Title: An investigation of the relationship between television broadcasting and game attendance

Authors: Chad D. McEvoy, Alan L. Morse

Addresses: School of Kinesiology and Recreation, 227M Horton, Campus Box 5120, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790–5121, USA. ' University of Northern Colorado, 5151 W. 11th St. #1004, Greeley, CO 8063, USA

Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between whether a major conference NCAA Division I men|s college basketball game was televised and game attendance during the 2003–2004 and 2004–2005 seasons. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine this relationship while controlling for 19 other potentially confounding variables. A significant regression model was created (F = 111.586, p < 0.001), explaining 77.6% of the variance in game attendance. The model estimated that men|s basketball game attendance increased by 564 spectators when a game was broadcast on television, ceteris paribus, representing a 6.3% increase over the mean game attendance of 8892. These findings support practitioners broadcasting home men|s basketball games on television, as television broadcasting was found to be significantly related to a substantial increase in game attendance in the population studied.

Keywords: sport broadcasting; intercollegiate athletics; college basketball; television broadcasting; TV broadcasting; game attendance; NCAA.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2007.012402

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2007 Vol.2 No.3, pp.222 - 235

Published online: 11 Feb 2007 *

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