ABSTRACT

Research question: Research into new sport teams has maintained a narrow focus on season ticket holders. This is redressed in this study by determining whether immediate preferences towards new local teams can be observed in the broader viewing behaviour of the general population within local markets. The consumption of new sport teams is then tracked longitudinally to understand the influence of consumer novelty on market behaviour.

Research methods: The study analysed television ratings data of a new Australian cricket league. The period of analysis spanned five seasons from 2013/2014 through to 2017/2018. Data analysis included independent samples t-tests and hierarchical linear modelling.

Results and findings: Each local market exhibited an immediate preference for their local team. Local viewing preference for local teams did not grow over time, with the relative audience of local and non-local team fixtures increasing proportionally over the period. The league appears to be towards the end of its novelty phase, evidenced by a stabilisation in viewing commitment yet retraction in base audience size between season three and five.

Implications: The ability of new teams to solicit immediate local viewing preferences within the general population confirms the salience of geography as a foundational component of team identity. New teams should strategically consider their alignment to a suburban, city, state, or regional identity. That preference towards local teams did not increase within local markets reflects a critical theoretic distinction from more identified fan segments in which connection to team is thought to typically grow over time.

摘要

研究问题：对新运动队的研究一直只关注季票持有者。本研究通过确定是否可以在当地市场内普通人群的更广泛观看行为中观察到对新当地团队的直接偏好，从而解决了这一问题。然后纵向跟踪新运动队的消费，以了解消费者新颖性对市场行为的影响。

研究方法：该研究分析了一个新的澳大利亚板球联赛的电视收视率数据。分析期跨越从 2013/2014 年到 2017/2018 年的五个季节。数据分析包括独立样本t检验和分层线性建模。

结果和发现：每个当地市场都表现出对当地团队的直接偏好。本地球队的本地观看偏好并没有随着时间的推移而增长，本地和非本地球队固定装置的相对观众在此期间按比例增加。联盟似乎已接近其新奇阶段的尾声，这可以从第三季到第五季之间收视承诺的稳定和基本观众人数的回落来证明。

启示：新团队能够在普通人群中立即获得本地观看偏好，这证实了地理作为团队身份的基本组成部分的重要性。新团队应该从战略上考虑他们与郊区、城市、州或地区身份的一致性。这种对本地球队的偏好在本地市场并没有增加，这反映了与更多确定的球迷群体的关键理论区别，在这些球迷群体中，与球队的联系通常会随着时间的推移而增长。