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Wild Watching: Fans' Reaction to Televised Sports in a Movie Theater. Michael D. Dorsher, Ph.D. Assistant Professor University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire mdorsher@uwec.edu. Abstract. How do fans like watching a sporting event telecast in a movie theater compared to watching similar games:
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Wild Watching:Fans' Reaction to Televised Sports in a Movie Theater Michael D. Dorsher, Ph.D. Assistant Professor University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire mdorsher@uwec.edu
Abstract • How do fans like watching a sporting event telecast in a movie theater compared to watching similar games: • live in the arena • on TV at home • on TV at a bar or restaurant? • 190 respondents at two National Hockey League telecasts in a movie theater completed my survey. • The data support six of the eight hypotheses. • In summary, male and female fans alike preferred watching hockey on TV in a movie theater over everywhere else—better even than watching it live in an acclaimed arena.
Literature Review • Fans have been “watching” live, mediated sporting events since 1858. • They then gathered outside Western Union offices for round-by-round telegraphed reports of prizefights1. • Since broadcasts started, some fans have preferred watching sports on TV or listening to them on radio to actually attending the games2. • Watching sports is a communal activity that cuts across class, race, and—increasingly—sex, too3. • There are no other studies on watching televised sports in movie theaters. • But other studies show increased involvement when watching large-screen televisions4.
Research Questions • How do fans like watching hockey telecast in a movie theater compared to watching it: • Live in the arena? • On TV at home? • On TV at a bar or restaurant? • How will women’s ratings of those experiences differ from men’s?
Hypotheses Fans will like watching hockey on TV in the movie theater: H1: Better than watching it live in the arena, esp. considering seat and concession prices. H2: But not as well as watching it live from the best seats in the arena. H3: Better than watching it on TV at home. H4: Better than watching it on TV in a bar or restaurant.
Hypotheses(continued) Female fans will like watching hockey: H5: On TV in a movie theater as well as men will. H6: Live in an arena as well as men will. H7: On TV in a bar or restaurant as well as men will. H8: On TV at home less than men will. • Based on women’s greater perceived need to multi-task while at home.
Method • 190 volunteers completed paper-and-pen surveys during the May 5 & 8, 2003, telecasts of the Minnesota Wild vs. Vancouver Canucks playoff games at a Minneapolis movie theater. • Survey comprised 18 questions: • Seven items rating watching hockey in various settings on a scale of 1 to 10 • Seven on # of games watched in each setting • Demographic question on sex of respondent • Three open-ended questions comparing watching hockey in various settings
Results Fans will like watching hockey on TV in the theater: H1: Better than watching it live in the arena, esp. considering seat and concession prices. • Supported: on 10-point scale, fans rated hockey in the theater 9.37 and in the arena 7.37 overall, p = .0001 H2: Not as well as watching it live in the best arena seats. • Not supported: 9.37 rating in theater, 8.86 for best arena seats, p = .058. H3: Better than watching it on TV at home. • Supported: 9.37 rating in theater, 5.68 for home, p = .0001 H4: Better than watching it on TV in a bar or restaurant. • Supported: 9.37 in theater, 4.41in bar or restaurant, p = .0001
ResultsFans like watching hockey telecast in a movie theater better than attending the game.
Results (continued) Female fans will like watching hockey: H5: On TV in a movie theater as well as men will. • Supported: no significant difference between women’s and men’s ratings, p = .27 H6: Live in an arena as well as men will. • Supported, p = .85 H7: On TV in a bar or restaurant as well as men. • Supported, p = .52 H8: On TV at home less than men will. • Not supported: no significant difference, p = .68
Conclusions • Watching televised sports in movie theaters has the potential to be a gratifying, growing niche. • Women, in contrast to most other sports spectatorship experiences in the past, may be just as drawn to watching sports on TV in movie theaters as men are. • Unlike luxury skyboxes and pay-per-view cable, watching televised games in movie theaters could return sports to the unifying, class-cutting social experience that they—and movies—traditionally have been.
Endnotes 1Lever, J., & Wheeler, S. (1993). Mass media and the experience of sport. Communication Research, 20(1), p. 127. 2Ibid., p. 131. 3Real, M. R. (1989). Super media: a cultural studies approach. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. 4Lombard, M., Reich, R. D., Grabe, M. E., Bracken, C. C., & Ditton, T. B. (2000). Presence and television: the role of screen size. Human Communication Research, 26(1), 75-98. Reeves, B., Lang, A., Kim, E. Y., & Tatar, D. (1999). The effects of screen size and message content on attention and arousal. Media Psychology, 1(1), 49-67.