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In the competing online environment, paid content providers face the important problem of attracting people to their websites. In our study we use PLS to analyse the effect of 16 factors on two traffic measures: (1) number of visitors and (2) number of page views per visitor. The results show that the number of visitors is directly and positively influenced by the quality of the offering, interactivity, accessibility, and relevance while the number of page views is positively influenced by credibility, interactivity, personalisation, and navigation. Additionally, credibility, branding, and visibility have been found to influence traffic indirectly. Accessibility of the website, although important in attracting new visitors, is not enough to achieve success as it reduces the number of page views per visitor.

Over the past century, soccer has evolved into a global sport with a steadily increasing number of players and supporters. A recent study estimates that there are over 240 million registered players worldwide and fan participation in the billions (Terrel et al, 2005). Through the success of tournaments such as the UEFA Cup, the Champions League and the FIFA World Cup, as well as cross-border transfer of players, professional soccer clubs enjoy local and increasingly global fan support (Sportfive, 2004).This fan support drives all the major sources of income for clubs as it directly or indirectly affects ticketing and merchandise sales and broadcasting fees, as well as income from advertisements and sponsorships. The overall income of clubs has grown rapidly in recent decades, with an estimated turnover of €11 billion in Europe alone in 2004 (Deloitte, 2005

Global reach, together with rapidly increasing broadband coverage, makes the internet a potentially interesting distribution channel for video highlights and full-match viewings. This study investigateswillingness to pay as well as consumer preferences for type of report to derive marketing implications for soccer clubs. Survey results from more than 12,000 respondents supporting seven soccer clubs in the German first and second divisions underline the potential of this new distribution channel in finding a high average willingness to pay.

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