Stadium attendance and television audience demand in English league football

Abstract

Demand studies of professional team sports have traditionally focused on stadium attendance; however, advances in broadcasting mean that teams generate revenue from stadium goers and broadcasters alike. Previous studies of demand have focused on stadium attendance and television audiences, but none have assessed the demand for match-day attendances and demand by television audiences jointly. This study models match-day attendances and television audiences using data from tier-two of English league football. It shows that while televised matches depress stadium attendances, ceteris paribus, there is an important feedback in that larger stadium attendances have positive impacts on the size of television audiences.

The Determinants of the TV Demand for Soccer: Empirical Evidence on Italian Serie A for the Period 2008-2015

“…Forrest, Simmons, and Buraimo (2005), for example, reported that the coefficient associated with the difference in relative wages has a negative and statistically significant sign. In Buraimo (2008) and Buraimo and Simmons (2015), the coefficients associated with the absolute difference in relative wages are not statistically significant, even though this variable is relevant in determining the selection of matches to be broadcasted. Cox (2015) modelled the outcome uncertainty using the difference in win probabilities; when statistically significant, the associated coefficient is negative, supporting the UOH.…”

“…Then, combined_market is introduced to take into account the market size effects, as used by Cairns (1987), Buraimo andSimmons (2006), Tainsky (2010), and Caruso and Di Domizio (2015a): we expect a larger audience for games involving teams with larger local fan bases. It is computed as follows:…”

“…Buraimo (2008) showed that outcome uncertainty does not have any significant impact on English soccer TV audiences, whereas the quality of player talent involved and stadium attendance, which is used as a proxy for the game excitement, are positively related to the TV ratings. Moreover, scheduling seems to play an important role: games televised on Sundays and Mondays attract more viewers, and TV audiences are larger in January and February.…”

“…Buraimo (2008) showed that the number of stadium spectators positively influences TV audiences, whereas broadcasting, especially if it is implemented by free-to-air television channels, has a negative impact on match day attendance. Buraimo and Simmons (2009) demonstrated that TV broadcasting has a significant impact on match day attendance in the Spanish Liga; this effect is much larger if the TV coverage is implemented by public or free-to-air television channels on weekdays.…”

The Impact of the Soccer Schedule on TV Viewership and Stadium Attendance: Evidence from the Belgian Pro League

“…Forrest et al (2005) also mainly focus on outcome uncertainty, and use their model to support the broadcasters' choice of which matches to televise in the English Premier League. Buraimo (2008) models the audience ratings for the second tier of English league soccer, taking into account team form, player talent, outcome uncertainty, and atmosphere. Further, Feddersen and Rott (2011) identify determinants of demand for televised matches of the German national team.…”