, the scheduling of rival channels, and the competitive balance before the race.…”

Determinants of Regional Sport Network Television Ratings in MLB, NBA, and NHL

“…This research sought to identify the determinants of RSN ratings, a key metric for RSNs and related stakeholders. These findings specific to the RSN fill a gap in the literature on sport media studies, building from previous sport finance research that examines television viewership related to uncertainty of outcome (Alavy et al, 2010;Forrest, Simmons, & Buraimo, 2005;Paul & Weinbach, 2007), audience demand (Buraimo, 2008;Rodríguez, Pérez, Rodríguez, & Puente, 2013), and scoring effects (Kanazawa & Funk, 2001). Some of the implications of our research for practice and future research are highlighted in the following five paragraphs.…”

“…Other research has examined television viewership in North American professional sports based on Nielsen ratings (e.g., Paul & Weinbach, 2007;Kanazawa & Funk, 2001) and in European professional sport (e.g., Alavy, Gaskell, Leach, & Szymanski, 2010;Buraimo, 2008;Forrest, Simmons, & Buraimo, 2005;Rodríguez, Pérez, Rodríguez, & Puente, 2013). However, although studies have looked at the relationship between sport organizations and sport consumers (e.g., Kim, Trail, and Ko, 2011), research into the role of the RSN and TV ratings in the management of professional sport has received limited attention, either empirically or conceptually.…”

The Role of Physical Attractiveness in Tennis TV-Viewership

“…There is comparatively less research on demand for individual sports. Rodríguez, Pérez, Puente, and Rodríguez (2013) analyze the determinants of TVviewership for professional cycling and find that outcome uncertainty plays a significantly positive role for cycling. In tennis, Konjer, Meier, and Wedeking (2015) and Meier and Konjer (2015) control for outcome uncertainty and player quality in their analyses.…”