Determinants of Audience Demand for the Telecasts of the China Open Tennis Matches

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that may affect the audience demand for broadcast tennis matches of China Open. The data were gathered from a total of 102 matches -- the televised tennis matches of China Open from 2015 to 2019. Four dependent variables (TV ratings) representing audience demand for broadcast tennis matches, surveyed nationwide, tier1 cities, tier2 cities and tier3 cities, were regressed on a series of antecedent factors associated with each match. The means of television ratings in higher tiers cities are significantly higher than that in lower tiers cities. Higher television ratings nationwide and in tier2, tier3 cities were associated with the presence of local player. And higher television ratings in tier1 cities were associated with higher facial attractiveness of players. In addition, matches with the presence of super star showed positive effects on television ratings nationwide and in tier1, tier2 cities. And higher TV ratings were related with the match with the greater importance. The broadcast channel seems to be the most powerful predictor of TV ratings. Other than the broadcast channel, prime time matches also appeared to have a positive effect on the TV ratings significantly. Through the comparison of the factors influencing the ratings of cities at different levels, this study found that these differences are mainly concentrated in the first category of factors: the form of consumer preferences. These findings can provide a reference for the organizers of the China Tennis Open for the sale of media broadcasting rights.