The Demand for Televised Football

Abstract

This paper investigates the demand for televised football games. It examines how factors specific to television on the one hand and factors specific to the football game on the other hand, influence the viewing figures of televised football. In our case we are analysing viewing figures for football matches from the Norwegian top division shown on the Norwegian public service channels NRK1 (financed by licence fee) and TV2 (financed by advertising) in the period 1998–2007, and viewing figures for football matches from the Danish top league on the Danish commercial cable and satellite channel 3+ in the same period. The purpose of the analysis is to identity (a) the motivation of different segments of viewers to watch televised football; and (b) potential scheduling practices of different television companies based on factors that influences viewing preferences. Findings suggest that the viewer ratings of televised football are dependent on factors related to scheduling than by football interests among the audience. Ultimately, the study supports the theory of audience segmentation for public service broadcasters and commercial channels. Most viewers on public service broadcasters watch programs, also football games, driven by general viewing habits and scheduling strategies, while the smaller audience on a commercial channel is more likely to select programs based on presumed interests for the game.