Live Sporting Events Research Articles

Spectator injuries in sports.

Injury documentation and prevention has largely focused on the athletes participating in the sporting event. However, spectators are at risk for injury as well depending on the sport and venue. No study to date has recorded and analyzed spectator injuries in sports. The purpose of this study was to document spectator injuries across different sports. Scholarly articles and internet search engines were used to generate a list of spectator injuries across a variety of sports. Information gathered regarding each specific spectator injury included sport type, injury type, and injury mechanism. A total of 181 spectator injuries were collected. The sport with the most spectator injuries found was automobile/motorcycle racing (N.=123), followed by cycling (N.=25), cricket (N.=12), baseball (N.=10), and hockey (N.=8). The majority of spectator injuries were related to the sport and not the behavior of the surrounding spectators. Among documented injuries sustained by spectators, automobile/motorcycle racing had the greatest number of mortalities (N.=38), followed by cycling (N.=17), hockey (N.=4), baseball (N.=2), and cricket (N.=1). Although uncommon, spectators at sporting events are at risk for injury. Some of these injuries are serious and even fatal. Future work needs to focus on implementing safety measures to protect spectators while still allowing them to enjoy live sporting events.

Analysis of user-generated comments posted during live matches of the Cricket World Cup 2015

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze user-generated comments posted on social media while live matches were being played during the Cricket World Cup 2015.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from Yahoo! Cricket (YC), a website that allows people to submit comments during live matches. The comments were qualitatively analyzed using the grounded theory approach.FindingsThe key finding of this paper is that people like to consume live sporting events in an online social setting rather than as isolated individuals. In addition, the use of the grounded theory approach helped uncover several new findings related to people’s use of social media during live matches.Research limitations/implicationsSince this paper studied the case of the Cricket World Cup 2015 and collected data from YC, caution is advocated in generalizing its findings.Originality/valueScholarly interest on the use of social media during live sporting events is growing. Building on such works, this paper highlights how user-generated comments posted during the Cricket World Cup 2015 – mostly by individuals within the Indian subcontinent – intersected with broader issues such as culture, identity, politics and religion.

More than a Hashtag: Producers’ and Users’ Co-creation of a Loving “We” in a Second Screen TV Sports Production

This article presents a case study of a series of Swedish football commentary webcasts where both producers and users engage in communication with each other during the FIFA World Cup in 2014. The main aim is to identify what the participants do to construct sociable bonds with each other using the technological affordances available, specifically those connected to second screens. Second screening is approached as a thoroughly sociable activity rather than a practice you engage in for primarily instrumental reasons like finding facts or statistics. The analysis shows how users and producers adopt strategies of inclusion oriented to creating a joint sense of “being here together” in the community that is formed around the official hashtag expressenvm. The results indicate that second screen setups of this kind have the potential of displacing the big TV screen and its live sports event, at least for a specific user crowd.

Boosterism or Audience Interest?: An Examination of Self-Promotion on Sports-Network Highlight Shows

In sports broadcasting, a dichotomy exists between a network’s financial interests and its journalism responsibilities. Many sports networks enter contractual agreements into the billions of dollars for the rights to broadcast live sporting events as part of their network programming. Typically, these live events produce high ratings and generate significant profit for the networks. However, this conflict between a sports network’s business and journalistic affairs raises a compelling ethical debate. Working under the theoretical model of hybrid messages—the assumption that news networks include promotional themes in their journalism programming that aren’t easily recognizable to the viewer—this introductory study analyzed 168 broadcasts from the two most prominent nightly sports-news programs, SportsCenter and FOX Sports Live, to examine whether sports networks more heavily promote leagues with which they are contractually affiliated. The study yielded the existence of hybrid messaging in newscasts, specifically finding that sports networks self-promote by showing more in-depth coverage of games and leagues with which they have a financial interest, while also filling a significant portion of the news program’s most prominent block with programming that serves their interests. However, the relationship extant between sports networks and sports leagues makes it difficult to ascertain whether the sports networks are self-promoting in their journalism programming or simply following journalistic practices.

The effects of prior affect and sensory stimuli on motorsport spectators’ in-the-moment experiences

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide meaningful information to sport organizations that have just recently started hosting sporting events in a new market and want to build long-term relationships with that market’s consumers. Design/methodology/approach Using self-administered questionnaires, the study surveys 463 spectators who attended the 2012 Formula One Korean Grand Prix. Findings Prior affect and existing sensory cues are crucial for spectators’ consumption behavior. Spectators’ prior event attendance plays a significant role on perceiving sensory stimuli as well as on consequent outcomes. This study also finds arousal significantly affected by seeing and hearing and prior affect. Arousal mediates the effects of these sensory stimuli and prior affect on satisfaction and revisit intention. Originality/value This study expands the knowledge on spectators’ experience at live sporting events. In addition, more dimensions of the mechanisms that are at work between cognitive elements and sensory stimuli are added to the existing knowledge of sport spectators’ behavior.

Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting: Analysis of Criminal Behavior During the SEC Football Season

ABSTRACTEvidence suggests that live sporting events may lead fans to engage in criminal behaviors. The current study examined the relationship between criminal behavior and college football game days. Archival data of criminal offenses were collected from Southeastern Conference member institution police departments to analyze reported criminal offenses during the regular season. Multilevel linear models revealed an increase in criminal behavior. A factorial ANOVA indicated an interaction of team rankings and game outcome was related to specific types of criminal behavior in the host city (F (1, 9142) = 20.07, p < .001). Results provide insight to more effectively allocate resources.

Power plays and Olympic divisions: bilingualism and the politics of Canadian viewing rights at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games

There have been innumerable political debates around the world over the distribution of live sporting events in the digital era. Typically, these deliberations involve competing claims and interests associated with sport, commerce, cultural and broadcasting policies, and, at times, language rights. This article examines a recent debate in Canada over unequal access to live French-language coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games that prompted several interventions by public authorities and francophone community organizations. These interventions were required precisely because of the economic structure of the broadcasting market and the historical conditions of Canadian broadcasting policy. Indeed, unlike other nations, the Canadian state has not enacted legislation to protect the ‘viewing rights’ of citizens to have access to live telecasts of sporting events of national significance in both official languages. The debate was significant, then, precisely because it revolved around a central political commitment of the state: the principle of bilingualism. Moreover, the deliberations underscored the historical tensions between the material interests of the sport–media complex and the viewing rights of Canadians to have access to telecasts of sport in both official languages, and, by extension, the constitutional language rights of citizens enshrined in the Official Languages Act (1969).

Who Sits in Australia’s Grandstands?

Numerous sports stadiums in Australia have been renovated or built from scratch in the past two decades, funded in whole or part by public subsidies. This note focuses on one particular group that benefits from subsidies—those spectators who attend live sporting events. A portion of the benefits from subsidies provided by government are captured as increased consumer surplus by sporting fans. Thus, the income and wealth position of these fans are of interest to those deciding whether to subsidize a facility. On the other side of the equation, the taxes which fund sporting facilities are to a large degree state and local levies, which are mostly regressive, taking a larger portion of the income of lower and middle income than of higher income taxpayers because savings are usually exempt from the relevant taxes. Using data from the Household Expenditure Survey (1988-1989, 2009-2010), we analyze various financial status characteristics of those who pay to attend sporting events in Australia. We find that those who buy tickets to sporting events have higher annual incomes and greater wealth than Australians who do not purchase tickets to sporting events. Hence, while media and policy makers may view such funding as subsidizing “working man’s recreation,” our results suggest that funding of sporting arenas should be assessed through the lens of correcting market failures rather than equity considerations.

The 2012 London Olympics: innovations in ICT and social media marketing

The 2012 London Olympics was a technological and marketing watershed event in the history of live sport mega events. A case study of the 2012 London Olympics was used to demonstrate how effective management of innovations in (a) collaborative information and communication technology (ICT) and (b) social media marketing (SMM) ushered in a new platform template for live sport events worldwide. A review of the literature revealed four primary factors responsible: (1) the foresight, planning, due diligence, and management effectiveness of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and their technology partners; (2) the confluence of dramatically increased mobile device use and social media engagement by prosumers; (3) the willingness of sponsors, marketers, and global media enterprises to take risks with innovative media and SMM strategies; and (4) the enthusiasm and passion for sport of prosumers worldwide.

The business of stadia: Maximizing the use of Spanish Football venues

In 2014, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid presented a project for the remodelling of their stadia. The new stadia of both clubs will be, not only a place to attend live sports events, but also somewhere fans will be able to consume both football brands permanently, every moment of the day. Currently, stadia have become commodities themselves. At a time when TV rights in Spain were thrown into crisis, sports organizations understand that sports venues allow them to create other significant income sources that could help them to increase their season’s turnover. Hospitality and events packages, for example, are part of this leisure product that professional football clubs offer in their venues. The aim of this article is to analyse how Spanish professional football clubs attempt to maximize the use of their stadiums, and how these venues are also part of a wider city branding strategy for the host cities. Data for this qualitative research are taken from the Spanish football clubs that have UEFA Category 4 stadia: FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Atletic Club de Bilbao, Málaga CF, Real Sociedad, RCD Espanyol and València CF.

Multilanguage subtitle platform for production, distribution and diffusion of live sports events

The main objective of the project presented in this paper was the creation of a cheap multilanguage subtitling platform for live events as sports transmission. Actually, when a TV channel want to subtitle live events, special equipment and operational cost are needed. As a result, few TV channels in the entire world subtitle live events or the subtitles have bad quality. The platform presented in this paper changes the subtitle production processes and, with few resources, provides subtitles for all the TV channels in multiples languages for several technologies (TV channels, WebTV, mobile). The platform was created with a centralized architecture based on the selection of phrases for a commentator. Each phrase model has several synonymous phrases and in multiples languages into XML file. TV channels are able to use this plus their own subtitling system at the same. The output of the platform was tested with several deaf viewers and the results were better than actual subtitling systems. The platform opens a wide area for research aimed at its own improvement and increase of revenue.

Experience, LLC: Filling the Best Seats in the House

Experience, LLC is a start-up company that sells in-game seat upgrades during live sporting events using text messaging and cell phone apps. From a user standpoint, a small upgrade fee results in better seats and a better game experience. From a venue or team standpoint, Experience fills unused inventory resulting in increased revenues and more satisfied fans with higher repurchase intentions. Experience is looking to expand its services beyond single-game upgrades to a full-season ticket that is based on filling open, but previously sold, inventory. This case illustrates the forces at play in the ticketing industry, describes the features of each service, and provides an opportunity to decide on the expansion strategy for a fast-growing start-up company.

Investigating the NBA Servicescape: Fan Involvement, Team Loyalty, Perceptions of Atmospheric Music and Emotional Responses

Within the domain of entertainment and leisure services, sport is a unique experiential service-product. Further, sport consumer behavior has changed dramatically, as advances in technology have decreased barriers to and increased the scope of sport consumption. Sport consumers can now watch live, delayed, or recorded sport events when and where they choose. Therefore, sport organizations must focus on sustainability through the creation of a competitive advantage in the staging of live sport events. Given that the NBA product is consumed within an increasingly stimulating consumptive landscape (Andrews, 2006), this study sought to examine the relationship between NBA fans’ involvement, home-team attitudinal loyalty, perceptions of atmospheric music, and emotional responses to the servicescape. Data were collected, utilizing a cluster sampling procedure, during the 2010-2011 NBA season. Eight hundred, 42-item questionnaires were distributed during two games, a 53% rate of response resulted in the final sample (N = 425). Oneway MANOVAs, with follow-up descriptive discriminant analysis, were conducted to analyze the relationship between levels of NBA involvement and attitudinal loyalty to the home team and reported emotional responses to the environment, as well as reported interpretation of the atmospheric music. Results revealed heightened emotional responses among direct consumers. Further, highly involved and loyal participants reported increasingly positive perceptions of atmospheric music. Results support the significant influence servicescape elements have on the live sport-consumption experience. INTRODUCTION

Net Bias and the Treatment of 'Mission-Critical' Bits

This paper assesses whether and how ISPs can offer service enhancements for particular types of traffic and customers without harming competition among content creators and distributors. The paper will use the recent paid peering agreement between Netflix and Comcast as a case study. The paper concludes that the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) largely lacks jurisdiction to establish anti-discrimination rules so that ISPs will be able to discriminate on price and quality of service with only questionable options for consumer protection. The paper also concludes that network bias does not always serve anticompetitive goals, nor does it always result in an unlevel competitive playing field. Because attempts at network bias may result in beneficial or harmful impacts on consumers, the paper suggests that a regulatory referee remains necessary to offer timely resolution of disputes about what constitutes fair network bias particularly for the carriage of bandwidth intensive video content.The Internet increasingly provides an alternative distribution medium for video and other types of high value, bandwidth intensive content. While many consumers have become technology agnostic about which wireline or wireless medium provides service, they expect their video service providers to offer access anytime, anywhere, via any device and in any distribution format. These early adopters of new technologies and alternatives to “legacy” media have no patience with the concept of “appointment television” that limits access to a specific time, on a particular channel and in a single presentation format. Already some video content consumers have “cut the cord” and abandoned traditional video media, such as broadcast, satellite and cable television. A new generation of “cord nevers” will avoid monthly payments, instead opting for on-demand options. New distribution media have the ability to deliver “mission critical” bits requiring highly reliable conduits for the immediate (“real time”) transmission of video content and their instantaneous display. Internet Protocol Television (“IPTV”) and Over-the-Tope Television (“OTT”) can offer new options for consumers to view “must see” television, such as live sporting events, along with the downloading of files containing less time sensitive and less valuable content.This paper will examine any publicly available information about the Netflix-Comcast peering agreement with an eye toward assessing the balance of power between content providers and distributors on one hand and last mile, retail ISPs on the other hand. Because Netflix has agreed to pay Comcast a surcharge, the paper suggests that last mile connectivity now provides retail ISP with great negotiating leverage particularly when upstream ventures balk at paying surcharges for “better than best efforts” routing.

Real-time panoramic video streaming system with overlaid interface concept for social media

In this paper, we propose a real-time panoramic video streaming system with overlaid interface concept for social media. The proposed system provides real-time panorama images for smart displays such as smart TVs, smart phones, and tablet PCs. Panorama images are collected at sporting events via panorama cameras. Contents thus collected are sent to servers and then provided to smart devices via live sports video streams. Users select a panorama camera and choose their viewing angle and zooming factor for the selected panorama camera. The proposed system provides immersive and realistic views of live sporting events on users' displays. Furthermore, an overlaid panoramic interface concept is proposed for immersive live baseball watching combined with tightly integrated social media experience.

Sports Communication and Modern Technology

The best place to see the new world of communication may be the sports field. It encompasses some of the best in journalism, broadcasting, electronic communication, marketing, advertising, public relations, visual communication and new media. The stakes for understanding communicative practices may be even greater at the professional level. Especially because professional sports are inextricably linked to the media that broadcast, report, and opine about the games, it is next to impossible to escape the influence of professional sports. Live sporting events more available through satellite providers and Internet feeds, or that fantasy sports have produced an entire industry that is dependent on, but also separate from, sports themselves, or that community officials often insist that the key to urban development or city pride is to invest in a professional sports franchise and/or arena, or that player salaries continue to rise, often driving up the cost of attendance along with them. There are many other features to add to this list. What is critical, once again, is that communication practices are essential to the success of professional sports from expressions of collective identity found at live events to the images produced by sports media to the importance granted to sports in the vitality of a community.

MEASURING AND FORECASTING FAN INTEREST IN NFL FOOTBALL GAMES

This study examines the relationship between NFL game characteristics and the frequency of fan ratings on the NFL’s website (www.NFL.com). The margin of victory and overall total points scored in a game are shown to be significant determinants of the number of times individual games are rated; suggesting fans enjoy close and high-scoring games. While the actual game characteristics are only known for certain after the game is played, information provided by betting markets show similar predictive power in estimating the number of times a game is rated. Given that betting market data is generated prior to the start of the game, these relationships may allow for improvements in pre-game forecasting of television, or other media, audiences for live sporting events.

Estimating Young Australian Adults’ Risk of Hearing Damage From Selected Leisure Activities

Several previous studies have attempted to estimate the risk of noise-induced hearing loss from loud leisure noise. Some of these studies may have overestimated the risk because they used noise estimates taken from the higher end of reported levels. The aim of the present study was to provide a realistic estimate of the number of young Australian adults who may be at risk of hearing damage and eventual hearing loss from leisure-noise exposure. Average noise levels at five high-noise leisure activities, (1) nightclubs; (2) pubs, bars, and registered clubs; (3) fitness classes; (4) live sporting events; (5) concerts and live music venues, were calculated using 108 measurements taken from a large database of leisure noise measurements. In addition, an online survey was administered to a convenience sample of 1000 young adults aged 18 to 35 years, who reported the time spent at these leisure activities and the frequency with which they undertook the activities. They also answered questions about tinnitus and their perceived risk of hearing damage. Although the survey data cannot be considered representative of the population of young Australian adults, it was weighted to this population in respect of age, gender, education, and location. The survey data and the average noise levels were used to estimate each individual's annual noise exposure, and in turn, estimate those at risk of hearing damage from leisure-noise exposure. For the majority of participants (n = 868), the accumulated leisure noise level was within the acceptable workplace limit. However, 132 participants or 14.1% (population weighted) were exposed to an annual noise dose greater than the acceptable workplace noise limit. By far, the main source of high-risk leisure noise was from nightclubs. Those with more leisure-noise exposure experienced more tinnitus and perceived themselves to be more at risk than those with lower noise exposures. It is recommended that nightclub operators reduce noise levels, display warnings, and provide earplugs for patrons and employees. Health promoters should focus their attention on those young adults who are most at risk and provide them with targeted practical advice about reducing their leisure-noise exposure and avoiding hearing loss.

A Workload Analysis of Live Event Broadcast Service in Cloud

The class of popular Internet live events, such as sports game broadcast services, can greatly benefit from cloud technology that employs resource pooling and rapid elasticity in resource allocation and management. The external demands tend to be unpredictable and exhibit a high degree of burstability. To sustain a good viewing experience for the users, an important QoS support for this class of applications is the peak load management in the presence of unpredictable demand. This relies on a close grasp of the demand behavior characteristics and an accurate prediction model for them. In this paper, we analyze live sports event broadcast service workloads from a commercial Internet service provider. Our results show that popularity follows a 2-mode Zipf distribution. We also observe some significant characteristics of the demand behavior. First, the demand behavior may differ significantly between games. Popular events tend to exhibit highly variable behaviors in time, volume and the change rate during the course. Finally, the demand variation highly correlates with certain event-specific time points. We conclude the paper with a preliminary study that applies three simple statistical models in workload prediction at runtime as an input to dynamic resource resizing in a cloud. The results indicate that more e ective ways are needed to better capture the dynamics and unpredictability of the workload to improve prediction accuracy.

The inevitable queue: exploring the impact of wait time at sporting events

While the goal of almost any service provider is to eliminate wait from the consumption experience, there are a number of service environments where this ideal may be impractical, if not impossible, to deliver, among them live sport. Live sporting events often have queues at entry and exit gates, facility concessions and toilets. This study tests a model featuring antecedents not used in prior research on waiting. Findings suggest that facility layout features and waiting fill time both have a positive influence on spectators' feelings about a wait. Most interestingly perhaps, these same antecedents may also serve as a cue that long waits are likely.