Economics of Digital Sport Consumption

Abstract

Modeling sport consumer behavior has historically relied on the use of discrete choice models, whereby researchers focus on predicting a consumption modality of interest (social media sharing, live match attendance, etc.). The use of such models relies on three related assumptions about consumer choices: (1) that consumption modalities in the choice set are collectively exhaustive, (2) that each alternative is mutually exclusive, and (3) the choice set contains a finite number of alternatives. Problematically, these assumptions – reasonable to make in eras not characterized by ubiquitous technology use – become far less reliable in the 21st century. On the heels of a digital revolution in the sport and entertainment sector, modern consumers now benefit from a ballooning number of consumption modality options that are digitally intertwined with one another. This creates a sport consumption landscape where the traditional boundaries between consumption modalities are fading, where consumers face increasingly lower switching costs between modalities, and where the complete set of consumption choices is fluid. Therefore, this chapter is designed to articulate a new view of sport consumer behavior that is rooted in this blended, dynamic, and uncertain consumption environment.