Measuring consumer emotions during live sports broadcasts

Abstract

Though the role of emotion has been largely acknowledged across most consumer settings, only recently has this interest transferred to the various contexts in which sports are consumed. The purpose of the present research is to highlight the role of emotions during the viewing of televised sports programming. Across two studies, the manifestation of emotional arousal is empirically established. Additionally, the emotional valence (i.e., the extent to which a stimulus is perceived as affectively positive, neutral, or negative) of marketing stimuli are assessed. A methodology for measuring baseline levels of emotional valence for commercial advertising is outlined. Study 1 is presented in which empirical support is established for the fleeting influence that live sports consumption has upon emotional arousal. This is followed by a review of Study 2, which establishes a methodology for measuring the emotional valence perceived by consumers for embedded commercial advertising. Finally, the practical and research implications of these findings are discussed.