The Impact of Subjective Camera in Sports on Arousal and Enjoyment

Abstract

Although scholars have generated much research examining enjoyment of mediated sports, much of it has failed to explore how visual production elements shape viewer response. This study examines the impact of one increasingly common technique, subjective camera, on viewer arousal and enjoyment of game play. Participants viewed multiple plays from a college football game R. Glenn Cummins (Ph.D., University of Alabama, 2005) is an Assistant Professor in the College of Mass Communications at Texas Tech University. His research interests include the impact of various structural, content, and user characteristics on the enjoyment of media entertainment. Justin R. Keene (M.A., Texas Tech University, 2009) is a dual-Ph.D. student in the Department of Telecommunications and the Cognitive Science program at Indiana University. His research interests include motivated cognition, differential cognitive processing of sports fans, and cognitive modeling. Brandon H. Nutting (M.A., Texas Tech University, 2009) is a doctoral candidate in the College of Mass Communications at Texas Tech University. His research interests include cognitive processing of mediated messages and time perception.

On ‘being there’

“…One important finding uncovered in this study is that the drama component of a gamethat is, the intensity of the game's emotional content and the arousal it generates (Cummins et al, 2012;Mason, 1999) adversely impacts the recall and recognition of its sponsors, particularly among congruent ones. In addition, as arousal intensifies, on-site recall and recognition results outperform those observed in a mediated environment, such as a television broadcast, presumably due to weak feelings of presence.…”

“…In the first case, the findings of this study highlight a dilemma for marketers: as arousal and drama are often the main reasons attracting sports event spectators (Cummins et al, 2012;Hirt and Clarkson, 2011), they must also consider the impact of high arousal levels on sponsor identification, especially for congruent sponsors which are often the core constituents of sponsorship revenues. Thus, while the efforts invested by different professional sports leagues to create a leveled field of competition (Cummins et al 2012;Quirk and Fort, 1997) such as enforcing a salary cap, implementing draft systems, and having open leagues (where the bottom ranked teams in a given league are downgraded to less prestigious leagues) contribute to maintain interest through higher arousal, the results of this study suggest that they may not be optimal as regard sponsor identification, a significant indicator of sponsorship effectiveness. In the case of high-frequency sponsored sports events, such as the North American professional ice hockey league games studied herein, a solution might be to hold events with various arousing potential for spectators.…”

“…Arousal manifests itself through excitation, alertness, and "a state of wakefulness" (Greenwald and Leavitt, 1984, p. 583). The capacity of sports events to trigger a high state of arousal (e.g., Bal et al, 2010;Pham, 1992) stems from their dramatic nature where, in contrast to scripted events, uncertainty regarding the outcome is prevalent and viewers witness the real life of participants unfolding (Bee and Madrigal, 2012;Cathelas, 1999;Cummins et al 2012;Mason, 1999;Reid, 1970). Importantly, arousal has been shown to influence individuals' information processing according to two different principles (Cornwell et al, 2005;Kroeber-Riel, 1979;Newell et al, 2001;Pavelchak et al, 1988).…”

“…Second, although game broadcasting has evolved considerably and efforts have been made to give an extended coverage of the game experience (camera shots in the lockers or on the bench, interviews with coaches and players, etc. ), in essence television dictates what perspective of the game viewers have access to and, at the same time, what sponsorship stimuli they are exposed to (Cummins et al, 2012;Nebenzahl and Hornik, 1985). In a stadium or in an arena, spectators decide for themselves what to watch at any point in time.…”

Classroom Usage and Other Downloads: An Impact Measure for Authors

“…Other recent publications that came out in 2012 but still saw healthy download numbers during the remainder of the year included articles by Osborn (2012), Coyne, Callister, Stockdale, Nelson, and Wells (2012), Lee (2012), Becker (2012, Bissell andPerry (2012), Cummins, Keene, andNutting (2012), as well as Neumann and Fahmy (2012). Each was downloaded more than 200 times, even though many were only published in the second half of the year.…”