Fantasy Sports:
Establishing the Connection between the Media, Social Identity, and Media Dependency
A dissertation presented to
the faculty of
the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University
In partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
Doctorate of Philosophy
David R. Schreindl
March 2012
2012 David R. Schreindl. All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled
Fantasy Sports: Establishing the Connection between the Media, Social Identity, and
Media Dependency
by
DAVID R. SCHREINDL
has been approved for
the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism
and the Scripps College of Communication by
Hans K. Meyer
Assistant Professor of Journalism
B. Scott Titsworth
Interim Dean, Scripps College of Communication
ii ABSTRACT
SCHREINDL, DAVID R. PhD, March 2012, Journalism
Fantasy Sports: Establishing the Connection between the Media, Social Identity, and
Media Dependency
Director of Dissertation: Hans Meyer
This study looked at the effects fantasy sports participation has on media consumption and how it leads to social identity and media dependency via the uses and gratifications framework. The purpose of this exploratory research was to search for connections between the motivations of fantasy sports players, their social identity, and their potential for dependency upon mass media.
By using correlations and ANOVAS, the results indicated that there is a strong relationship between media dependency and fantasy sports players’ motivation to play in order to socialize.
The results of this study suggest that further research can look deeper into how fantasy sports players use their cell phones and the Internet to play fantasy sports and to gather information about fantasy sports.
Approved: ______
Hans Meyer
Assistant Professor of Journalism
iii DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my family. First to my amazing wife Cheryl, for whom this journey never would have begun nor ended and I look forward to continuing our eternal journey. To my wonderful children Amber, Benjamin, and Gradin who put up with Daddy’s long hours and many moves. My parents, Robert and Diana, who supported my many moves across the country and to my dad who spent countless hours in the Idaho
State University library only to have me switch topics. This is also dedicated to my mother-in-law who allowed her daughter to leave her native land in the first place. And finally to my best friend Dana Moser, whom I miss dearly and for whom I still hope his beloved Cubs win it all someday.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project would not have been successfully completed without the guidance and assistance of my dissertation committee members Dr. Pat Washburn, Dr. Michael
Pfahl, and Dr. Roger Cooper. Nor would have I gotten as far as I did without Ohio
University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism faculty members Dr. Robert Stewart, Dr.
Anne Cooper-Chen, Dr. Joe Bernt, Dr. Bernhard Debatin, and particularly my chair, adviser, and friend Dr. Hans Meyer. There were also several more professors at OU that had a hand in molding my career, particularly in the history department: Dr. David Curp,
Dr. Katherine Jellison, Dr. Paul Milazzo, Dr. Steven Miner, Dr. Peter Brobst, Dr. Judith
Lee, and Dr. David Mould. I really enjoyed my time in the Contemporary History
Institute and miss the camaraderie with those great classmates in our quest for historical enlightenment.
I could not have done this without the many friends and peers at Ohio University including Howard Fisher, Jesse Jones, Ben Ogles, Dan Reimold, Jay Marion, Patrick
Campbell, Sara Magee, Stephen Siff, Tom Hrach, Brett Ragozzine, Brandon Palmer,
Mike Moulton, Paul Barte, Paul Kinghorn, Todd O’Neil, Laurel Ransom, Scott Jarvis, and Molly Yanity.
I also miss my BYU friends and thank Kris Boyle for his help. Also the gang from the two years at BYU really helped mold me into who I am and helped me develop the confidence I needed to continue my education. I also want to thank again Dr. Sherry
Baker who gave me a second chance and accepted me to the Master’s program at BYU that opened the door that has led to this accomplishment.
v My roots are how I ended up at this point in my life. I want to think the staff and
friends at the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin who gave me a chance to gain experience and confidence at the art of sports writing that led to me having the courage to tackle graduate school. Of course if it were not for the aid of my professors at BYU I could not have dared take this latest step. When I look back I realize that I’m not alone and I have a lot more friends and supporters than I ever realized. It’s a great feeling and I truly feel this has been a team effort and not just an individual achievement.
I can not forget the wonderful librarians I have abused over the years after I left
Athens, both at Idaho State and at Dickinson State University, nor can I forget the wonderful people I have met at DSU who have always had my back. This is a special thank you to Knude Swensen, Alan Church, Mike Cartmill, and my many wonderful students who have taught me as much as I have taught them.
To Dr. Andrew McGarva who helped me with SPSS.
Finally while this is a secular project it is my faith in a higher power that has sustained me through it all.
There are so many more I could name who have positively influenced my life over the years and I apologize for running out of space and time. But know you all hold a special place in my heart and you have my sincere gratitude.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Abstract ...... iii Dedication ...... iv Acknowledgements ...... v List of Tables ...... x Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 1 Purpsose ...... 5 Structure of the Dissertation ...... 8 Chapter 2: Fantasy Sports ...... 10 History of Fantasy Sports ...... 10 Fantasy Sports Defined ...... 103 Types of Fantasy Sports ...... 17 Media Involvement ...... 18 Demographics and Gender ...... 25 Big Money ...... 28 The Law and Gambling ...... 30 Chapter 3: Literature Review and Theoretical Framework ...... 33 Uses and Gratifications Framework ...... 36 Social Identity Theory ...... 40 History of Social Identity ...... 41 Social Identity Applied to Individuals ...... 43 Social Identity Applied to Groups ...... 45 Fans and Social ID ...... 46 Other Social Identity Research ...... 48 Community ...... 52 Media Systems Dependency Theory ...... 55 Research Questions ...... 63 Chapter 4: Methodology ...... 65 Research Design ...... 65
vii Sample Size and Population ...... 68 Instrument ...... 70 Section One – Media Usage ...... 71 Section Two - Favorites ...... 72 Section Three – Wann and Identity ...... 73 Section Four – Motivations ...... 74 Section Five - Demographics ...... 77 Chapter 5: Results ...... 79 Primary Research Question ...... 79 Research Question 1 ...... 81 Research Question 2 ...... 83 Research Question 3 ...... 83 Research Question 4 ...... 85 Research Question 5 ...... 86 Research Question 6 ...... 87 Research Question 7 ...... 88 Chapter 6: Discussion ...... 93 Theoretical and Practical Implications ...... 94 Primary Research Question ...... 96 RQ1: Demographics ...... 97 RQ2: Social Identification ...... 99 RQ3: Cell Phones ...... 99 RQ4: Time Spent Playing Fantasy Sports ...... 100 RQ5: Highly Identified ...... 101 RQ6: Community ...... 103 RQ7: Gratifications ...... 103 Limitations ...... 104 Future Research ...... 105 Role-Playing Theory ...... 106 Media Dependency and Self ...... 106 Fantasy vs. Non-Fantasy ...... 107 Interactivity ...... 107 Chapter 7: Conclusion...... 109
viii Works Cited ...... 113 Appendix A: Survey Instrument ...... 150 Appendix B: IRB Approval ...... 160
ix LIST OF TABLES
Page Table 5.1 Rotated component matrix for competition and social variables ...... 80 Table 5.2 Correlations between competitive motives and new technology ...... 81 Table 5.3 Social motivations multiple comparisons ...... 82 Table 5.4 Correlations between social motives and social identity ...... 84 Table 5.5 Correlations between competitive motives and social identity ...... 87 Table 5.6 Correlations between competitive motives and social motives ...... 87 Table 5.7 Time researching fantasy sports multiple comparisons ...... 92
x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Sports are all around us. They are in newspapers, on television, talked about daily around the water cooler, or these days via text messaging. Sports have become a part of who we are and a part of our daily vernacular.
“It is not possible to live in the United States and be unaware of, or unaffected by the constant rhythm of sport as well as the degree to which sport has become part of our
educational system, common language, and national identity,” wrote Levy (2005, p.45).
He also said there are many people who consider sport consumption to be an integral
facet of their identity.
The largest area of growth in the sporting industry has been the rise of fantasy
sports. This growth has been reported to be close to 10% every year since the mid-90s
(Aragon, 2006).
“Fantasy players’ thirst for information is the reason why our business has
grown,” said Steve Byrd, senior vice president at Stats. “They’re the ones who want to
buy books, buy magazines and scour the Web for all the data that media clients get from
us” (Hu, 2003). This frenzy has only grown in the eight years since Hu’s interview was
conducted. Another reporter who got involved in fantasy sports stated that his viewing
habits changed with the rising ticket prices and he admitted his favorite boys of summer
were now on his fantasy team (Roth, 2007).
Comeau (2007) said it well in regards to how fantasy sports is changing sports
consumption:
This participation is creating a fan who is not only concerned about a
team’s performance, but also interested in an individual player’s statistics
1 and news about players, such as injuries. This desire for knowledge about
individual players appears to be changing fan consumption of media for
sports, the use they have for this media, and even the way sports media is
presented to the fan (p.8).
Recently, two things happened in my life that has focused my attention on the impact of fantasy sports. These experiences instilled in me a desire to research this topic.
On one particular Monday in December at work during the NFL football season, I was enjoying my lunch in the break room. The conversation around me eventually turned to sports. I remember it was a Monday afternoon because the individuals talking were discussing that evening’s Minnesota Vikings game. My ears perked up when the conversation shifted to fantasy sports. The individual admitted to another co-worker that while he was a Vikings fan, he would be rooting for the other team because he had a number of their players on his fantasy team. What the employee said next set off alarms in my head. He said it was more important for him to win his fantasy football league than to see his favorite team notch a victory. It was not surprising to overhear this same individual, several hours later, discussing scores and statistics from the game he had retrieved from his cell phone.
This experience made me look at how I am associated with my favorite teams and how I use modern technology. As one who has become disconnected from my favorite professional and college athletic teams because of distance and poor performances over the years, I realized I feel the same way as my former co-worker. I wondered if others could think this way too.
2 The second event to impact my choice to investigate fantasy sports happened in
March 2011. I was caught up in Jimmermania1 with the advent of college basketball’s
March Madness. While grading papers I had my computer tuned into the live streaming video of the BYU-Wofford game. During a media timeout, CBS chose to use the time to
promote its upcoming fantasy baseball league. I imagine they were probably running the
same advertisements to the captive audience of millions watching on their television sets.
At that time there were just two weeks until Major League Baseball would
celebrate opening day. Yet by the end of that baseball season there were roughly six to
seven million people trying to make the right decisions to win their fantasy league or
leagues (Rosenthal, 2011; Zillgitt, 2000). I almost became one of those millions. I had three baseball players in a media production class who invited me to join their fantasy league. I was tempted, but knowing my schedule and that my competitive nature would require me to spend hours doing research in order to win made the choice fairly easy. In other words, I am not willing to get involved in fantasy baseball or any other fantasy sport unless I can do it well with nothing less than 100% commitment that is how competitive I am. An interesting sidebar is I still remember the times I would go to work at the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin and sit down at a computer and see the stack of baseball statistics my editor had left out from his work on his fantasy baseball team earlier in the day. I had wondered what it was all about and had wanted to get involved but did not have the courage to ask him.
My work experiences, combined with the recent fantasy sports invitation, and several weeks of fantasy football reminded me of my first exposure to fantasy sports. It is
1 Jimmermania refers to James Taft “Jimmer” Fredette who was the starting shooting guard for the Brigham Young Cougars, my alma mater.
3 amazing how much time has gone by since I was starting my senior year at Brigham
Young University in the fall of 1994. It was a hot day in early August prior to the start of
football season. I remember going to the local park to play football with my brother and
some of our friends. After playing our friend approached my brother and me and told us
about this game he and his brothers liked to play called fantasy football. While it was a
new concept for me, being a lifelong sports fanatic it did not take long to pick up on how
it was played. I distinctly remember spending the next week buying multiple professional
football preview magazines and watching ESPN in the BYU campus lounge in order to
get some ideas on which players were likely to do well that upcoming football season. To
this day I have no idea who won that first league, but I know I didn’t.
I wish I had read David Dorey’s 2007 book on taking fantasy football to the next
level. Then I might have won my league and would not have spent so much time
consuming media such as ESPN SportsCenter or several of the football pre-season magazines in vain.2 There are also a number of other self-help fantasy sports books to assist both the beginner and the experienced practitioner learn the finer points of how to play (2008b; Clemons, 2010; Harmon, 2005; Hendricks, 2009; King, 2010; Meinelt,
2009; Signore, 2007; K. D. Thompson, 2007; Zimmerman, 2000). Yet, it was not totally in vain as I did have a lot of fun.
The other unique thing I recalled from that experience from almost 20 years ago was the fact that the draft, trades, points, and everything else were all done by hand. The reason that fact sticks in my head is because I played two more fantasy football seasons six years later, again with my brother and the same friend, only this time we had the
2 An interesting side note: In my research for this dissertation I discovered that there are only two serious fantasy sports magazines left. Most of the many previous publications have either folded or have morphed into an online website.
4 benefit of using Yahoo’s free service that did all the statistical work for us. I also know it
had to be a paper season for my first exposure to fantasy sports because I can still recall
my introduction to the Internet. 3
While both the electronic and the paper versions were fun, the experience was like night and day. I felt more involved through using the online fantasy game services at
Yahoo. I could make trades and decisions instantaneously. With the Internet, I am more
in touch with information about players and their point tallies. I also knew sooner rather
than later what my chances of winning the week’s contests were. My experience is akin
to the roughly 30 million people currently involved in a number of fantasy games.
According to a number of researchers, the consensus is that between seven and 10% of
the American population participates in fantasy sports (Ballard, 2009; Corrigan, 2007;
Donaldson, 2008; Flood, 2004; T. Howard, 2009; Sheps, 2006).
The goal of this dissertation is to examine the attitude and behavior of fantasy
players with an eye toward media consumption. This dissertation will look at both why
people play fantasy sports and how they play them.
Purpose
The purpose of the this dissertation is to conduct research of an exploratory nature
in order to examine more closely the impact of the mass media on fantasy sports rather
than looking specifically at the content of websites as has been done before. Exploratory
research is used when a problem has not been clearly defined and when one is breaking
new ground (DJS Research Ltd. 2011). The reason for this approach is exploring the
media habits of fantasy sports players and their motivations will help researchers refine
3 I had to retire from fantasy football because I started graduate school. I have been studying ever since but I would love to return to the ranks of fantasy players someday.
5 theories in order to better examine the relationship between the media, media dependency, social identity, and the uses and gratifications of fantasy sports players.
Another reason for exploration is to gain a deeper understanding, in this case of fantasy sports, which in the future will help individuals to improve research looking at fantasy sports and those who play fantasy sports.
This research will examine whether the growth of fantasy sports has led to a dependence on media products. This study builds upon the theories of social identity, media systems dependency, and uses and gratification to examine how and if highly identified individuals are more likely to become dependent upon the media as opposed to those who are considered to be lower identified in regards to sports. In so doing, I will contribute to communication research in helping explain not only why and how individuals use the media to play fantasy sports, but also how the medium or method of how players access information impacts this phenomenon. I will also provide some direction as to where fantasy sports research should go.
In the end, this dissertation will provide important theoretical insight into how fantasy sports are leading to a media dependent society and whether they affect media dependency. It will also look at highly identified players and how fantasy sports are becoming more engrained in our culture. My work will also see how fantasy sports have moved past the goal oriented nature of the uses and gratifications framework and into the realm of dependency.
There have been a few studies looking at media and fantasy sports in the past.
This study will be exploratory in nature in that it will focus on how fantasy sports players’ access information, whether it be with cell phones, the Internet, multiple TVs,
6 cable, newspapers, magazines, and satellite sports packages, instead of just the message or why people play.
I have seen the impact of media dependency in my own life and in my family’s behavior. Often times I feel lost and disoriented if I am not wired to music or in front of a computer or television set. It seems like I don’t know what to do with myself if I don’t have some sort of electronic device at my beck and call. However, I have come to realize now that I really do not get much joy from surfing the Web even though I have this nagging desire to be online all the time. Is this also happening to those who are playing fantasy sports and have they moved on to more technological savvy equipment to keep pace with their fantasy habit?
Studies have also predicted that web traffic on fantasy sports sites is expected to increase over time (Kimball, 2008). “The explosion of Internet applications such as fantasy sports, message boards, and blogs have enabled sports fans to actively engage with sports products at a level unknown to them just a decade ago” (Drayer, Shapiro,
Dwyer, Morse, & White, 2010).
Research into sporting websites has shown that marketers are realizing the importance fantasy sports are having as a way for people to make money, but marketers and website owners are also realizing it is a way to develop long term customers.
“Fantasy sports are one way of creating loyal users and generating frequent and longer visits to their websites” (D. Murphy, 2000; Suh, Lim, Kwak, & Pederson, 2010). Thus, it is financially advantageous to study fantasy sports in order to learn more from fantasy sports players. A 2009 FSTA research poll showed a profile of higher educated males with more wealth than the general population playing fantasy sports (Association, 2009).
7 Part of this exploratory study will look at the possibility of those most open to using
media might also be the ones becoming media dependent.
One of the reasons I was drawn to fantasy sports is also one of the reasons I am
investigating this topic. I want to know what fantasy sports players do with their time if
their team is already out of the playoff picture or likely to be in yet another rebound year.
Structure of the Dissertation
This dissertation will be organized into seven chapters. Following this introduction, chapter two will look at the history of fantasy sports and past research.
Chapter three is a literature review of the three theories/frameworks to be used in this study, which include the uses and gratifications framework, dependency theory, and social identity theory. It is my purpose to show through this research to support that fantasy sports players are socially highly identified with sports and use the Internet for eight different gratifications (Wann et al., 2003; Wann, Schrader, & Wilson, 1999).
Those gratifications are eustress, self-esteem, escape, entertainment, economics, aesthetic value, group affiliation, and family needs (Wann, Royalty, & Rochelle, 2002).
Chapter four will take an in-depth look at the methodologies I will be using in this study and will include a look at the survey questions that I used in this dissertation’s research. Chapter five will present the results and findings from the conducted surveys.
Chapter six will discuss those findings and chapter seven will summarize the impact this research has on the industry and fantasy sports research and spell out future research and some of the limitations I faced.
While sports have become a staple of our culture, many of us do not know how it became that way or how fantasy sports have taken over so many lives. Levy (2005) found
8 that many of the men he interviewed about fantasy sports said they, “Couldn’t figure out why they devoted as much time and energy to an admittedly frivolous activity. They said they simply did not know” (p.296). Law student Zachary Bolitho (2006) said, “Whether you adore the industry or view it with disdain, the reality is that fantasy sports have become an integral part of American popular culture” (p.959).
It is my desire that with this dissertation I will begin to answer why fantasy sports have become such an integral part of society and how media organizations can use the compulsions of fantasy sports players to better engage this segment of their audience.
9 CHAPTER 2: FANTASY SPORTS
To fully understand the impact of fantasy sports on the media it is important to look at its history and look at its make up. It is important to look at the vast scope of fantasy sports and the industry it has become. This will help the dissertation to ask better questions because it will be armed with vital information about fantasy sports. This includes looking at the history of fantasy sports, the definition of fantasy sports, media involvement in fantasy sports, how fantasy sports is demographically divided, how the industry has become about big money, and looking how the law has impacted fantasy sports.
History of Fantasy Sports
The origins of the modern fantasy games can be traced back to the board games of the 1920s, which evolved into card games, video games, and then in the 1990s with the advent of the Internet fantasy sports has evolved into the game we know today (Lomax,
2006).
While there are minor disagreements as to how and when fantasy sports actually began, most researchers agree that fantasy baseball, the first league to gain mass appeal, can be traced back to Daniel Okrent in 1979-80 (2011a; Ballard, 2004; Ballard & B.,
2004; Brower, 2010; Colston, 1999; Davis & Duncan, 2006b; Drexler, 2007; Gerton,
2009; Murphy, 2006; Razzano, 2006). Okrent was a sports writer for the New York Times at that point in his career. “It seems Okrent’s invention has changed, forever, the way millions of fans watch baseball. Yet he’s netted next to nothing” (Colston, 1999).
Okrent, who has claimed to have been interviewed more than 200 times about starting a fantasy baseball league, said he came up with the idea on a flight between
10 reporting assignments in 1979 and was inspired by a Michigan professor, Bob Sklar,
from whom he had a class. He then recruited a number of friends in the publishing
business and after an initiatory meeting at the La Rotisserie Française restaurant, the
group agreed on the rules, named their teams, and had a draft. Okrent said he started the
league as a way to have fun and to maintain his friendships (Ballard & B., 2004; Colston,
1999; J. M. Kelly, 2008; Roberts Jr, 2007; A. Thompson, 2007; M. J. Thompson, 2001;
R. Walker, 2006). Okrent said, “Rotisserie, also known as fantasy baseball, is a game in
which a dozen average Joes each use $260 to ‘acquire’ 23-major league players” (Jones,
2006). Each player drafted nine pitchers, five outfielders, two catchers, one of each of the
infield positions but two extra infielders, and one utility player (S. Walker, 2006). Okrent also said fantasy leagues are for “anybody who believes that he or she can run the team better than the real people doing it. In our hearts, we’re all general managers” (Wendel,
2004).
After Okrent’s friends and newspaper colleagues wrote a few newspaper articles about the league, it did not take long for the media to take fantasy sports seriously.
During the second year of the Rotisserie league, Okrent said he found that fantasy leagues had popped up in every pressbox at Major League Baseball venues. “In 1981 there was a players’ strike, and the writers who were covering baseball had nothing to write about, so they began writing about the teams they had assembled in their own leagues. And that was what popularized it and spread it around very, very, widely” (J.
Kelly, 2008). Okrent (1981) also chronicled the first year in a story for Inside Sports where he gave some personal insight into how the fantasy phenomenon began. By 1984
11 the first Fantasy Baseball Digest was published and reviewed by The New York Times,
and there was no going back (Ballard, 2009; Colston, 1999; Fantasy, 2011).
While Okrent is credited as the founder of fantasy baseball other leagues may
have started earlier (2011a; 2011b; Harris & Kadlec, 2004). A 1994 story published in the
Fantasy Football Index stated Wilfred Winkenbach and two others created fantasy
football in the 1950s (Birch, 2004; Bolitho, 2006; Curtis, 2007; Flood, 2004; Holleman,
2006; Murphy, 2006; Page, 2007). However, it was Okrent and his media connections
that brought fantasy sports to the nation’s attention.
The Internet, on the hand, made fantasy sports fully accessible to all those with a
home computer or a library card (Winkle, 2003). In the early days, players gathered at
each other’s homes at the start of their favorite season to draft teams; everything was
offline and done by hand (Flood, 2004). By the mid’90s fantasy teams and fantasy
leagues had become staples of many sports-oriented websites (Xiong, 1997). Peter
Shoenke, president and founder of Rotowire, a fantasy site that provides statistics for
Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, said, “There is a small minority not playing online. Before the
Internet came along, you really had to be a diehard to play some of these games”
(Delaney & Kesmodel, 2005; Holahan, 2006).
Now you no longer have to be a diehard sports fan or fantasy sports expert who
lives and breathes stats to play fantasy sports. Online tools have made it easy for anyone
who has an Internet connection and a desire to play fantasy sports to get involved with
any of the various fantasy sports leagues.
12 Fantasy Sports Trade Association President Greg Ambrosius said, “The Internet
has allowed more people to get involved in fantasy sports and it is easier than ever to
become a part of it” (Davis & Duncan, 2006b).
The growth of the sport from a restaurant table to today’s online world has also
meant the types of fantasy players have changed. In a 2006 article for BuisnessWeek
Online reporter Catherine Holahan (2006) described one such fan:
Ryan Lester trains for his NFL fantasy draft with the intensity of a
Division I cyber-athlete. The 30-year-old Minnesotan spends hours online
researching players’ health histories, analyzing statistics, and reading
scouting reports. He blots theories on which prospective picks will have a
good season, tweaking his would-be roster in response to posted opinions.
He even practices for draft day in mock online drafts before officially
choosing the lineups for his several teams. (p.6)
This shows how intense fantasy sports have become and reiterates the need for more research into its current stage of evolution. It also exhibits the amount of time gamers are starting to invest, which leads to even more media consumption (Wagner,
2005).
Fantasy Sports Defined
The goal and design of fantasy sports is to put individuals into the roles of an owner or general manager. Players gather either online or in person and draft real players from real teams onto a new team, a fantasy team, just like an owner would put together a real team (Birch, 2004; Davis & Duncan, 2006b; Randle & Nyland, 2008; Sheps, 2006;
Woodward, 2005). Simply put, “Participants create fake teams made up of actual
13 athletes” (Genzlinger, 2009). Players earn points based on their players’ real-life
performance in games. The rules of the league4 determine how many points a fantasy player earns (Delaney, 2004; Delaney & Kesmodel, 2005; Signore, 2007). “Fantasy sports therefore works best in sports domains where statistics are freely available and relevant” (Karg & McDonald, 2009b).
In baseball, for example, the original eight statistical categories were batting average, home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases, wins, earned run average, saves, and the ratio of walks and hits to innings pitched (Bolitho, 2006). In football, points are usually based on touchdowns scored, yards thrown, interceptions, receiving yardage, extra points, field goals, and various defensive stats. “Success in a fantasy game is predicated upon selecting players who yield the best statistics, which are not necessarily the most notable players” (Bolitho, 2006). Each league is made up usually of 8 to 12 teams, each with a number of real athletes obtained either through a draft or auction. The draft is where people take turns, in predetermined order, to pick players for their fantasy teams. An auction is where there is a maximum monetary value set, for example $250 fantasy dollars. Fantasy players then cannot spend over that amount in creating their fantasy team. One player is chosen to go first and picks a player to be placed on the auction block. Bids are made until no one else bids, just like at a real auction. Auctions tend to require much more research mixed with skill and a little luck to fill out one’s roster.
There are numerous strategies for creating one’s lineup.
In each league one person serves as the league commissioner and is responsible with enforcing the rules and making sure things run smoothly. The members of the
4 Depending on the style of game, each league, through electronic technology, can set up its own rules regarding how points are generated.
14 league usually take turns from year to year but if no one wants to do it or the league is
happy with one individual the position will remain in the hands of one individual
(Woodward, 2005).
There are also several different ways to play fantasy sports. Some leagues
compile points based on statistics, other leagues conduct head-to-head match ups. Some leagues give the title to the overall stats winners while others have playoffs (Sandomir,
2002).
While fantasy owners do not have the millions of dollars that most professional owners do, they do have the same power and start out on mostly an even playing field
(Winkle, 2003).
In the world of fantasy sports, this is exactly what you get to do. You’re
the owner, and you and your buddies assemble a league and manage
hypothetical teams stocked with actual players. Depending on the rules
governing your league, you could be battling for bragging rights around
the water cooler or for an escalating kitty worth hundreds of dollars (p.22).
Fantasy leagues are striving to be more sophisticated and realistic yet easy for novices and experts alike to use. The motivation for the online fantasy sports providers is to give the players what they want, which is the opportunity to excel in the role of a fantasy general manager. The goal of these players is to outmaneuver their friends or anyone else who they play against in order to come out on top at the end of the season.
Friends usually get together and form a league, drafting a team of players
whose performance is based on how the real live players are doing. Just
like Yankees’ owner George Steinbrenner, you can make trades, pick up
15 free agents, drop players, decide who plays and who rides the pine and
figure out what to do when one of your stars goes down with that torn
ACL. The challenge: to out think and outmaneuver the other owners in
your league (Berentson, 2000).
Sometimes, to really compete, you have to be even better than real general managers.
While its goal is to give ordinary shlubs a taste of what it’s like to run a
major-league ball club, the Rotisserie game is, in some ways, more
complicated than the real one. For one thing, there are no contracts. Most
classic “Roto” leagues require all players to be released at the end of the
season and to therefore be eligible at the next auction. That being the case,
a dedicated owner has to come to the draft ready to pass judgment on
every ballplayer who might step between the chalk stripes in the
forthcoming season. To make solid predictions, one must account for
hundreds of variables, from something as tangible as a hitter’s likely spot
in the batting order to murkier topics like the sturdiness of his hamstrings
or the relative nastiness of his divorce proceedings. At a reasonable pace
of assessing ten players a day, this process would take five months (S.
Walker, 2006).
The primary attraction to fantasy sports by individuals is the interaction with other gamers and sports enthusiasts. Rather than being on the sidelines or watching in a recliner at home each individual can “log onto his own Web page to set lineups, make trades, and drop or add players” (Cohen, 2002), just like owners and general managers of
16 professional teams do (Farquhar & Meeds, 2007; Hyman, 2002; Lewis, 2001). As with administrators, fantasy owners win and lose based on the players’ performances week to week and over a season (Hiltner & Walker, 1996; Petrecca, 2005). One fantasy player and editor of the Fantasy Sports Magazine in a Salt Lake Tribune article explained the desire to be a fantasy team owner. “It’s the old armchair quarterback theory: every fan thinks they can do a better job than the coach on the sidelines or the general manager in the front office or the owner in the owner’s box. Fantasy sports are perfect for people who want to fulfill those fantasies” (Aragon, 2006).
Another part of the attraction is the bragging rights and seeing one’s name atop the leader board (1999; Baltin, 2003; Bernhard & Eade, 2005; Cox, 2002; Holahan, 2006;
Holleman, 2006; Levy, 2005; Pells, 2006; Rocca & Vogl-Bauer, 1999; S. Walker, 2006;
Woodward, 2005). It is truly the advent of the Internet that has caused the fantasy sports phenomenon to explode. It has enhanced the realism of fantasy sports. “By incorporating elements like salary caps, trade deadlines, and free agency, the game has made fantasy
‘owners’ more and more like owners, general managers, and coaches of real sports teams,” (Corrigan, 2007; Lomax, 2006).
Types of Fantasy Sports
Football reigns supreme in both the real world and in fantasy sports.
Approximately 75% of the total number of fantasy sports players play fantasy football
(FSTA 2009). Other options include baseball, basketball, hockey, and NASCAR
(Fitzsimmons, 1999; Hugenberg & Hugenberg, 2008). For those interested in other sports, players may also select leagues in golf, soccer, rugby, bass fishing, professional wrestling, rodeo, cricket, darts, thoroughbred racing, gymnastics, boxing, figure skating,
17 volleyball, softball, bicycle racing, bowling, lacrosse, tennis, Australian Rules Football, curling, sumo wrestling, and for the non-sports fan there was a congressional league
operating from 2007-2009 (1997; Ballard & B., 2004; Berentson, 2000; Bhatnagar, 2009;
Birch, 2004; Bolitho, 2006; Boswell, 2008; Corrigan, 2007; Farris, 2008; Flood, 2004;
Hiestand, 2006b; Jeansonne, 2006; Karg & McDonald, 2009b; Kindred, 2006; Lomax,
2006; Page, 2007; Pennington, 2009; Roberts Jr, 2007; Tedeschi, 2008; Wagner, 2005;
Woodward, 2005). There was even a fantasy Supreme Court league (Ballard & B., 2004;
J. M. Kelly, 2008; E. S. Lee, 2008). In that league players would predict the outcomes
and voting spreads on the cases (Chang, 2006). Various websites have even started
offering college fantasy football leagues (2005; Gerton, 2009; Spinda & Haridakis,
2008).
Some of the more outrageous leagues include fantasy water skiing, a celebrity
gossip league, which gives out points for every time a celebrity appears in a gossip
magazine, a fantasy music league, and a fantasy fashion league (Murphy, 2006; Sager,
2006; R. E. Smith, 2006). These unusual leagues are a direct result of women wanting to
create a league based on something they had an interest in, including the fantasy lingerie
league (R. E. Smith, 2006). Sports Illustrated is one company that has offered 10
different fantasy games (Ballard & B., 2004). One reporter joked that there were so many
different fantasy games that any day now there was going to be a fantasy Olympics
website (Farris, 2008).
Media Involvement
Hundreds, if not thousands, of websites (Bannan, Triverio, & Ryan, 1999) exist
for the sole purpose of catering to the needs and wants of fantasy sports enthusiasts.
18 Three top sites for playing fantasy sports include Yahoo!Sports, CBS Sportsline, and
Disney/ESPN (2004c; Boyd, 2001; Choi, 2002; Corrigan, 2007; Di Fino & Karp, 2010;
Dwyer & Kim, 2011; La Monica, 2006a; Lomax, 2006; Mullaney, 2002; Pells, 2006;
Sandomir, 2002; Schmidt, 2007; Welch & Stead, 2007). Many other fantasy websites offer insights and reviews to help players win. There used to be three times as many fantasy football preview magazines as there were actual football preview magazines
(Ballard & B., 2004; Walsh, 2003; Welch & Stead, 2007).
The fantasy sports craze has also created an environment where fantasy sports- related sites have gone on the offensive. Organizations are now “adding elements such as draft and pre-draft events, custom fantasy games and fantasy guides and other premium promotions” (Lefton, 2007). NBA TV Vice President Steven Herbst said, “The explosion in fantasy basketball over the past few years has forced the network to create programming to serve the audience.” He also said both players and coaches watch the fantasy shows (Umstead, 2003).
Fantasy sports have also influenced how satellite and cable television cover the
NFL. Both Fox and ESPN have scheduled shows aimed specifically at the fantasy sports enthusiast. ESPN has the Fantasy Show on its second station, ESPN2 (Randle & Nyland,
2008). In 2002, ESPN catered to fantasy fans with animated characters Hector the
Projector and Victor the Predictor (Sandomir, 2002). Fox has named its show the
Ultimate Fantasy Football show (Cox, 2002). These shows are an example of narrow casting, which is a growing trend that allows the media to target the smaller audiences that are receptive to the fantasy sports message. It is also more effective because it is reaching the target audience (Woodward, 2005).
19 DirecTV, a satellite television channel provider, now offers the Red Zone
Package as part of its NFL coverage package. DirecTV offers viewers the opportunity to watch every game being played that week for one time fee for the entire 18-week season.
The Red Zone Package is a specific channel that looks at highlights and checks in on games whenever a football team is inside the 20-yard line (Kindred, 2005; Klaassen,
2006; Umstead, 2003). In football terms, when the offense (the team with the football) is within 20 yards of the endzone they have entered what is referred to as the red zone.
Because fantasy football points are given based on how many touchdowns or field goals scored by specific players one has on their fantasy team or points scored for one’s team defense to keep the opponent’s offense from scoring those with fantasy teams have a vested interest in the number of points scored and by whom the scoring is done.
ESPN and Fox Sports have also changed the way they report scores. Not only do they have game score updates but also with each game they include key fantasy statistical updates as well (Comeau, 2007; Jones, 2006; Nesbit & King, 2010b). Both networks have created the ticker, which is the statistical information of games in progress or previously played at the bottom of the screen. Sports channels keep the ticker running even during commercials. ESPN Director of Fantasy Games Chris Nicholas said, “The
Network can’t afford to ignore the fantasy fan” (Umstead, 2003). This may be one reason why ESPN has come to be known as the sports information industry leader (Gantz,
Wilson, Lee, & Fingerhut, 2008). Nicolas said ESPN has “established many sports standards that impacted all of sports journalism” (Choi, 2002). ESPN has “established many sports standards that impacted all of sports journalism” (Choi, 2002). CBS and Fox, who air games in the same time slots on Sunday, have also started to look at using
20 “fantasy-related segments, crawlers, and graphics to keep viewers tuned in” (Woodward,
2005).
Radio is also not immune to the informational race as Sirus Radio now has two
channels dedicated to just fantasy information including stats as well as shows designed
to provide players with advice as to which players to add and which ones to subtract from
their fantasy teams.
Fantasy sports, in addition to radio, have invaded other technological territories.
Those territories also include cell phones and the Internet, including increased web
traffic.
Ron Cariker, in an interview for Daniel Woodward’s (2005) dissertation, stated,
“NewsOk.com provides news from the Oklahoma City area but uses fantasy games as a
way to keep visitors on the site longer.” Mike Hill, who works for ESPN Radio in Texas
said, “Fantasy sports has only increased the network’s content, not altered or refocused
it” (p.46). This implied that fantasy sports are impacting how sport sites are visited and thus warrant more study.
Cell phones, especially with each generation of improvements, have also changed the landscape of fantasy sports. With online streaming of the Web now available on cell
phones, a lot of players are multi-tasking and watching scores, checking injury updates, and other sites while on the go (Drayer et al., 2010; Klayman, 2008; Petrecca, 2005;
Wenner, 2008). ESPN actually used its fantasy division to push the adoption of its
Mobile ESPN Cellular service (Klaassen, 2006; Suh et al., 2010). “People have yet to realize the full potential of fantasy as it really comes to cell phones and we’ll see that
21 over the course of the next several years,” said Zaw Thet, CEO of the company 4Infor, which sends text alerts to users about sports scores and celebrity gossip (Klayman, 2008).
The fantasy sports craze has even created a new journalistic category (Guyer,
2008). Rick Kamla is the poster child for this new fantasy sports genre. He quit his job as
a financial planner to become a full time fantasy sports analyst for NBA TV and the
NBA’s radio channel on Sirius Satellite Radio (Hiestand, 2006a). Another way the
Internet has expanded fantasy sports consumption is through blogs, including blogs
targeting specific fan bases, whether it relates to teams, topics, or related to a specific
individuals (Del Rey, 2010).
Fantasy sports have also spawned a growth in freelance writing for websites such
as Sportsillustrated.cnn.com and www.TalentedMrRoto.com. As more people are playing
and consuming media many metropolitan newspapers have started including weekly and
sometimes daily fantasy sports columns (Woodward, 2005). Woodward (2005) observed,
“The mass media have begun incorporating [fantasy sports updates] into their content to
the extent that journalists observations about their own fantasy teams have become
accepted as sports journalism. Stories concerning the spread of fantasy sports and its
social and economic implications have begun appearing as news content” (p.1). That is
how fantasy sports, in particular baseball, was spread during the strike year in 1981 when
baseball reporters struggled to find things to write about so they wrote about their fantasy
teams (S. Walker, 2006).
Newspapers and magazines such as ESPN the Magazine, USA Today, and Sports
Illustrated have also started to include articles about fantasy sports, including advice on
who to draft or trade (1998; 2008d; 2010b; Bieze, 2004; Downs, 2008; Harris, 2003;
22 Roberts, 2006; Sabino, 2010; Walker, 2008). “USATODAY.com increasingly places more importance on the fantasy sports world. We have a section just for fantasy sports, and we have columnists for football, baseball, basketball and hockey” (Zillgitt, 2000).
Not to be left out of the cash opportunities, NBC has launched a website that offers “in-depth information and analysis of pro football, featuring video, blogs, email and chat with its on-air commentators including John Madden, Chris Collinsworth,
Sterling Sharpe, Jerome Bettis, Peter King, and Andrea Kremer” (Lafayette, 2006).
Between all the media entities and Internet options fans are barraged on a daily basis with fantasy sports promotional materials (R. E. Smith, 2006; Theberge, 2005). The NFL
Network and NBA TV both have fantasy heavy programming. One NFL executive even said the network wouldn’t exist without fantasy football. Fox Sports and Comcast were not far behind the pack with their airing of fantasy focused programming (Dwyer, 2009;
Zeitchik, 2005). “Executives say such programming not only endears the network to the hard-core sports fan, but also helps to touch the elusive demographic of men 18 to 34, which make up the lion’s share of fantasy players” (Umstead, 2003).
Even AOL got involved in the fantasy game. Senior Vice President for AOL
News and Sports Carlos Silva said,
The popularity of fantasy sports games is undeniable and this is a unique
opportunity to offer fans something not previously available – the ability
for any fan to play games that best suit their interest for free or at a
significantly reduced cost, while also allowing them the chance to win
great prizes. Coupled with a fantasy sports center featuring extensive
player information, news, stats, analysis, and the option to receive
23 immediate updates through AOL Alerts, we feel that Fantasy
Sports@AOL will be a huge hit will all sports fans (2004a).
Cable and Internet companies are not the only entities getting involved in promoting fantasy sports and catering to its participants. An organization called the
Fantasy Sports Trade Association has formed to bring together organizations that pander to players and the players themselves. This partnership between the two groups is facilitated through semi-annual conventions. “To think fantasy sports is big enough to hold a convention offers testimony to its popularity,” is what one reporter wrote about the
FSTA (Zillgitt, 2000). The Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) creates networking opportunities, hands out awards, conducts research, and creates a number of story updates on its website.
Television giant CBS, which has also dabbled in the cable industry, has taken the fantasy sports phenomenon one step further – a fantasy sports reality show. In February of 2011 it was announced that the network was looking for guests, to be on a fantasy sport court show where players can file disputes over anything fantasy. It’s like a Judge
Judy show dedicated entirely to fantasy disagreements (Charles, 2011).
Now FX, a cable television station, has got in on the act with a fictional show called The League. The show follows six individuals in a fantasy football league and looks at some of the more humorous aspects of fantasy sports. It is more of a sitcom with fantasy football as its vehicle, but it looks deeply into the interactions and lives of the players (FX, 2009).
Based on the literature reviewed regarding the media and fantasy sports it appears that the media has become aware of fantasy sports and are taking steps to reach that target
24 audience. This indicates that as fantasy sports have grown they have had a dramatic and
lasting impact on both the news and entertainment media outlets. Research has suggested
that the interest in fantasy sports interest is correlated with an increase in television
consumption (Drayer et al., 2010).
But the literature review revealed that the media doesn’t not know why people get
involved and stay involved in fantasy sports. Otherwise we would see more organized
marketing rather than just ads appealing to the general masses.
Demographics and Gender
A number of studies have measured the demographic nature of the fantasy sports community (Amic, 2011; Davis & Duncan, 2006b; Dietz-Uhler, End, Jacquemotte,
Bentley, & Hurlbut, 2000; Farquhar & Meeds, 2007; Hugenberg & Hugenberg, 2008;
Wagner, 2005; Wann, 1997).
A 2003 study showed that 93% of the players were male (Randle & Nyland,
2008), a trend discovered by other researchers as well (Ballard & B., 2004; Sostek,
2007). However, most of these studies were looking at only baseball and football. One study showed that along with being one of the entities seeing the greatest growth,
NASCAR also saw a huge increase in fantasy players. The fan base is approximately
40% female, many of whom have become involved in fantasy NASCAR (Roy & Goss,
2007). Others have also theorized that there is an increase in female fantasy players but little has been proven empirically (Weekley, 2004).
With the growth of online games over the past decade and the many varieties of fantasy sports, there is a need to see if this gender demographic has shifted at all. The
2003 study also showed that fantasy players’ average age was 41, they held at least a
25 bachelor’s degree, and had a household income of roughly $90,000. The average player
also spent about three hours a week managing teams. Close to 50% of players admitted to
checking their teams or doing research for their fantasy teams at work (Ballard & B.,
2004; Hurtt, 2004). The majority of these studies do not look into the amount of time players are actually consuming other forms of media in the name of fantasy sports.
Other studies have suggested the median age had come down to 36 and the
time spent a week had increased by nearly an hour (Bell, 2008; Davis & Duncan,
2006b; Klaassen, 2006; Kwak, Lim, Lee, & Mahan, 2010; E. S. Lee, 2008).
Statistics published in Ebony from the Fantasy Sports Trade Association website
showed 87% of those playing were male and the average age was 33 and the majority
were married (2010a). Those currently playing are younger and still predominantly male
when compared with previous research. Studies have also shown that roughly 10 to 15%
of all Americans play fantasy sports (Berentson, 2000; Boswell, 2008; Davis & Duncan,
2006b; Guyer, 2008; Kwak et al., 2010; La Canfora, 2006; Mallozzi, 2007; Pells, 2006;
Prescott, 2006; Schmidt, 2007; Welch & Stead, 2007; Woodward, 2005). The industry
continues to grow at a 15% annual rate (E. Fisher, 2006a). However an IPSOS survey on
behalf of the FSTA found in 2010 that participation had stagnated (Amic, 2011). It is vital to know if the growth has finally reached a peak or is there some other way, maybe through new media technology, to increase participation in fantasy sports.
The FSTA also studies individuals who have left fantasy sports in order to look at ways to retain and recruit fantasy sports players (Association, 2009). The major reason that people said they quit is time. I wonder if applications through cell phones might
26 encourage people to come back if these apps decreased the amount of time it takes to play.
Fantasy sports players spend a lot of time online trying to hone their craft. The study also found,
Participants spend a large amount of time to integrate and analyze
statistical sport information from media. Therefore, it is hypothesized that
the more one perceives him/herself to be knowledgeable about the sport,
the more likely one would feel confident about winning his or her league
(Kwak et al., 2010).
In 2009 it was estimated that more than 27.7 million players were spending up to nine hours a week playing (Ballard, 2009; Donaldson, 2008; Fantasy, 2011; Flood, 2004;
Gardner, 2010; T. Howard, 2009; Sheps, 2006).
A component of this research will be gender (Guttmann, 1986). Research has shown that gender can play a role in predicting participation and the level of sport fandom (H. D. Fisher, 2011; Schrader & Wann, 1999; Wann, Waddill, & Dunham,
2004). “Contrary to early celebrations of the Internet as a forum where social identities were thought to be irrelevant, recent work has suggested that online interactions can reinforce both gender and class identities” (Theberge, 2005). Knowing more about how female interest in fantasy sports has evolved will help with targeting women as an audience. A 2009 FSTA research poll also showed highly educated men with more wealth than the general population played fantasy sports. The same research showed that women make up almost 20% of those playing fantasy sports; however, the poll found that men outspend women four to one (Association, 2009).
27 Research done in 2000 found that men and women also have different motivations
for being active sports fans (Dietz-Uhler et al., 2000). It seems that the “consumption of sport, although not gender specific to men, is more important and central to dominant
images of masculinity as well as the doing of masculinity than it is to women and
femininity” (Levy, 2005). I want to build upon these works to see if this concept of sports
and masculinity can be applied to fantasy sports. Are fantasy sports something that might
be marketed in different ways to get more women involved just like a number of sports
leagues have been doing to get more female fans.
Raacke & Bond-Raacke (2008) found that there are generational differences in
the usage of the Internet and that the younger generation is more willing and comfortable
using and communicating via the World Wide Web. If findings that suggest a wide range
of people are playing fantasy sports, this may be evidence that fantasy sports are a way to
reach an older, higher-income market.
Big Money
From its small beginnings in the 1980s, fantasy sports have exploded from just
being considered a hobby into today’s current sports obsession. A common theme
throughout the hundreds of articles read regarding fantasy sports is how it has become a
big business (Ballard & B., 2004; Fatsis, 1995; D. Howard & Crompton, 1995; La
Monica, 2006b; Petrecca, 2005; Shipman, 2009), even a multibillion-dollar business
(Ballard & B., 2004; Bernhard & Eade, 2005; Bhatnagar, 2009; Bolitho, 2006; Boyle,
2005; Drayer et al., 2010; Dwyer, 2009; Farquhar & Meeds, 2007; Flood, 2004; M.
Futterman, 2008; Gerton, 2009; Kindred, 2005; Kwak et al., 2010; E. S. Lee, 2008; S.
Lee, Seo, & Green, 2008; Mahony, Madrigal, & Howard, 2000; Mead, 2007; Nesbit &
28 King, 2010a; Page, 2007; Pells, 2006; Prescott, 2006; Randle & Nyland, 2008; Roberts
Jr, 2007; Stensholt & Thomson, 2007; Trail, Anderson, & Fink, 2000; Trail & James,
2001; Umstead, 2003; Wendel, 2004; Weston, 2008; White, 2006; Woodward, 2005).
The business side has grown after the leagues moved from a paid service to a free service sponsored by advertisers (2004b). Fantasy leagues have also flourished as a result of the no entry fee (2007b; Banks, 2002; Bannan, 2006; Bechtel & Cannella, 2004; N.
Futterman, 2008; Hiestand, 2002, 2007; T. Howard, 2009; Lefton, 2007; Randle &
Nyland, 2008; Shields, 2007; Tedeschi, 2003; Woodward, 2005). After this move, ad revenue increased 50% from 2003 to 2005 (Holahan, 2006). Growth has been attributed to the optimum demographic of fantasy players, which are targeted by most advertisers
(Klaassen, 2006; K. Murphy, 2000; Randle & Nyland, 2008; Tedeschi, 2004). Fantasy sports has grown so big that the National Fantasy Baseball Championship is based in Las
Vegas and requires a $1,250 entry fee (Woodward, 2005). Research also found that sports websites that have a fantasy element are more profitable than those sports sites that do not cater to fantasy players (Lomax, 2006).
Just as the fantasy sports industry has grown financially, the impact fantasy sports have had on the work place has increased negatively. Researchers have found two-thirds of fantasy players admitted to checking their fantasy teams at work (Nesbit & King,
2010a; Sandomir, 2002; Serazio, 2008; Suttell, 2004; Weekley, 2004). It is estimated that
American companies lost almost $37 million in productivity per day because of fantasy sports in 2004 and was estimated to be around $200 million per year in 2006 (Armour,
2006; Baker, 2004; P. Thompson, 2006).
29 The Law and Gambling
Fantasy sports have also faced their share of hurdles and legal drama in order to
be recognized as both legitimate (Ackley, 2011; Coogan, 2011; Zeller, 2006) and legal
(Allen, 2010; Carey, 2008a; Foster, 2000; McDougal & Rosen, 2000; Rosen, 2000).
According to 2011 USA Today and Roll Call articles the Fantasy Sports Trade
Association hired its first lobbyist. This move was done in order to address the legal issue
of fantasy sports in the 12 states where it could be considered illegal to play. The most
difficult states are Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, and Washington. The
lobbyist is charged with having the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of
2006 clarified in regards to fantasy sports (Ackley, 2011; Coogan, 2011; Zeller, 2006).
In 2005, it appeared that C.B.C., Distribution and Marketing, Inc., a fantasy sports
provider, was ambushed by MLB, and told to stop as it had given exclusive rights to
players’ names to another company (Massari, 2006). CBC, a Missouri based fantasy
baseball game provider, and the MLB battled for more than three years over the rights to
the ownership of players’ baseball statistics before the Supreme Court declined to review
the case (N. Futterman, 2008; J. M. Kelly, 2008). As of a 2007 review of the case,
“C.B.C. Distribution is the only case to address the right of publicity specifically in the context of fantasy sports” (Mead, 2007; Razzano, 2006; Roberts Jr, 2007). At the heart of
this issue, which C.B.C. won, was who owned the rights to the baseball statistics and thus
controlled the licensing and the millions that could be charged in fees (Hiestand, 2005;
Hylton, 2006; Roberts Jr, 2007).
The debate was “whether player names, statistics, and related information are the intellectual property of the professional leagues and/or their players associations, such as
30 the unlicensed use of this information by members of the fantasy industry” (Bolitho,
2006). In the end the U.S Appeals Court ruled that the statistics are already widely
distributed and available. Thus they are considered in the public domain and protected by
the First Amendment (2008c; Bhatnagar, 2009; Biskupic, 2008; Bolitho, 2006; Conrad,
2008; Esquenet, 2007; Massari, 2006; McCarthy, 2006; Press, 2009; Roberts Jr, 2007;
Vecsey, 2006; Weston, 2008). In the end the Eastern District Court of Missouri decided
that the First Amendment trumps the players right to publicity (Evans, 2008; Karcher,
2006; McSherry, 2009; Mead, 2007). Had MLB won it would have possibly reshaped the
fantasy sports industry by squeezing out the little guys and leaving options for fantasy
sports in the hands of a few big entities (Bolitho, 2006; Dalton, 2006). In a bit of irony,
by rocking the boat and not being happy with the status quo of the already established
licensing fees, the MLB and the Players Union lost millions of dollars in future earnings
(Hylton, 2006).
Major League Baseball was not the only professional organization to be impacted.
The NFL Players Association (Bolitho, 2006), NBA Properties (Sheps, 2006), WNBA
Enterprises, NHL Enterprises, NASCAR, and PGA Tour all got involved in the lawsuit.
Each group recognized the potential licensing fees that were at stake if one group could
lay claim to them (McCarthy, 2007). In the end, another aspect that hurt the MLB’s case was the fact that fantasy sports have actually helped to increase the individual notoriety and professional sports overall (Bolitho, 2006).
The NCAA thought about fighting CBS in 2008 after the media giant announced it was going forward with a college version of fantasy football. But when the Supreme
Court declined to review the Major League Baseball’s appeal the NCAA realized it did
31 not have much of a case either (2008a; Carey, 2008b; Gerton, 2009). The results of the case had kind of a floodgate reaction in creating many more fantasy sports related websites (Tedeschi, 2008).
Another legal question the courts have avoided is whether or not fantasy sports are a form of gambling (2007a; J. M. Kelly, 2008; Walsh, 2003; White, 2006). At the heart of this legal issue was concerns over the fees required by players up front and the prizes at the end of the season where money changed hands because of the fear that any form of online gambling is trouble and fantasy sports looked like trouble (2004a; 2007a;
Boswell, 2008; Clark, 2004; Dastoor, 2004; Holleman, 2006; Hurtt, 2004; Kelly &
Igelman, 2007; E. S. Lee, 2008; Rosen, 2000; M. J. Thompson, 2001). A number of players join leagues in the hopes of winning “cash, trips, trophies, plaques, rings, sports memorabilia, and other forms of merchandise” (Comeau, 2007). But with many websites eliminating fees most of the detractors’ arguments are no longer present. In other legal cases against online fantasy sports, the courts decided that these games were actually games of skill and not chance (Bernhard & Eade, 2005; Kelly & Igelman, 2007; M. J.
Thompson, 2001; Woodward, 2005).
In this chapter I have suggested that fantasy sports are evolving, as are those who play them. It is apparent that the next step in this dissertation it to look at why people play fantasy sports. It is important to understand why they used the media for fantasy sports and what gratifications they receive as a result of their involvement. At the same time it is vital to learn about the lasting impact of fantasy sports on players and how they affect their identity and their growing or lessening dependency upon the media.
32 CHAPTER 3: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
As fantasy sports have grown, the academic world has struggled to keep up
(Corrigan, 2007; Drayer et al., 2010; Dwyer, 2009; Karg & McDonald, 2009b, 2011;
Lomax, 2006; Roy & Goss, 2007). The Internet and the arrival of fantasy sports in
cyberspace represents a “paradigm shift” in the ways sports enthusiasts consume sports,
and thus it creates a need to academically study media effects of fantasy sports on its
players (Stafford & Stafford, 2004). This study will add to the body of knowledge by
providing a look at how fantasy sports and media dependency are related. As late as
2003, there were no prior studies that had examined the connections between online news
behavior and the media dependency relationship (Patwardhan & Yang, 2003).
While this subject has not been totally ignored, it has not been fully explored
either. Woodward (2005) looked at how fantasy sports have evolved in the mass media,
Levy (2005) looked directly at the lives of individual fantasy baseball sports players, and
Comeau (2007) looked at fantasy football participation and media usage. Comeau also
pointed out that the majority of research in the first half of the 2000s examined the legal
controversies surrounding fantasy sports.
Comeau (2007) believed that fantasy sports research to this point had also failed
to look at how players’ uses of the Internet have changed. He wrote, “Academic research
has largely ignored how this social phenomenon of fantasy play is changing the uses a
person has for the media and the gratification one receives from this media” (p.13).
Dwyer (2009), also realizing the lack of fantasy research, stated that past studies
have been limited to traditional team fandom,5 which has been about singular team
5 According to Merriam-Webster, Fandom is defined as all the fans of a sport, or the state or attitude of being a fan.
33 experiences. With the introduction of fantasy sports it has made individual athletes the focus and thus players must follow more than one team to keep track of how their fantasy team is doing.
“Accurate knowledge of what consumers desire in accessing the Internet will provide Internet businesses with the ability to better serve their customers” (Stafford &
Stafford, 2004). This statement can easily apply to those responsible for creating journalistic content geared to a significant portion of the population of media consumers.
According to a study by Mahony, Madrigal, and Howard (2000),
Explaining repeat viewership and the impact of media use on that
behavior is indispensable in today’s market because it often generates
improved marketing and communication strategy. In all, researchers
strongly contend that there is a significant need for additional research
regarding the professional leagues’ most substantial fan base, media-
dominant consumers (p.22).
Dwyer (2009) combined the wisdom of Shipman (2001) and Leporini when he wrote,
The explosion of fantasy sports has introduced a new, highly-engaged
consumer that craves interactivity and real-time statistical information
combined with the traditional, old-fashioned spectatorship associated
with professional sport. Furthermore, many fantasy players participate in
several leagues during a single season and throughout the year. Because
of this habitual commitment, fantasy sport has emerged as an easy, cost
34 effective means of reaching an engaged and loyal group of consumers
(p.4).
While there is a lack of theoretical work regarding fantasy sports, there are several
solid communication and psychological theories that may be applied to this industry.
Researchers are starting to realize that there is a need for academic work regarding
fantasy sports play.
Kwak et al (2010) said, “Despite its proliferation as a multibillion dollar industry,
however, there is a lack of theory-driven research on fantasy sport consumption behavior.
Likewise, there is a need for understanding participants beyond their sociodemographic factors” (p.417).
Sam Walker’s (2006) book Fantasyland is a first-hand account of a baseball writer who chronicled his first year’s adventure into fantasy baseball. Walker gave a look into what one has to do to win his league or at least look like one knows what one is doing.
While real GMs can keep tabs on their players from the comfort of a
luxury box, their fantasy counterparts have to stay abreast of simultaneous
action happening in every corner of America, which forces them to flip
channels like restless insomniacs. When they’re not juggling the roster,
making trades, signing free agents, reading injury reports, and evaluating
minor-league call-ups like any other baseball executive, they’re pasted to
their workstations watching a schizophrenic online scoreboard where a
single stolen base in Cleveland can cause a seismic tremor in the standings
(p.5).
35 It is with this understanding that fantasy sports are filling a need within the uses
and gratification framework. The next step in academic research is to combine uses and
gratifications with the social identity theory, which states that the more one identifies
with one’s team, in this case a fantasy sports team, the more it impacts a person’s way of thinking about the media.
Uses and Gratifications Framework
Blumler and Katz’ uses and gratifications framework is a key component of the
body of work looking at media effects and the results and consequences of using the
various media outlets (Farquhar & Meeds, 2007; Ruggiero, 2000). “The objective of uses
and gratification theory is to explain the psychological needs that shape why people use
the media and that motivate them to engage in certain media-use behaviors for gratifications that fulfill those intrinsic needs” (Ko, Cho, & Roberts, 2005; Rubin, 2002).
Mass Communication theorist McQuail (2000) defined the uses and gratifications approach as “a version of individual functional theory and research that seeks to explain media use and the satisfactions derived from them in terms of the motives and self- perceived needs of audience members. This is also one version of ‘active audience’ theory and has been applied in the study of media effects on the grounds that any effect
has to be consistent with the needs of the audience” (p.504).
(Farquhar & Meeds, 2007) suggested that “a set of common motivations – including personal utility, passing time, information seeking, convenience, and entertainment – emerge as the primary motives associated with Internet usage” (p.1209).
Ko et al. (2005) would agree as they saw the growth of the Internet as adding validation
to the uses and gratification theory because the Internet requires a higher level of
36 interactivity when compared with other forms of traditional media. And communications
research, as well as this dissertation, is about learning what people do with the mass
media and why they do it.
It has been said this theory is “based on a set of assumptions which include that
audience is active and goal directed, thus not a passive recipient of information”
(Sangwan, 2005). McQuail (2000) stated audience members are conscious of their media consumption needs. He believed there were four types of audience interactions with the media, diversion or an escape from life or for an emotional release; personal relationships, using media for companionship and social utility; personal identity, meaning self-reference, reality exploration and value reinforcement; and surveillance, or a way of seeking information.
What made this framework ground breaking was it was the first time researchers
asked what people do with the media rather than what media do to people (Leung & Wei,
2000). The theory also acknowledged that people can use the same forms of media for
different reasons and motivations. This framework adds the why to how people use the
media (Katz, Haas, & Gurevitch, 1973).
Spinda and Haridakis (2008), based on Katz, Blumler, and Gurevitch’s work
explained that this theory is concerned with seven things. Those are (1) psychological and
social origins, (2) needs, (3) expectations, (4) the mass media and other sources, (5)
differential patterns of media exposure, (6) need gratifications, and (7) other
consquences, many of which or unintended.
Additional titles for these five categories of the uses and gratifications theory as written up first by Katz are cognitive (desire for information and knowledge), affective
37 (emotional experiences, desire for pleasure, entertainment), personal integrative (desire to
appear credible, perceived as confident), social integrative (desire to be part of a group,
sense of belonging), and tension release of needs (escape, diversion from problems and
routines) (Rubin, 2002; Sangwan, 2005; Severin & Tankard, 1992). It is satisfaction of
these needs that determines users attitudes toward the media (Sangwan, 2005). And it is
important to look at if these attitudes transition to computers and the world of online,
including the fantasy sports environment.
Papacharissi & Rubin (2000) found,
That people used computers to gratify: (a) interpersonal needs (i.e.
inclusion, affection, control, relaxation, escape, and pleasure); (b) needs
traditionally fulfilled by meidia (i.e., social interaction, pass time, habit,
information, and entertainment); and (c) other needs (i.e. time shifting and
meeting people), which are fulfilled by new media (p.180).
This theory is about searching for patterns. Mass media serves a function for the
individual to satisfy certain needs that exist. The reason for using this theory is to identify the key needs individuals have for using a specific media product (Comeau, 2007).
Historically this theory was used more to determine how a medium could hold interest rather than why the media user got there in the first place. Now the research has recognized that the Internet is full of active users and users are more motivated by content considerations than just recreational browsing (Stafford & Stafford, 2004). The theory also realized that the media message does influence its audience but does so within the context of other influences (Rubin, 2002).
38 With the increase of cell phones and laptop computers and being able to access
the Internet anywhere, new media technologies are replacing newspapers, magazines,
books and other forms of media as the place where individuals go to get their
information, their entertainment, and even where they go to interact with others. Fantasy
sports players are becoming dependent on the Internet in order to obtain their goal of
being the best fantasy sports player they can be.
Research into sport themed websites has shown that marketers are realizing the
importance fantasy sports are having as a way to make money but they are also realizing
it is away to develop long term customers. “Fantasy sports are one way of creating loyal users and generating frequent and longer visits to their websites” (D. Murphy, 2000; Suh et al., 2010). In the case of website traffic loyalty equates to people using this medium in order to obtain gratification from playing fantasy sports.
Ruggiero (2000) asserted “that the emergence of computer-related communication has revived the significance of uses and gratifications” (p.19). His work looking at the history of this theory has shown there is justification in renewing uses and gratifications research.
If communication research is about learning what people do with the media then it is important that this genre of research include people using media outlets for their fantasy sports playing. Individuals play fantasy sports by using the media in order to receive various gratifications. One of the purposes of this dissertation is to discover what those gratifications are.
Comeau (2007) wrote, “No research has examined sports viewing and how the introduction of fantasy football play may have an effect on the uses and gratifications of
39 media” (p.58). His suggestion is appropriate for this dissertation because “a chief tenet of
U&G theory of audience behavior is that media use is selective and motivated by rational
self-awareness of the individual’s own needs and expectation that those needs will be
satisfied by particular types of media and content” (Ruggiero, 2000). The Internet has
evolved “from a mass-produced and mass-consumed commodity to an ‘endless feast of niches and specialties’” (Ruggiero, 2000).
Several studies listed by Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) found that this framework is one of the best for studying new media technologies. The significance of this research is that new media, including online communications, has developed based on looking at how people consume information and how it can be placed more quickly in their hands.
The evolution of new media has been about what people can do with the media, not how the media can influence the consumer. Thus, looking at how one uses the media and how one gets gratification from them is an appropriate approach for examining fantasy sports and those who play fantasy sports.
Social Identity Theory
Social identity theory is applicable to this body of work because “social identity influences the selection of media entertainment, because people are creating their personal media profile to support their own identity” (Trepte, 2006). It also goes hand in hand with uses and gratifications. It still is a relatively new theory as far as applying it to the field of mass communications, yet “social identity has been shown as a plausible theoretical background for identity related to gratifications in the uses-and-gratification approach to understanding media use” (Trepte, 2006).
40 History of Social Identity
Henri Tajfel, who had an interest in social perception, social categorization, and social comparison and prejudice, discrimination, and intergroup conflict, developed the social identity theory in England in the 1970s. “Tajfel defined social identification as ‘the individual’s knowledge that he belongs to certain social groups together with some emotional and value significance to him of this group membership’” (M. B. Brewer &
Kramer, 1986; Hogg, 2006). Since the 1990s, this theory has been accepted as one of the mainstream social psychology theories explaining the relationship between self and group
(Hogg, 2006).
Social identity theory corresponds closely with identity theory. Hogg et al. (1995) said their “are two perspectives on the social basis of the self-concept and on the nature of normative behavior. These two perspectives have many similarities” (p.255). They also explained, “Identity theory is principally a microsociological theory that sets out to explain individuals’ role-related behaviors, while social identity theory is a social psychological theory that sets out to explain group processes and intergroup relations”
(p.255). The biggest difference between the two theories lies more with their disciplinary roots.
Hogg et al. (1995) said the social identity theory is based on social psychology and on social categories that individuals feel they belong too based on self-definition and self-concept. “Each of these memberships is represented in the individual member’s mind as a social identity that both describes and prescribes one’s attributes as a member of that group – that is, what one should think and feel, and how one should behave” (p.260).
Hogg et al. (1995) stated how social identity theory involves two processes:
41 categorization, or “producing group-distinctive stereo-typical and normative perceptions;” and the second being self-enhancement, it is the idea that people need to see themselves in a “positive light in relation to relevant others.” Based on Hogg et al.’s definition of the two parallel theories, social identity theory correlates best with this dissertation.
Hogg (2006) wrote that another key element of the social identity theory is that
“social identity is motivated by two processes, self-enhancement and uncertain reduction, that cause groups to strive to be both better than and distinct from other groups” (p.120).
Self-enhancement is how strongly people identify with a group, and uncertain reduction is the desire to reduce uncertainty about one’s social world and one’s place within it
(Hogg, 2006). In the end, people begin identifying with a specific sports team or individual athlete and then begin to react to events that happen to the team or individual as if it had happened to them (Corrigan, 2007). Social Identity has also been shown to impact a fan’s likelihood of attending a live contest (Wakefield & Wann, 2006).
Social identity is “a social psychological theory that sets out to explain group processes and intergroup relations” (Hogg, Terry, & White, 1995; Van Leeuwen, Quick,
& Daniel, 2002). It is important to understand how people come to associate themselves with certain categories as they most often have a social derivative.
People derive their identity or sense of self largely from the social
categories to which they belong. Each person, however, over the course of
his or her personal history, is a member of a unique combination of social
categories; therefore the set of social identities making up that person’s
self-concept is unique (Stets & Burke, 2000).
42 According to social identity theory, a group exists if there are three or more people who also “construe and evaluate themselves in terms of shared attributes that distinguish them collectively from other people” (Dietz-Uhler &
Lanter, 2008; Hogg, 2006). The social identity theory also suggests that individuals have two different identities that come together as the self-concept.
Those two identities are first, personal identity and how people think about themselves and second, the social identity, which is a person’s group classifications that they identify with (Van Leeuwen et al., 2002). In this study, identification can relate to one’s identifying with a certain professional team in order to belong to a group of other fans with those allegiances, as well as to identify with key players, or to identify with the group of people who also play fantasy sports.
Social Identity Applied to Individuals
Social identity states that individuals need to be a part of a group and one of the easiest ways to be a part of a group is to be a fan of an athletic team. This part of social identity is called team identification.
Team identification is to the degree to which a sports fan feels a psychological connection to a particular team and sees the team and other fans of the team as an extension of one’s self-identity (Berg & Harthcock, 2008; Wakefield & Wann, 2006). For the individual, “a social identity is a person’s knowledge that he or she belongs to a social category or group”(Stets & Burke, 2000). These people see their favorite teams as a part of who they are and often use terms such as we and they. They see other fans of the same team as part of the group to which they belong (Sloan & Van Camp, 2008).
43 It is not hard to believe that a number of people have become highly socially identified with sports and sports teams. With billions of people watching events like the
Super Bowl and World Cup, Sloan and Van Camp (2008) found in a poll that 92% of those asked said they had a high interest in sports spectatorship and 71% of stated they had purchased sports merchandise at some point.
Several researchers have made the attempt to apply the social identity theory to sports. They have found that sports fans also crave to be a part of things.
In researching fantasy sports, Levy (2005) found that the men he interviewed
“acknowledge luck but overall they see themselves as artful scientists who apply a causal model to the ongoing baseball season both real and fantasy. They value success, feel as though it does say something about them and attribute it to hard work, intelligence and competitiveness” (p.159). This hints that over time fantasy sports has become a part of them, something they identify with.
Socially identified people want to become like someone else (Basil & Brown,
2004). “Theorists have proposed that fans see ‘their’ teams as an extension of themselves” (Basil & Brown, 2004). One key mechanism for this process is called
Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRG) (Basil & Brown, 2004; Berg & Harthcock, 2008;
Dietz-Uhler & Lanter, 2008; Madrigal, 1995; Mahony, Nakazawa, Funk, James, &
Gladden, 2002; Sloan & Van Camp, 2008; Trail, Anderson, & Fink, 2005; Van Leeuwen et al., 2002; Wenner, 2008).
BIRGing is the idea that fans come to identify with teams that win and use terms like we did this and we did that. “People may come to develop an imagined association with a successful team” (Basil & Brown, 2004; Corrigan, 2007). The same concept has
44 another component, CORFing (Cutting Off Reflected Failure). “Rather than a measure of
increasing self-esteem, it measures the intentions to maintain a certain level of self- esteem by distancing oneself from an unsuccessful entity” (Trail et al., 2005). It was also suggested as a result of research that fans want more interaction with athletes. This could be done in regards to fantasy sports to increase traffic. BIRGing and CORFing are notions that lead some people to play fantasy sports because they can no longer identify with their local or regional team based on long-term poor performance. Also, it has been found that when one’s social identity is threatened, like such as when an athlete on a favorite team is involved in illegal activity, one will strongly feel the need to defend it
(Dietz-Uhler & Lanter, 2008).
Social Identity Applied to Groups
This theory also found, as presented by Trepte (2006), that one part of “the self-
concept is defined by our belonging to social groups. Membership, alongside the value
placed on it, is defined as the social identity” (p.255). The theory also looks at how
individuals define their place in society and how they then compare themselves with
other groups. “The outcome of social comparisons largely determines our social identity
and self-esteem” (Trepte, 2006). It is also through comparisons to other groups that can
lead us to change our social identity and leave current groups in search of “higher status”
groups. The underlying motive is to maintain a positive social identity and preserve one’s
self-image.
“It is not necessary for the individual to actually participate as a member of a
group, rather the individual can ‘perceive oneness with or belonging to it instead. They
45 simply have to perceive that they are a part of the group” (Corrigan, 2007). The group in
this case would be fantasy sports players.
Fans and Social Id
Wann and Branscombe (1991) were two of the first to apply social identity theory
to sports fans. Their research helped point to the idea that highly-identified fans use
sports as a central component of their social identities and in measuring their self-worth
based on the success and failures of their favorite sports teams. It also seems those most
identified with sports are also the ones that are the most emotional about sporting events
(Branscombe & Wann, 1991; Courtney & Wann, 2010; Wann & Branscombe, 1993;
Wann, Brewer, & Royalty, 1999; Wann, Dolan, McGeorge, & Allison, 1994; Wann,
Keenan, & Page, 2009; Wann & Schrader, 2000). Wann et al. (2002) also found that the
more knowledgeable sports fans were the more likely they were to be highly socially
identified. Social identification refers to how one’s self-esteem, behavior, and even health
will be influenced by how identified they are with a team. Identification also referred to
how well one’s team does or doesn’t do, even on a game-by-game basis. These same individuals are “compelled to display their sport knowledge to enhance both their public and private self-concepts” (Trail et al., 2000; Wann, Morriss-Shirkey, Peters, & Suggs,
2002). His work also correlated psychological well-being with personal self-esteem, aggression, and depression in relation to fan identification and how well their teams do
(Wann, 1993; Wann, Dunham, Byrd, & Kennan, 2004; Wann, Inman, Ensor, Gates, &
Caldwell, 1999; Wann, Schrader, & Adamson, 1998; Wann, Walker, Cygan, Kawase, &
Ryan, 2005).
46 The level of team social identification has influenced affective states before,
during, and after events. Branscombe and Wann (1991) demonstrated that highly
identified individuals showed greater physiological arousal when watching an event than
those with lower identification. Wann, in multiple studies, also found that highly
identified fans were more likely to exhibit higher levels of self-esteem, a more positive outlook toward life, lower levels of depression, and less feelings of alienation and other negative emotions.
Persons who strongly identify with a specific sports team, relative to those
spectators moderate or low in identification, report more involvement with
the team, display a more ego-enhancing pattern of attributions for the
team’s successes and, have more positive expectations concerning future
team performances, exhibit greater willingness to invest large amounts of
time and money to watch the team play, and are more likely to believe that
fans of the team they are identified with possess special qualities (Wann &
Branscombe, 1993, p.1).
One of the things that Wann (2006) postulates is that “it has been argued that identification with sport teams may serve to replace the traditional but declining social ties as members of society attempt to reestablish and maintain their social connectedness”
(p.86).
Wann’s research also discovered five predictors of which team a person will most socially identify with. They are one’s parents, talent and characteristics of the team’s players, geographical location, friends and peers, and a team’s success (Park, Andrew, &
Mahony, 2008; Wann & Pierce, 2003). He also helped develop the Sport Fan Motivation
47 Scale (SFMS), which found eight different motives for sport fans (eustress, self-esteem, escape, entertainment, economic, aesthetic, group affiliation, and family) (Bernhard &
Eade, 2005; Branscombe & Wann, 1991; Comeau, 2007; Normansell & Wann, 2010;
Randle & Nyland, 2008; Trail et al., 2000; Trail & James, 2001; Wann, 1995; Wann,
Bilyeu, Brennan, Osborn, & Gambouras, 1999; Wann, Dunham et al., 2004; Wann,
Inman et al., 1999; Wann et al., 2003; Wann & Roberts, 1999; Wann, Schrader et al.,
1999; Wann & Weaver, 2009). Wann also factored in these predictors and motivations for team identification to look at reasons why fans switch teams with whom they identify
(Partridge, Wann, & Elison, 2010; Wann & Dolan, 1994b). The NFL has the most loyal fans, but research into fantasy sports has shown that “their participation in fantasy football influenced their allegiances” to their favorite teams (Drayer et al., 2010). “I lost interest in the Vikings for their lack of wins. I’m a Vikings fan first, until they are losing”
(Wann, Grieve, & Martin, 2008). A qualitative study found that the same thing happened with fantasy teams; if the team starts off well the interest remains strong, but players will give up on their fantasy teams if they start to lose (Wann et al., 2008).
Five reasons for no longer following one’s favorite team include it is no longer a successful team, players are too busy, the team lost key players, moved, and family and friends switched teams (Wann, Tucker, & Schrader, 1996). Wann has also discovered his research is a strong predictor of spectator behavior (Wann, 1997; Wann & Dolan, 1994a;
Wann et al., 1994; Wann, Dunham et al., 2004).
Other Social Identity Research
Wann is not the only researcher to look at the concept of highly committed or socially identified fans. Levy (2005) also discovered similar themes for those who played
48 fantasy sports. Those themes were analysis, competition, bragging, excitement, arguing,
escape, and control. Gantz et al (2008) found three factors that lead to team identification:
personality (competitiveness, need to belong, risk taking, sensation-seeking, and
affiliation), environmental (parental interest and geographic proximity), and team-
specific factors (teams tradition and the teams level of success).
Milne and McDonald (1999) designed 12-motivation constructions using 37 questions based in their Motivations of the Sport Consumer (MSC) instrument. The constructs were risk-taking, stress reduction, aggression, affiliation, social facilitation, self-esteem, competition, achievement, skill mastery, aesthetics, value development, and self-actualization.
A trio of researchers from the University of Texas also went looking for the reasons why people play fantasy sports. After two rounds of surveys they came up with twelve reasons: game interest, to be a general manager, lover for the sport, prizes, competition, costs, bonding with friends and family, social interaction, knowledge application, fun, escape, and substitute for a losing team (S. Lee et al., 2008).
Pooley stated that a highly committed fan will continue to be interested in sporting events, teams, players, long after the game is over while the spectator quickly forgets and moves on (Comeau, 2007; Corrigan, 2007; Mahony et al., 2000). Trail and
James (2001) took it further when they outlined the difference between a fan and a
spectator in their quest to understand sport consumption motivation. “A spectator is one
who views a sporting event with little or no emotional attachment, while a fan is defined
as one who is enthusiastic about a particular sport or athlete and invests time, energy and
money into sports” (p.109). Dietz-Uhler and Lanter (2008) found that those who strongly
49 identify with a team tend to experience more extreme feelings than those who don’t and
this level of identification leads to heightened levels of arousal as well.
Comeau (2007) said the Internet assists the social identity process:
The Internet is designed for a highly active individual who must
physically enter a web address to access the page. It is more purposeful
and goal-directed than just simply turning on a television channel. Fantasy
football could be seen as an activity, which creates a higher level of
involvement in the viewers. Not only do the viewers experience the actual
football game, but also they are also involved in a second game. The
fantasy football experience allows a viewer another way to experience the
thrill of winning or losing besides just watching the actual game (p.21).
This study will examine the social identification of individuals and whether fantasy sports have eroded that traditional team loyalty in favor of individual players and fantasy sports. The definition of loyalty is that an individual “possess an attitude bias that is both resistant to change and persistent over time” (Mahony et al., 2000). Mahoney,
Madrigal and Howard (2000) created the Psychological Commitment to Team Scale
(PCT) to measure loyalty and identification. In their survey they looked at fans of the
National Football League. The purpose of several of their questions was to see if loyalty impacts media dependency as well as gratification in how fantasy sports players uses mass media.
Another Madrigal (1995) project was the foundation for a number of other research models looking at customer satisfaction in regards to sports. He indicated that
“fan satisfaction with sporting event attendance is reliant on cognitive and affective
50 factors” (p.206). Madrigal suggested that three cognitive antecedents are the perceived
quality of the opponent, level of team identification, and the confirmation or
disconfirmation of expectancies about the event and that these things would impact the
mood and behaviors of sports fans. This can be applied to fantasy sports players as well.
Trail and James (2001) were responsible for creating the Motivation Scale for
Sport Consumption (MSSC). They stated, “little is known about the motives of individuals who are willing to invest financial, emotional, and temporal resources in following and watching sports” (p.109). They acknowledged the eight motives mentioned by Wann in his Sport Fan Motivation Scale but felt there were some validity problems because Wann’s research never stated how the SFMS was created as well as how some of the questions were worded (Comeau, 2007; Trail & James, 2001).
Thus, they created their own instrument using both what Wann and Milne and
McDonald had done in the past. They targeted season ticket holders in the MLB because previous research had been drawn from only student populations (Trail & James, 2001).
A year before that study, Trail et al. (2000) identified six factors that influence
future behavior and possible media dependency. Those six factors were motives, level of
identification, expectancies, confirmation or disconfirmation of expectancies, self-esteem responses, and the affective state of the individual. They also discovered that there was a positive correlation with media consumptive behavior too; as one’s need for achievement increased so did the level of identification with the team. Trail et al. (2005) also expounded upon a previous study, “enduring involvement, attachment, and, situational involvement had an effect on identity salience and satisfaction” (p.98).
51 Community
One of the levels of media dependency is one’s level of identification. As fantasy sports has grown so has the number individuals identifying as fantasy sports players and identifying with others who play fantasy sports.
Fantasy sports then have created new communities and created a sense of community among those interested in fantasy sports (Davis & Duncan, 2006a; E. Fisher,
2006b; Rabby & Walther, 2003; Serazio, 2008; Theberge, 2005; Wenner, 2008; White,
2006).
Social identity is defined as ‘that part of an individual’s self-concept which derives from his knowledge of his membership in a social group (or groups) together with the value and emotional significance attached to that membership.’ The central tenet of social identity theory is that people feel a desire and propensity to build a positive identity for themselves, which may be manifested by their identification with various groups (Lantz
& Loeb, 1996).
A lot of research looking into the minds of sports fans has shown the need of fantasy players to be identified more with a community than a winning team (Drayer et al., 2010; Dwyer & Kim, 2011; Sun, 2010; Wakefield & Wann, 2006). It follows the same trend seen with the growth of social media such as MySpace and Facebook (Raacke
& Bond-Raacke, 2008). These leagues create a new community and outlet for those who no longer feel loyal to their regional team (Baltin, 2003; Sandomir, 2002; Wendel, 2004).
New communities also give fans normally stuck in the stands or their living rooms a voice and a chance to become more involved in both their favorite teams and their fantasy leagues (Hugenberg & Hugenberg, 2008; Theberge, 2005). It even allows others
52 to reconnect with old friends (Baltin, 2003; Corrigan, 2007; Klayman, 2008; Serazio,
2008; Sostek, 2007). The Internet has increased the capability for interactivity, especially
through online games, and a sense of community (Davis & Duncan, 2006a; Hu, 2003;
Sangwan, 2005). The concept of community is viable in the fantasy sports arena because
as Hogg (2006) wrote, “The more self-conceptually uncertain one is, the more one strives to belong, particularly to groups that effectively reduce uncertainty” (p.121).
The important thing to consider about the issue of community and fantasy sports is how it relates to media consumption. For example there are various types of leagues, one of which is a keeper league where players keep the same fantasy players from year to
year unless they trade them or replace them on their fantasy rosters. “A keeper league can
create a community of participants who are in constant communication via e-mail,
discussion, lists, and/or instant messaging” (Lomax, 2006). Today’s players can also be a
part of a community via twitter, Facebook, or cell phones.
On the flip side of the above argument are several researchers who feel online
sports could be contributing to demassification (Zagacki and Grano 2005).
Demassification refers to the individualistic nature of participation in fantasy sports
(Rabby & Walther, 2003; Zagacki & Grano, 2005). It is also defined, “As the control of
the individual over the medium, ‘which likens the new media to face-to-face
interpersonal communication’” (Ruggiero, 2000). It is the ability of the individual to
choose from a smorgasbord of options and not just a handful, thus customizing the
variety of features available that are provided by fantasy sports websites (Suh et al.,
2010). New technologies allow the individual to select what they want and no longer
have to buy the entire newspaper, as Ruggiero (2000) discussed in his explanation on
53 how demassification works. Demassification also includes a component regarding loyalty
or the loyalty that fans show a specific team, meaning fans are more able to choose from
a wide menu selection (Delaney, 2004; Kulish, 2006; Kwak et al., 2010; Mahony et al.,
2000; Park, Mahony, & Greenwell, 2010).
In regards to regional loyalty, some of the first steps towards the fantasy sports craze may have come directly from the players themselves. This puts large cracks into the
two-way street between fans and athletes. In the early years of professional sports there
was no free agency; now it is very rare to see an athlete stay with the same team
throughout an entire career (2006; Wendel, 2004). It is hard to become loyal to a team
when its makeup is constantly changing. “Now, fans are following in (the professional
athletes) footsteps. Few are in it for the long haul either, especially if it involves losing”
(Wendel, 2004).
But it might also be impacting those who are winning.
Loyalty is not the only thing that changed as a result of free agency and fantasy
sports. Tim Otteman said, “What fantasy is doing is changing the total dynamics of
sports. We don’t care about the outcome of the real game anymore. Now we only care
about the guys on our make-believe team. How did they do?”(Wendel, 2004).
There is an element of loyalty in fantasy sports. Because the same elements such
as drafting, managing, and trading players in reality is also done in the fantasy sporting
realm.
Fantasy football players seem to be every bit as loyal to, committed to,
and identified with their favorite NFL teams as those individuals who do
not play fantasy football, if not more so. The best explanation of these
54 findings may be that fantasy players have higher levels of identification
with their favorite NFL teams prior to ever becoming involved in fantasy
football (Corrigan, 2007).
Media Systems Dependency Theory
Media dependency is the third theory being examined in this dissertation. Because media use over time can be habitual and since those who play fantasy sports, especially to win, tend to consume large quantities of new and old media, thus media dependency is an important component to look at.
In some ways it feels like we have come full circle with media theory. In the
1940s some of the media research pioneers saw the media acting like a hypodermic needle. They saw the audience as being passive and did not have a choice regarding media effects. Media theorists then postulated that there was a two-step flow theory. This theory suggests that information goes through one person and then is filtered onto others.
Next, the uses and gratifications framework stated that people are actively choosing what media they want for various gratifications. The full circle comes about with media dependency. Media is no longer new and society has become habitual in its media consumption, thus the audience has become passive again.
Media consumption and media dependency can also be viewed through the lens of fantasy sports. Researchers have formulated that fantasy sports played over time leads to media dependency and habitual behavior. Woodward (2005),
“Fantasy sport participants consume greater amounts of mediated sport
than traditional sports fans, and thus, represent a significant portion of the
media-dominant sport fan population. Despite this popularity, quantitative
55 inquiry into the distinct attitudes and behaviors of fantasy participants is
lacking” (p.13).
Ball-Rokeach et al (1991) stated there is a connection between individual-level dependency and the uses and gratifications tradition because both focus on the question of what people do with the media. They said,
There are some important conceptual and operations distinctions between
traditional U&G research and IMD (individual media dependency). The
most important distinction is the theoretically based focus on dependency
relationships underlying IMD, as opposed to a wide range of theoretical
and nontheoretical assumptions underlying U&G. In U&G research, the
one root question is, where do I go to gratify my needs whereas
dependency relationships focus on the question, why do I go to this
medium to fulfill this goal. (p.778)
Rubin et al (1985) believed that “mass communication researchers have identified several basic components of dependency: high exposure to a particular medium, low use of functional alternatives, and an affinity with the preferred medium`” (p.159). With the arrival of the Internet, fantasy sports players pay less attention to newspapers, magazines, books, and the television for the information they are seeking in regards to their fantasy teams. Rather fantasy sports players are looking for information using the same media they play fantasy sports with, the Internet. Thus, they are become dependent upon the
Internet based on their desired to succeed in fantasy sports.
56 Ball-Rokeach (1976) is credited with authoring the Media System Dependency
theory (MSD) and proposed that the dependency model is a three-way relationship
between the audience, the media, and society. She defined dependency as,
A relationship in which the satisfaction of needs or the attainment of goals
by one party is contingent upon the resources of another party. One finds
this condition in many settings, ranging from the need to find the best buys
at the supermarket to more general or pervasive needs such as obtaining
the kinds of information that will help to maintain a sense of
connectedness and familiarity with the social world outside one’s
neighborhood. One form of dependency is based on the need to understand
one’s social world; another type of dependency arises from the need to act
meaningfully and effectively in that world; still a third type of dependency
is based on the need for fantasy-escape from daily problems and tensions.
The greater the need and consequently the stronger the dependency in
such matters, the greater likelihood that the information supplied will alert
various forms of audience cognitions, feelings, and behavior. (p.6)
She also defined dependency as “the extent to which attainment of an individual’s, group’s, organization’s, or system’s goals is contingent upon access to the information resources of the media system, relative to the extent to which attainment of media system goals is contingent upon the resources controlled by individuals, groups, organizations, or systems, respectively” (Ball-Rokeach, 1998; Ball-Rokeach, Power,
Guthrie, & Waring, 1990; Loges & Ball-Rokeach, 1993; Shapiro & Chock, 2004). It was
57 also her opinion that audience dependency is a “key variable in explaining media effects”
(Rubin, Perse, & Powell, 1985).
Ruggiero’s (2000) look at communication theory suggested media dependency is a derivative of the uses and gratifications framework. He wrote, “The individual’s desire for information from the media is the primary variable in explaining why media messages have cognitive, affective, or variable effects. Media dependency is high when an individual’s goal satisfaction relies on information from the media system” (p.8). These comments were based on Ball-Rokeach’s research in the mid-1980s (Ball-Rokeach,
1985). Ruggiero (2000) also pointed out that gratifications sought by the masses are an interactive component of media dependency.
Ball-Rokeach (1985) said dependency is based on goals. Thus it would make sense that goal oriented fantasy sports players who are driven to win would over time become dependent upon the Internet, the prime media source for their information and where the majority of them play. This notion goes well with uses and gratifications, which is also founded on an active, goal-oriented audience (Morton & Duck, 2000; Suh et al., 2010). Some goals fantasy sports players have include knowledge, competition, winning, achievement, and community (B. Smith, Sharma, & Hooper, 2006; Suh et al.,
2010). Ball-Rokeach used the word goals rather than needs because goals suggest a problem-solving behavior and are contingent upon the resources of the media system.
She (1985) also clarified that “individual dependency on the media system is determined more by structural dependency – the pattern of interdependent relations between the media and other social systems – than by the personal and social psychological characteristics of the individual” (p.489). This is an interesting possibility because in
58 theory one would think there might be less dependency because there are more sources of information on the Internet. Past dependency research has been based also on scarcity of information, meaning with a lot of the information in the hands of the newspapers, then radio followed by television, it was thought that people were dependent upon the media because they had no choice (Grant, Guthrie, & Ball-Rokeach, 1991).
The structure for fantasy sports players is the information they find on the Internet and the drive to win will create a habitual pattern. Ball-Rokeach (1985) called this system
Structural Dependency. This means that one media system, in this case the Internet, has exclusive control over sending out information. Combining it with fantasy players’ goals that require them to access this source will ultimately lead to dependency.
Patwardhan and Yang (2003) would agree with Ball-Rokeach and they “believe that such a dependency on the Internet leads, over time, to the development of a consumer-Internet dependency relationship, which, in turn, may likely affect the nature and extent of consumers’ online activities” (p.57).
With goals comes selectivity. Ball-Rokeach (1998) said, “Selectivity may be unwitting in that people follow media routines organized by habitual MSD relations, or selectivity may be conscious-choice behavior” (p.22).
LaRose and Easton (2004) believe this the case when they wrote, “As Internet users become more self-efficacious, their expectations that they will obtain specific outcomes (e.g., finding useful information) also increase, and that encourages more usage” (p.362). In other words, the more information one finds, the more dependent they become upon that source, in this case the online resources. This would be valuable
59 knowledge for media organizations to pay attention to, especially in relation to
maintaining a long-term clientele.
This study will add to the body of knowledge by showing how individuals
through fantasy sports have become dependent on online media. Fantasy sports players
do this in the beginning by careful selecting online media sources to get their information
and to register for league play but over time they go to the same sites because of habit.
However, media dependency is more than just habitual use. Media dependency can also be related to the motives and strategies used to communicate with others.
Rubin (2002) said, “Dependency on a particular medium results from the motives we have to communicate, the strategies we use to obtain gratifications, and the restricted availability of functional alternatives. It mediates how we use the media and the potential impact of the media” (p.536).
Ball-Rokeach (1976) hypothesized, “The greater the number and centrality of the specific information-delivery functions served by a medium, the greater the audience and societal dependency on that medium” (p.7).
Ball-Rokeach (1976) explained the cognitive effects of dependency in terms of feelings of ambiguity. If information gathered is incomplete, then it creates feelings of ambiguity because the person does not know how to interpret it. Individuals become dependent upon the media for continuous ambiguity resolution. In a fantasy world this often can be seen when players are dealing with injuries. Players panic when they do not have all the information about their players and the players they are going up against.
The media’s role in dependency theory is while they cannot control how the
information is interpreted they can be influential in “controlling what information is and
60 is not delivered and how that information is presented, the media can play a large role in
limiting the range of interpretations that audiences are able to make” (Ball-Rokeach &
DeFleur, 1976).
MSD comes from the same roots as uses and gratifications. Both take a sociological approach and emphasize the link between the individual and the mass media
(Loges & Ball-Rokeach, 1993). However, MSD “characterizes the audience members’ relation to the media as one of inherent subordination except in the most unusual of circumstances” (Loges & Ball-Rokeach, 1993).
Other media theorists think that there is a different relationship between the
consumer and media dependency.
Park, Andrew, and Mahoney (2008) developed the Psychological Continuum
Model (PCM). They discovered that initial sports consumers ascend through four levels
to reach the final stage of being a fiercely loyal sport consumer, something we could
compare to fantasy sports players. The four levels are awareness (knowing of sports
teams but not following a particular one), attraction (an attitude has initially formed and
created interest in a particular sports team), attachment (a sports fan and formed a
connection towards a team psychologically and begins to exhibit various attitude
properties), and allegiance (when the individual’s psychological connection became
resistant, persistent, biased cognition and influences behavior).
New technologies, which fantasy sports players now rely on, are at the heart of
the argument for using the uses and gratification approach. As new technologies present
people with more and more media choices, motivation and satisfaction become even
more crucial components of audience analysis (Ball-Rokeach, 1985). Ruggiero also
61 pointed out that new media technologies are more interactive and tend to blur the line
between the sender and the receiver of mediated messages (Ball-Rokeach, 1985).
(Ball-Rokeach, 1985) also cited past research that led to the notion there are six
user-oriented dimensions of interactivity for the uses and gratification approach: threats, benefits, sociability, isolation, involvement, and inconvenience.
Pritchard and Funk (2006) postulated an idea that the media is acting as a
recreational substitute for game attendance. Thus, this research will also look at the idea
that fantasy sports players have replaced game attendance with their online media and
fantasy sports activities.
Rubin and Rubin (1985) said media dependence is related to awareness. Thus it is
up to media professionals targeting this market to make the consumers more aware of
fantasy sports. Rubin and Rubin (1995) also theorized that if one expands awareness too
much then one could reduce the dependency upon any one media source.
Media dependency “emphasizes the link between individual purposes and the
large social apparatus of mass media” (Loges & Ball-Rokeach, 1993). The purpose of
this study is to examine that link through the apparatus of fantasy sports players.
Dependency is also time related, meaning looking at dependency on cell phones and the
Internet over a period of time (Patwardhan & Yang, 2003).
Uses and gratifications, dependency, and social identity, work in tandem to
examine the fantasy sports players’ ritualized and habitual uses of the media to determine
how dependent fantasy sports players are on the media. Rubin (2002) defined ritualized
use as “using a medium more habitually to consume time for diversion. It entails greater
exposure to and affinity with the medium. Ritualized use suggests utility but an otherwise
62 less-active or less goal-oriented state” (p.535). This is exactly how dependency and uses
and gratifications go hand in hand. They stated that the individual starts out goal oriented
in their use of the Internet but over time the use become habitual and less goal oriented
(Ball-Rokeach et al., 1990; Ko et al., 2005). Several researchers have stated that the uses
and gratifications framework assumes that those who use the mass media are mostly goal
oriented. The goal of communication interaction leads to dependency (LaRose & Eastin,
2004; Rubin & Rubin, 1985).
It has been found, specifically regarding the category of passing time that the uses
and gratifications framework has become a powerful and independent predictor of media
exposure and expected outcomes. LaRose and Eastin (2004) found that “newer users
were making active media selection decisions on the basis of expected outcomes while
veteran users had lapsed into more habitual modes of Internet consumption.” While
theoretically the concept Rubin put out there is that with the more options, just as the
Internet has provided, the less dependency there is. However, that does not take into
account the fact that the Internet is what people are dependent on and that is what I will
examine in this study (Rubin & Rubin, 1985).
Research Questions
The primary exploratory research question this study asked was how media usage related to participants’ fantasy sports motives. Based on the literature, the study broke the research question down into seven additional questions.
The first research question devised from the literature was – how do age
and other demographic information influence involvement in the participation in
63 fantasy sports. The foundation for question one comes from the demographic section in chapter two.
I used the ideas behind social identification to ask the next three questions.
Research question 2 asked – how does one’s identification level correlate with fantasy sports players’ motivations; research question three asked – how is the time spent using one’s cell phones for fantasy sports correlated with one’s social identification; and research question four asked – does the time one has played fantasy sports correlate with one’s social identification.
The next two questions were based on media dependency and social identification. Research question five asked – are highly identified fans more likely to become dependent upon new media; and research question six asked – how does dependency correlate with one’s desire to be part of a community.
The final question, seven, used the uses and gratifications framework in order to see if those who play fantasy sports have their gratification satisfied based on time spent playing as I asked – how is the time one spends using mass media related to a person’s feelings of gratification.
64 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY
Research Design
The literature review has shown that while much has been written about fantasy sports it is only now that the phenomenon is being academically researched (Comeau,
2007). For a topic in its infancy, Bernhard & Eade (2005) suggest an exploratory study conducted in a quantitative manner. An exploratory study refers to, in this case, to the fact that this dissertation will have research questions asking things I want to study instead of traditional research that starts with hypotheses. The choice to move in this direction was based upon the fact that no one has looked at media dependency with modern technology through the lens of fantasy sports. This study hopes to provide answers to questions about media technology and fantasy sports players.
The literature review discovered that when dealing with the Internet research should create an instrument using a usage and gratification’s approach. For this study this approach is appropriate as this dissertation is looking a lot at the motivations of fantasy sports players and the gratifications they receive from participation (Papacharissi &
Rubin, 2000).
Following the example of several other studies, I targeted message boards and websites dedicated to fantasy sports (Serazio, 2008; Spinda & Haridakis, 2008). I had previously contemplated using the snowball method but over time it became apparent that a more targeted approach needed to be done (Wimmer & Dominick, 2003). Levy (2005) used the targeted approach “to develop a large sample of fantasy participants and comment on their demographics, practices, attitudes, and in so doing argue for generalizability to the universe of fantasy players” (p.87). Dwyer and Drayer (2010) also
65 targeted fantasy sports message boards. Morton and Duck (2000) used a modified snowballing technique because of the sensitive and personal topic they were researching.
Because this was an exploratory study, I choose a survey because I was looking for attitudes and motivations of fantasy sports players and a survey offered me the best way to examine such things. As an exploratory research project, it seemed the best way to move forward was to create a survey to ask fantasy sports players about their media usage. And since they use the Internet to primarily conduct their fantasy sports business it made sense that the easiest way to reach the fantasy sports community was via the
Internet.
Gosling et. al (2004) discussed what they described as the six preconceptions of
Internet questionnaires. The six preconceptions are one, that Internet samples are not diverse; second, that people view the Internet as a haven for the socially maladjusted and social rejects; third, information obtained from websites are impacted by its presentation; fourth, surveys online are adversely affected by those not taking the survey seriously; fifth, the findings are impacted by the anonymous nature of the Internet; and sixth, states that findings from online surveys are not consistent with findings from traditional research methods.
Of the six, they found only one of the preconceptions to be an issue and suggested ways to counter that preconception. Internet data may be compromised by the anonymity of participants they said, because a number of respondents will submit answers to more than one survey, in essence stuff the ballot box and thus skew potential findings. They found that sometimes Internet samples are not demographically diverse, but neither are a number of other methods of conducting surveys such as over the telephone and through
66 the mail. They found that Internet users do not differ from non-users; they found that
results can be duplicated and Internet users can be motivated to respond to
questionnaires. They found that Internet-based findings are consistent with findings based
on traditional methods. The larger the response pool, the more likely the researcher will
have enough minority responses.
Gosling et al (2004) also found that “participants from self-selected samples provide clearer, more complete responses than participants who are not self-selected volunteers such as undergraduate psychology students.” While they admitted that an
Internet sample might not be representative of the total population, the results are generally more diverse than of those published in highly selective journals (Gosling,
Vazire, Srivastava, & John, 2004). One of the negative things about using the Internet to collect data is the number of emails and requests that people get on a daily bases. That might mean a survey request might get overlooked or ignored (Theberge, 2005).
Two potential drawbacks to survey research include not being able to manipulate the independent variables and running the risk of surveying the wrong respondents. These are two things that make it difficult to obtain an acceptable response rate (Wimmer &
Dominick, 2003). Another drawback to this study was because of its exploratory design the results of these questions would not necessarily be generalizable to the fantasy sports playing community. Because the ultimate goal of this study is not to initially generalize the results, but to gather information for future studies, using a convenience sample is acceptable.
67 Sample Size and Population
With this survey, I specifically selected message boards that fantasy sports players
frequented on the four major websites that offer fantasy sports: ESPN, FOX Sports,
Yahoo! Sports, and CBSSports. I also placed messages on message boards on a number
of smaller fantasy sports websites.
I left messages there asking fantasy sports players to participate in my research
and provided them with a link to the survey. The difficulty with message boards is that
the message you leave can cycle off the board in a matter of minutes and unless one is
prepared to hover there posting messages every five minutes or so the invitation to take
the survey gets pushed out to oblivion by other messages. I was and did this on several
occasions, again in the effort to reach as many participants as possible. In the end I
finished with 340 completed surveys.
The target population for this study was individual fantasy sports participants who were 18 years of age and older, who are currently participating in any of the various online fantasy leagues. Theoretically, that is close to 30 million people (Roy & Goss,
2007). The use of an Internet survey is appropriate for this demographic as the vast majority of fantasy players use the Internet to not only play the game but to also research the material needed to compete (Dillman, 2000). Fantasy Leagues do not give out subscriptions numbers, especially the big three, Yahoo!Fantasy Sports, ESPN, and CBS, so I had to find a different way to reach fantasy players. Had I been able to obtain a list of all the fantasy players, I would have chosen a method, which would have allowed for a random sampling of the population.
68 I first posted the survey link on the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA)
website’s message board. The FSTA is an organization I joined in order to have access to
more than five million players and individuals associated with the business of fantasy
sports. However, I found it more effective to use my Linkedin account and the FSTA’s
group there to reach the organization’s active members. I also sent the link to several
other fantasy sports organizations that had group accounts on Linkedin. Through the
FSTA I was able to obtain an email list of about 100 industry executives. I sent a request
to participate in the survey to those emails.
I also took advantage of the social networking site Facebook. There are more than
100 organizations and individuals who have created pages with the words fantasy sports
in their titles. I liked6 and left messages on the Facebook pages that had more than 100
members or individuals who had liked the page before I visited it. I also joined a number
of fantasy-oriented websites and created a number of fantasy teams including golf,
football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and even NASCAR fantasy teams. I did this in
order to make sure I had access to these fantasy company’s message boards. I created
teams on the top four fantasy providers - - Yahoo!, ESPN, FOX, and CBS. I also left
messages at NFL.com, Fantazzle.com, NASCAR.com, fanball.com, the fantasy sports
writers association, fantasyfootball.com, the fantasy players association, the World
Championship of Fantasy Sports, fantasysportsday.com, the golf channel, the fantasy golf
league, and Pro Tour fantasy golf. I made an effort to reach as many of the roughly 30
6 This is required in order to be able to access the wall members view screen which allows individuals to leave messages. It is a button at the top of the page with the word like that one clicks in order to receive messages from the page and also to publicly state their interest in whatever the Facebook page is about, in this case fantasy sports, and I was able to leave links to my survey there.
69 million fantasy sports players as possible. The survey was conducted over an eight-week period in July, August, and September of 2011.
The goal was to try and give every fantasy player in the country an opportunity to be involved in this study. While that might seem unrealistic, I targeted the areas on the
Internet in which fantasy players will have an opportunity to respond to the survey. I believe this was the best way to end up with a solid cross section of respondents who play fantasy sports.
Instrument
This study used the Internet software system known as Survey Monkey. Survey items were developed based on a comprehensive literature review of previous studies done on fantasy sports and media dependency. Using previous fantasy sports surveys and the Sage Handbook of Applied Social Research I was able to design and refine this survey (Fowler & Cosenza, 2009).
The survey, named on the Internet as Fantasy Sports, originally asked 73 questions in six sections and took about 30 minutes to complete. Realistically most people will not give up 30 minutes to take a survey with no compensation, so I removed a number of questions that were repetitive. The final survey (Appendix A) contained five sections and asked 22 questions and could be finished between 10 and 15 minutes. The five sections were first, a look at media usage; second, an evaluation of favorite teams and fantasy sports history; third, a look at social identity based on Wann’s work; fourth, a combination of several surveys to help measure motivations for playing fantasy sports; and fifth demographics.
70 Section One – Media Usage
The survey started by looking at media usage. What media each individual
consumes will help determine how dependent fantasy sports players are on certain media.
The 20 questions were organized in a manner in which the answer options were the same.
The first question asked participants to share which media they subscribe to or
have in their home. The four media items were magazines, fantasy sports magazines,
newspapers, and televisions. For each of these four options the fantasy sports players had
seven choices (zero, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or more than 6).
The second question asked participants to estimate the time they spend with the
media in an average week. This question had 10 media items including reading
magazines, watching sports, listening to sports on the radio, fantasy research of any kind,
reading newspapers, reading about sports online, using your cell phone, using your cell
phone for fantasy sports, using your cell phone for fantasy sports, talking to others about
fantasy sports, and playing fantasy sports. The time ranges to choose from were less than
1 hour, 1-2, 2-4, 4-6, 6-8, 8-10, 10-12, 12-15, 15-20, and more than 20 hours.
The third question asked respondents to pick the answer that closest represents
their life experience. Their answer was to round to the nearest year with the options being
less than 1, 1-3, 3-6, 6-8, 8-10, 10-12, 12-15, 15-20, or more than 20 years. The three sub-questions were how many years have you been using a cell phone, how many years have you been online using the Internet, and how many years have you been playing fantasy sports.
The fourth question asked participants to pick the closest answer to their daily habits for the following two sub-questions, on an average day how many websites do you
71 visit and on an average day how many fantasy sports websites do you visit. Respondents
could choose none, 1-3, 4-6, 6-8, 8-10, 10-12, 12-15, 15-20, or more than 20. Research has found that the more interactive a website is the more likely they will receive more traffic.
Question five asked participants to disclose where they primarily watch sports.
The choices were your home, a friend’s house, bar or restaurant, common area, online, or other, please specify. The sixth question asked participants how often they do the following: watch more than one game at a time, attend live sporting events, fantasy sports has been found to replace attendance. The possible answers were never, rarely, sometimes, often, or whenever possible.
The final question of section one asked participants if the location where they watch sports subscribes to the NFL Sunday Ticket or the Red Zone package or another sports game package. The three options were yes, no, or don’t know.
Section Two - Favorites
Section two asked six questions regarding respondent’s real life favorite professional teams. Based on research, Wann and Branscombe (1993) conducted, they found that people identify with teams and identify with them for different reasons and change teams under certain circumstances.
The first question of the second section asked participants to list their favorite professional teams. The following sports were provided where the respondent could type in their response: football, baseball, basketball, hockey, NASCAR, soccer, or other.
Question nine asked participants which fantasy sports leagues they played in including football, baseball, basketball, hockey, NASCAR, and other. Since studies have
72 shown that people play in multiple leagues, question 10 asked participants how many
leagues they play in and asked how many times they have won their fantasy league(s).
The choices were zero, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 or more.
In order to get a better idea on how long people have been playing question 11
asked participants at what age did they start playing fantasy sports. The options were
under 18, 18-20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40, 41-50, 51-60, and 60 and above. Question
12 asked participants if they have ever played fantasy sports at work. The two options were yes and no.
The final question of section two asked participants if their participation in fantasy sports has ever impacted their real life or interfered with personal activities. The options were options were not really, family event, work production, vacation, or other.
The other option provided a space for individuals to write in other options.
Section Three – Wann and Identity
For section three, I used Wann’s Sport Spectator Identification Scale
(SSIS)(Wann & Branscombe, 1993) as a foundation, which is based on the social identity theory. Wann’s research showed this scale is a strong indicator of determining an individual’s level of team and social identification. Dietz-Uhler and Lanter (2008) found this instrument to be “the most widely and extensively used tool for measuring sports fan identification” (p.105).
Some of the drawbacks to the numerous SSIS studies have been the fact they were mostly convenience samples or the instrument was given to only college students, who do not fit the demographic of the traditional fantasy player as discovered in previous studies.
Thus a more extensive study across a larger swath of fantasy players would help to justify
73 the SSIS instrument and help explore the identification levels of fantasy sports players and their media consumption. Changes were made to the SSIS to evaluate identification with a subject’s favorite fantasy players because fantasy players could very well exhibit outward evidence of skewed loyalties in the behavior while still maintaining very high identification with their favorite teams.
Question 14 used a scale based on the SISS. Respondents selected the response that most accurately describes their opinion on a scale of one to five with one being not very important and five being very important.
The nine statements of importance were my favorite team wins, having a favorite team, having friends who have the same favorite team, dislike for your favorite team’s greatest rivals, to follow your team via any of the media (i.e., TV, radio, print media,
Internet), to display your team’s name, having your favorite fantasy player win his/her actual game, disliking your favorite fantasy player’s greatest rivals, displaying your favorite fantasy player’s name or insignia.
Section Four – Motivations
Section four was designed to look at the motivations of fantasy sports players based on the uses and gratifications framework. In this section, I looked at a number of instruments that would accomplish this task. I found a number of other instruments including the Sports Fan Motivation Scale (SFMS), the Motivations of the Sport
Consumer Scale (MSC), and the Motivation Scale for Sport Consumption (MSSC) and the Sport Interest Inventory (SII). These different instruments were helpful in that I was able to identify the right instrument for this dissertation as well as develop ideas for using these instruments in future research.
74 Farquhar and Meeds (2007) used a uses and gratifications framework with a quantitative approach and they discovered five types of fantasy sports players. The three primary players were casual players, skilled players, and isolationist thrill-seekers. They found the differences between the players were based on two motivations – arousal and surveillance. Other minor motivations found included entertainment, escape, and social interaction (p.1208). The creation of allegiances to specific teams was also the study of
Funk and James (2001). They came up with the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) to help explain why individuals become identified or associated with various teams and how these attachments become formed. They found there were four steps, awareness, attraction, attachment, and allegiance that people go through to form attachments.
I took questions primarily from SFMS based on seven of its eight indicators – escape, economics, eustress, self-esteem, community, entertainment, and family in order to look at uses and gratification motivations. It was based on Mahony et al.’s (2002) evaluation of the SFMS.
The seven indicators are defined as follows: first, escape, players need to flee from their everyday routine, players have a need to change their perception to experience reality from a different viewpoint, and players need for a diversion; second, economics, players are motivated by the chance to generate monetary gains. Individuals also play for cash or prizes, and sometimes will wager on outcomes; third, eustress is the need for positive stress and the need to arouse senses. This also refers to the need of individuals to have some drama and suspense in ones life, another word for eustress is arousal; fourth, self-esteem refers to the desire to maintain a positive self-concept through team success.
It also gives one a sense of accomplishment and achievement when team succeeds; fifth,
75 community or the need to belong is the desire to make group contacts and seek refuge from feelings of alienation; sixth, entertainment, is the idea that pleasure becomes the primary past time, that no skills are required, and it provides opportunities to spend time with one’s family, which is the seventh indicator.
Trail et al. (2000) found six general factors for his MSSC instrument that influence future sport spectator consumption behavior. Those factors were “motives, level of identification, expectancies, confirmation or disconfirmation of expectancies, self-esteem responses, and the affective state of the individual” (p.155). I included questions of an exploratory nature based on the idea of media dependency and looking at the formation of habits as well.
Question 15 asked participants to select the number that best describes their opinion about their favorite team. They were also asked to base their answers to the 14 sub-questions on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the least likely to represent how they are feeling now and 5 being the most likely to represent how they feel right now. Sub- question one asked participants if fantasy sports are great opportunities to socialize with other people. Sub-question two asked participants if one of the main reasons they play fantasy sports is most of their friends are sports fans. Sub-question three asked participants if being a part of a fantasy sports community is important.
Sub-question four asked participants if their fantasy team’s successes were their successes and if their losses were their losses. Sub-question five asked participants if they play fantasy sports because it is fun. Sub-question six asked participants if they play fantasy sports in order to win cash or prizes. This question also favors those who are goal oriented. Sub-question seven asked participants if they regularly track the statistics of
76 specific players. Sub-question eight asked participants if they consider themselves
smarter than the average fantasy player. Sub-question nine asked participants if fantasy sports represent a temporary escape.
Sub-question 10 asked participants if fantasy sports have become a habit. Sub- question 11 asked participants if they like playing fantasy sports with their family. Sub- question 12 asked participants if they like to play fantasy sports to prove to their fellow competitors that I am the best. Sub-question 13 asked participants if they like to play fantasy sports so they can feel like the coach, GM or owner of a sports team. Fantasy sports are the closest way to feel like one is participating in the professional arena without actually suiting up and playing. Sub-question 14 asked participants if they like to play fantasy sports because they love to trash talk. A secondary reason for looking at motivations for fantasy sports has to do with the fact that while more women are playing fantasy sports men and women have been shown to have different motivations with regards to sports.
Section Five - Demographics
The final part of the survey was designed to gather the respondent’s demographic information. I asked the following seven demographic questions based on the literature review: age (by last birthday), gender, race, education, marital status, employment status, and current household income. The questions were also used to correlate with the technological usage questions asked previously in the survey. I also wanted to see if previous statistics from earlier research had changed or remained constant.
77 I made the best effort to reach as many different fantasy sports players as possible but, without statistics from major fantasy sites it is hard to determine what the actual demographics of fantasy sports players are.
78 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS
Between July and September 2011 392 persons started the survey and 340 individuals completed it. A response rate was not available because of the nature of the exploratory survey. Specific information on how many people received the survey invitation by seeing it in a message forum was not available. All the data from the survey was downloaded from the Internet hosting site Survey Monkey and placed into an SPSS file. Using this statistical program, I was able to compute and report a number of statistical analyses.
Primary Research Question
The primary exploratory research question sought how media usage related to participants’ fantasy sports motives. Initially, I analyzed the 14 items asked in question
15 regarding motives through a principle components factor analysis to determine if any commonalities emerged. It was observed that 13 of the 14 items converged into two variables called competitive motivation and socialization motivation. This was based on using the varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization. The purpose of using the factor analysis was to boil down the questions used in section four into more manageable fantasy sports playing variables. In the end, “being smarter than others” was removed because it did not load into either of the two factors.
The competitive motivations were based on participants answers to habit, feeling they are the best, how important success and losses are to them, the desire to win cash and prizes, to behave like a GM or owner, a temporary escape, trash talking, and tracking stats of players. The socialization motivation variable was composed of five items: play with friends, opportunity to socialize, play with family, playing is fun, and being a part of
79 a sports community. Internal consistency for each of the scales was examined using
Cronbach’s alpha. The alphas were .79 for competitive motives (8 items), and .87 for
socializing motives (5 items). No substantial increases in alpha for any of the scales could
have been achieved by eliminating more items.
Table 5.1 Rotated component matrix Component
1 2 3 Habit .769 .167 .106 I am the best .738 .204 .186 Successes and losses .737 .134 .115 To win cash and prizes .711 .043 -.066 GM, owner, coach .657 .150 .193 FS is temporary escape .602 .365 .171 Trash talking .571 .288 -.185 Track stats of players .534 .396 .478 Reason to play is friends play .126 .768 -.220 FS opportunity to socialize .371 .713 -.151 Like to play with family -.017 .679 .240 Playing is fun .404 .630 .242 Sports community is important .554 .583 -.018 Smarter than others .098 -.063 .804
The next step was to run several correlations of the two new variables created
from the factor analysis against the media use variable, such as magazine subscriptions,
fantasy magazine subscriptions, newspaper subscriptions, TVs in the home, and cell
phone usage.
Only one of the correlations for competitive motivations was statistically
significant. Competitive motivations and fantasy magazine subscriptions the r (340) = .23
was significant, at the p < .01 level.
For social motives, only one correlation was significant and it again related to
fantasy magazine subscriptions. The r (340) = .15 indicated that this was not a good test- retest reliability but this correlation was significant at p < .01.
80
Table 5.2
Correlations between competitive motives and new technology Competitive Time Time Years Years Amount motive/depe using using cell used cell used of ndency cell phone for phone Internet websites phone FS visited Competitive motive/dependency 1 -.03 .001 -.018 .065 -.010 Time using cell phone -.03 1 .320** .315** .132* .094 Time using cell phone for FS .001 .320** 1 .072 .096 .170** Years used cell phone -.018 .315** .072 1 .323** .216** Years used Internet .065 .132* .096 .323** 1 .260** Amount of websites visited -.01 .094 .170** .216** .260** 1 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
A third and fourth Pearson’s correlation were computed between competitive motivations or social motivations and cell phone and Internet usage (five items). Not a single significant correlation was found.
Research Question 1
This research question asked how age and other demographic information influenced involvement in fantasy sports. There are seven demographic variables: age, gender, race, education, marital status, employment, and income.
Three one-way between subjects ANOVA were conducted to compare the effect of participation in fantasy sports for age, employment and income. Preferences for participation in fantasy sports did not differ significantly across any of those three demographics. The same results were found for race, although for that demographic an independent samples t-test was run.
81 The other three demographics did produce some results. Education was the only one with a significant relationship while gender and marital status were close to providing significance.
A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of participation in fantasy sports for three education groups. The three education groups were broken down into never attended college all the way up to associates degree (n=81),
4-year degree (n=125) and graduate degrees (n=132). Preferences for participation in fantasy sports differed significantly across the education groups, F (2, 335) = 3.02, p <
.05. A Bonferroni post hoc test found the greatest difference between those with 4-year degrees and those with graduate degrees, p < .10.
Table 5.3 Social motivations multiple comparisons Mean Difference Std. (I) Education (J) Education (I-J) Error Never to Associate 4-year Degree -.06 .17 degree Graduate Degree .28 .16 4-year Degree Never to Associate .06 .17 degree Graduate Degree .34 .15 Graduate Degree Never to Associate -.28 .16 degree 4-year Degree -.34 .15
Because there were only two options for gender an independent samples t-test was run. There was a not a significant difference for participation in fantasy sports in regards to the scores for male participants (M=2.46, SD=1.19) and female participants (M=2.20,
SD=1.05) conditions; t (335) = 1.61, p > 0.1.
82 As there were only two options for marital status based on a frequency test, married
and all other categories, an independent samples t-test was run. There was a not a significant difference for participation in fantasy sports in regards to the scores for married participants (M=2.34, SD=1.03) and all other marital category participants
(M=2.56, SD=1.43) conditions; t (334) = -1.59, p > 0.1.
Research Question 2
This research question asked how one’s identification level correlates with fantasy sports players’ motivations. To answer this, I ran a correlation between the social identification variable created through factor analysis and the social motivations variable created from the same factor analysis procedure. The Pearson’s correlation found r (340)
= .50. This indicated that this was a strong test-retest reliability and this correlation was significant, p < .01.
Research Question 3
This research question asked how the time spent using one’s cell phone for fantasy sports correlated with one’s social identification. This question followed up on what research question two asked only instead of dependency I looked at social identification. The scale for participation in fantasy sports was created by factoring the nine items asked in question 14 based on Wann’s SSIS using principle components analysis with Varimax rotation and Kaiser normalization. The purpose of using the factor analysis extraction method was to boil down the questions used in section one into more manageable fantasy sports playing variable.
Six of the nine variables loaded onto a variable called social identity. The social identity variable was based on participants answers to favorite team wins, having a
83 favorite team, following one’s team through the media, disliking rivals, displaying team
name, and friends having the same favorite team.
Internal consistency for each of the scales was examined using Cronbach’s alpha.
The alpha was .85 for competitive motives (9 items). No substantial increases in alpha for any of the scales could have been achieved by eliminating more items.
Table 5.4 Rotated component matrix for social identity Component Social Identity Participation in fantasy sports Favorite team .84 .03 wins Having a .83 .08 favorite team Follow team via .81 .15 media Dislike Rivals .76 .14 Display team .70 .37 name Friends having .54 .28 same favorite team Disliking FS .14 .89 players rival Displaying .13 .88 fantasy player name FS player win .19 .78 actual game
84 The second internal consistency procedure for each of the scales was examined
using Cronbach’s alpha. The alpha was .85 for social identification (9 items). In the three
correlations of social identification and using a cell phone, using a cell phone for fantasy
sports, and how many years one has owned a cell phone, no significant relationships were
found.
Research Question 4
This question asked if the time respondents have played fantasy sports correlates with their attachment to their favorite team or social identification. This question was asked because looking at how much time someone plays fantasy sports will give us insights into the relationship between time and one’s identification. A correlation was run with the social identification variable and seven different items that deal with time one has spent playing fantasy sports. Those seven items are time spent playing fantasy sports, number of years playing fantasy sports, time spent researching fantasy sports, time spent using one’s cell phone for fantasy sports, time spent talking about fantasy sports, and the number of fantasy sports websites visited in a day. Of the seven correlations run not a single one came back with a single significant result.
I also ran a correlation between the social identification variable and the
participation in fantasy sports variable created from the same factor analysis procedure.
The Pearson’s correlation found r (340) = .08. This indicated that this was not a strong
test-retest reliability and this correlation was not significant, p > 0.1.
85 Research Question 5
The fifth sub research question focused on if highly identified fans are more likely to become dependent on new media. This question required running a one-way between subjects ANOVA using the social identification variable media usage.
Each media use category was broken down into light, medium, and heavy categories. The groups were based on reading magazines, reading newspapers, magazines subscriptions, newspaper subscriptions, fantasy magazines subscriptions, time spent watching sports, time spent listening to sports on the radio, time spent researching fantasy sports, time spent reading sports online, time spent using one’s cell phone, time spent using one’s cell phone for fantasy sports, time spent playing fantasy sports, years using a cell phone, years using the Internet, years playing fantasy sports, the number of websites visited daily, the number of fantasy websites visited daily, and TVs in the home. No significant relationships were found from these analyses.
Time spent talking about fantasy sports was broken down into light (n=169), moderate (n=105) and heavy (n=64) was the only test that came close to significance.
Social identification did not differ significantly across the time spent talking about fantasy sports groups, F (2, 335) = 1.85, p = .16 but it was close to the p< .10 standard of exploratory research.
I also ran a correlation between the social identification variable created through factor analysis and the dependency variable created from the same factor analysis procedure. The Pearson’s correlation found r (340) = .41. This indicated that this was a good test-retest reliability and this correlation was significant, p < .01.
86
Table 5.5 Correlations between competitive motives and social identity Competitive motive / Social Identity Dependency Competitive 1 .414** motive/dependency
Social Identity .414** 1 ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
Research Question 6
This question asked how dependency correlates with one’s desire to be part of a community. To answer this, correlation was run between the competitive motivation variable created through factor analysis and the social motivations variable created from the same factor analysis procedure.
Table 5.6 Correlations between competitive motives and social motives Competitive Social motive/dependency motive/gratification Competitive 1 .624** motive/dependency
Social .624** 1 motive/gratification
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
87
The Pearson’s correlation found r (340) = .62. This indicated that this was a strong test-retest reliability and this correlation was significant, p < .01.
Research Question 7
This research question asked how the time respondents spend using mass media relates to a their feelings of gratification. This question relied on a one-way ANOVA
Analysis of Variance with the social motivations variable the dependent variable and 19 items of media usage as the grouping variable. Each mass media item, such as reading magazines, was grouped into three categories: light, moderate, and heavy.
A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of social motivation against reading magazines, reading newspapers, magazines subscriptions and newspaper subscriptions were run and no reportable results were found.
A relationship was found with fantasy magazine subscriptions but the n’s for moderate and heavy were so low it was deemed they were not significant enough to report.
A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of social motivation against TVs in the home. TVs in the home was broken down into light
(n=153), moderate (n=105) and heavy (n=57). Preferences for social motivation did not differ significantly across the TVs in the home groups, F (2, 312) = 1.87, p > 0.1 but in and exploratory research study this was fairly close to being significant.
A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of social motivation as the dependent variable against the groups relating to time spent watching sports. Time spent watching sports were broken down into light (n=100),
88 moderate (n=130), and heavy (n=110). Preferences for social motivation differed
significantly across the time spent watching sports groups, F (2, 337) = 2.48, p < .10, an
acceptable standard for exploratory research.
A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of social motivation against time spent listening to sports on the radio, time spent researching fantasy sports, time spent using one’s cell phone, time spent using one’s cell phone for fantasy sports, time spent playing fantasy sports, time spent reading sports online, time spent playing fantasy sports, years using a cell phone, years using the
Internet, years playing fantasy sports, the number of websites visited daily, and the number of fantasy websites visited daily. Nothing significant was found.
A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the effect of social motivation against time spent talking about fantasy sports. Time spent talking about fantasy sports was broken down into light (n=169), moderate (n=105), and heavy
(n=64). Preferences for social motivation differed significantly across the time spent talking about fantasy sports groups, F (2, 335) = 3.28, p < .05. A Bonferroni post hoc test also found there was a significant relationship between light time spent talking about fantasy sports and moderate time spent talking about fantasy sports, p < .05. The
Bonferroni’s test suggested the differences lie between light time talking about fantasy sports and moderate time spent talking about fantasy sports.
In the spirit of exploratory research, an ANOVA was run using the competitive motivation/dependency variable created from the factor analysis against 19 items of media usage groups and found significance for reading magazines.
89 Reading magazines was broken down into light (n=175), moderate (n=104), and heavy (n=60). Competitive motivation/dependency differed significantly across the reading magazines groups, F (2, 336) = 2.40, p < .10, in and exploratory research study this was close enough to be significant.
An ANOVA also found significance for newspaper subscriptions. Newspaper subscriptions were broken down into light (n=302), moderate (n=23), and heavy (n=15).
Preferences for competitive motivation/dependency did not differ significantly across the newspaper subscriptions groups, F (2, 337) = 2.12, p > 0.1 but in and exploratory research study this was fairly close to being significant.
For reading newspapers, magazines subscriptions, TVs in the home, listening to sports on the radio, years playing fantasy sport, years using the Internet, years using a cell phone, time spent using one’s cell phone, time spent using one’s cell phone for fantasy sports, the number of websites visited daily, and the number of fantasy websites visited daily, none of these produced significant results.
For fantasy magazines subscriptions, time spent watching sports, time spent researching fantasy sports, and time spent talking about fantasy sports, several significant results emerged in ANOVAs.
Fantasy magazines subscriptions were broken down into light (n=319), moderate
(n=15), and heavy (n=6). Preferences for competitive motivation/dependency differed significantly across the fantasy magazines subscriptions groups, F (2, 337) = 6.72, p <
.01. A Bonferroni post hoc test also found there was a significant relationship between light fantasy magazines subscriptions and moderate fantasy magazines subscriptions, p =
90 .013; and found there was a significant relationship between light fantasy magazines subscriptions and heavy fantasy magazines subscriptions, p < .10.
Time spent watching sports were broken down into light (n=100), moderate
(n=130), and heavy (n=110). Preferences for competitive motivation/dependency differed significantly across the time spent watching sports groups, F (2, 337) = 4.16, p < .05. A
Bonferroni post hoc test also found there was a significant relationship between light time spent watching sports and heavy time spent watching sports, p = .019; and found there was a significant relationship between moderate time spent watching sports and heavy time spent watching sports, p = .093.
Time spent researching fantasy sports was broken down into light (n=144), moderate (n=91) and heavy (n=105). Preferences for competitive motivation/dependency differed significantly across the time spent researching fantasy sports groups, F (2, 337) =
3.97, p < .05. A Bonferroni post hoc test also found there was a significant relationship between light time spent researching fantasy sports and heavy time spent researching fantasy sports, p < .05.
Time spent talking about fantasy sports was broken down into light (n=169), moderate (n=105), and heavy (n=64). Preferences for competitive motivation/dependency differed significantly across the time spent talking about fantasy sports groups, F (2, 335)
= 5.56, p < .01. A Bonferroni post hoc test also found there was a significant relationship between light time spent talking about fantasy sports and moderate time spent talking about fantasy sports, p < .01.
Time spent reading sports online was broken down into light (n=83), moderate
(n=169), and heavy (n=88). Preferences for competitive motivation/dependency did not
91 differ significantly across the time spent reading sports online groups, F (2, 337) = 2.07, p > 0.1, but in and exploratory research study this was close to the p < .10 standard. This suggests researchers should take a closer look dependency and reading about sports online.
Table 5.7 Time researching fantasy sports multiple comparisons (I) Time (J) Time Mean Researching Fantasy Researching Fantasy Difference Std. Sports Sports (I-J) Error Light Time Moderate Time -.238 .128 Researching Fantasy Researching Fantasy Sports Sports Heavy Time -.329* .123 Researching Fantasy Sports Moderate Time Light Time .238 .128 Researching Fantasy Researching Fantasy Sports Sports Heavy Time -.091 .137 Researching Fantasy Sports Heavy Time Light Time .329* .123 Researching Fantasy Researching Fantasy Sports Sports Moderate Time .091 .137 Researching Fantasy Sports
92 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION
This study examined the effects fantasy sports participation has on media consumption and the path to media dependency. The purpose of this dissertation was also to search for connections between fantasy sports participants’ motivations, their social identity, and media dependency. The biggest finding of this study was a significant relationship between those who have a desire to be a part of a community and the likelihood of media dependency.
The fantasy sports participants in this study mirror the national trend of fewer people reading magazines and newspapers. The data collected suggest the fantasy sports players questioned do not find their information through newspapers and fantasy magazines, yet they had plenty of televisions in the home. Those who do consume traditional media do not spend much time doing so.
People are migrating to new technologies for their information needs and this exploration into fantasy sports shows fantasy sports and those who play need even more study in order to look at media trends that are leading to adoption and dependence on new technology. The survey also found that people spend two to four hours a week talking with others about fantasy sports and two hours a week playing fantasy sports. Fantasy sports players have been using a cell phone for 10 years, have been using the Internet for
12 years, and have been playing fantasy sports for six years on average. Similarly players visit 8 to 10 websites a day; of them one to three are fantasy sports sites. This suggests that fantasy sports players are comfortable with new media technology and have been using it for a significant period of time.
93 To understand how the study arrived at these findings better, we will examine each of the study’s research questions in detail, along with an overall examination of what the findings could mean for fantasy sports and traditional media in the rest of this chapter.
Theoretical and Practical Implications
This study has provided support to the idea that new technologies such as cell phones and the Internet should be considered important factors when taking a uses and gratifications approach to research. The results showed that one contextual factor, participation in fantasy sports, was a significant predictor of motivations and gratifications (desire to be a part of a community, eustress, entertainment, accomplishment, and self-esteem) by socially identified individuals. Wann’s use of the
SSIS is valuable in predicting why people play fantasy sports. The primary access to playing fantasy sports is through new media devices such as the Internet and cell phones.
By studying more about social identification, we can learn more about how the mass media influences those who play fantasy sports.
This study also showed that there was a correlation between time spent and gratifications received from playing fantasy sports. The results suggest that time has a significant influence on the gratifications involved in playing fantasy sports. The results mean that the more time a fantasy sports participant spends seeking gratification the more likely that person will spend time playing fantasy sports to satisfy their gratifications.
This study suggests this could lead to media dependence.
This study also identified a significant relationship between those who have a desire to be a part of a community and the likelihood of media dependency. The more
94 one has a desire to be a part of a fantasy sports playing community, the more likely they are to become dependent upon the media. These results emphasize the need for continued research into fantasy sports.
What this means for media dependency theory is that we know that the more one consumes the media, the m ore likely he or she is to develop a media habit. One significant finding of this research is people play fantasy sports for two reasons: competition and to be a part of a community. With this knowledge those involved with the fantasy sports in any capacity should develop media campaigns targeting people’s desires to compete and be a part of a community. I believe if this is done then there will be continued growth in the numbers of those who play fantasy sports.
There was not a relationship between motivations and cell phone and Internet usage. The results did not find the theoretical correlation between media dependency among fantasy sports players and their usage of cell phones and the Internet. However, I strongly believe this was a result of not asking more direct questions about how fantasy sports players use their cell phones. There was also not a correlation between time spent using cell phones and social identity in relationship to online news. This suggests that fantasy sports players are not using their phones for online news.
As one of the key fantasy motives, fantasy sports players who like to socialize also seem to like to talk about fantasy sports. Those who are motivated by competition are more likely to spend time reading magazines, researching fantasy sports, watching sports and lastly talking about sports, but not nearly at the same levels as those with a socialization motive. This finding implies that people play to win or to play with friends rather than any other kind of motive for playing fantasy sports. For industry leaders this
95 means they can change their marketing campaigns to target these two motivations as
ways to grow fantasy sports.
Another key aspect this study found was the lack of a relationship between cell
phones and fantasy sports players. Also, those who provide fantasy sports have not
marketed cell phones enough. Future studies should look at cell phone usage among the
different fantasy sports, which might tell us who is more media dependent, those that play
only football or those who play one or more of the other fantasy sports.
It was not surprising that a vast majority found it important or very important that their favorite team wins and more than half said it was important or very important to have a favorite team at all. This plays to the competitive motivation of people. While
players may not be obsessed with wearing a logo, favorite teams could be an area that
could be marketed to. Asking the right questions could help measure media dependency
and social identity. This brand of marketing would play to both the competitive nature
and social habits discovered from the results of this study among fantasy sports players.
I felt important here to go through each question and explain whether anything of significance was found. The reason for this is to improve future research by learning which questions to hone in on and which ones to ignore or try again with a different approach.
Primary Research Question
Based on extensive research one primary research question was conceived. From this question seven other were also asked. The primary research question this dissertation sought to answer was how media usage is related to fantasy sports motivations. The finding that fantasy sports players are driven to play for social and competitive reasons
96 suggests areas that media industry leaders can target in order to increase the number of
fantasy players and also improve the overall product. Those who play fantasy sports are
no longer using traditional media forms such as newspapers and magazines to facilitate
their fantasy sports activities.
What this tells us is that the reasons the participants in the survey play fantasy
sports are not technologically driven. The results seem to say that people are playing
fantasy sports not because they can do it from a cell phone or laptop or even from a
computer at work; instead they play fantasy sports to feel a connection with others or
dominance over others. This outcome will change over time as cell phones become more
advanced and integrated into people’s lives. As those in the fantasy sports industry adapt
to these new mobile technologies the impact they have on individual players will change.
Thus, the results suggest this dissertation is just ahead of the curve in how and from
where people play fantasy sports.
Based on the criteria above there is strong evidence for continuing to research fantasy sports motivations, especially when it comes to looking at fantasy sports participants’ usage of cell phones and other mobile technologies.
RQ1: Demographics
After seeing others site numerous demographic information on those who
participated in fantasy sports. I also wanted to examine if things have changed from
earlier trends and what current numbers tell us about who is playing fantasy sports and
what those numbers mean.
The results were eye opening. The finding that differences in demographics, such
as age, employment and income, has no significant relationship to fantasy sports
97 involvement suggests how predominant these games have become. People of all ages,
income levels, gender, and jobs are now playing because it is easy and affordable. While
some still pay to play in special leagues, the bulk of those who play can do it wherever
they can connect to the Internet. Players can either use a desktop computer, a laptop, or
their phones. Media industry leaders should pay attention to this suggested trend and
devote more time and attention to these audiences.
Educational level had a significant effect on fantasy sports playing, but in an
unexpected direction. Those who seemed to play fantasy sports the most were those with
a four-year college degree. They played slightly more than those without a degree and significantly more than those with a graduate degree. This suggests that fantasy sports participation may begin in college and continues as way to stay in touch with college friends. It also suggests that fantasy sports are not a domain merely for the highly educated sports fan. Because many people are exposed to fantasy sports in college it would only make sense to expand fantasy sports games into the collegiate realm.
Currently the CBS and ESPN online networks offer fantasy football. But with the all the
hype surrounding March Madness and the NCAA Hockey final four, other fantasy sports
providers should consider adding college football as well as other college sports. This
goes hand in with the results that state people play fantasy sports to be a part of a
community. College is often where people go to join an academic or athletic community,
which can be easily transferred to an online fantasy sports community as well.
Answers to research question one suggest that research into fantasy sports should
continue to look at fantasy sports players’ demographic information. Future research
should look at the different reasons that drive men and women to play. Another
98 interesting finding here would suggest looking both college students and alumni from different major campuses around the country to examine their fantasy sports playing habits.
RQ2: Social Identification
The findings for one’s social identification level correlating with fantasy sports players’ motivations suggest one’s social identification is a strong predictor of one’s motivations to play fantasy sports. The media industry needs to focus on what increases social identification in order to increase the numbers of those playing fantasy sports. The contributors to social identification include one’s desires to be a part of a self-enhancing community (Hogg, 1995). Social identity is about making a psychological connection, and for this study it is about making that mental connection with fantasy sports. If media managers can learn to create a psychological connection with fantasy sports, they can increase the number of people playing fantasy sports and their bottom lines.
Thus these findings also are important for future research as identification has been found to factor into the motivations of fantasy sports players. This question helps point researchers of fantasy sports in positive direction.
RQ3: Cell Phones
In my limited interaction with the people in my social sphere I have seen the way cell phones have intruded into every aspect of our lives. This study asked what impact they and other mobile technologies have on fantasy sports. This study suggests there is no significant correlation between one’s social identity and one’s cell phone usage or social
99 identity and reading sports online. As a result it seems media industry leaders have not been focusing enough time on making fantasy sports easier to use on phones.
As the prices have come down and the convenience of using cell phones has gone up more people are able and willing to use cell phones. According to the CTIA-Wireless
Association as of November 2007 82.4% of Americans were using cell phones (Askville,
2010). According to Physorg.com (2010) as of 2010 there were five billion people worldwide using cell phones. As the world continues to move to cell phones and away from land lines and if cellular apps keep pace, those who take advantage of reaching people on their mobile devices should see an increase in those who play fantasy sports on their mobile devices.
The findings suggest more in-depth questions about cell phone usage and the usage of various fantasy sports apps are impacting the way people play fantasy sports as well as the way the obtain information regarding their fantasy sports leagues. This study should have asked how many cell phones and computers were in the home. This would have shown a better indication of how much of an impact new technology is having on those who play fantasy sports and in their homes. Although the study did show that participants spend on average four to six hours a week on their cell phones, I wonder how accurate this number was. Additional questions targeting more specific cell phone usage would have added to this study and this information will be used in designing future studies.
RQ4: Time Spent Playing Fantasy Sports
In the end the time one has played fantasy sports is not a good predictor of anything. The findings that the number of years one has played fantasy sports has little to
100 do with social identification or one’s attachment to a favorite team. This suggests the media industry needs to focus their campaigns at all levels of fantasy sports and not just those who have been playing it for a short time or a long time. I believe the reason no connection has been found is due to the saturation of computers and technology into modern society. It is also because there is a quick learning curve. Fantasy sports are easy to learn how to play but hard to master each season.
The results also indicated that social identification seems to have little to do with those who play fantasy sports. The reason for these findings is social identification deals with identifying with a community. While wanting to be a part of a social community motivates fantasy sports players, fantasy sports themselves do not create a specific community. Fantasy sports players are likely to talk about their teams, but they won’t talk about the fantasy sports community at large in terms of “we” and “us.” Rather when talking about their teams, they use terms such as my team or the player on my team or my league is doing such and such.
I believe fantasy sports could see stronger growth if marketing gurus could devise a way to create a fantasy sports community that people could feel they belong to. This is an important direction that fantasy sports should move in as a result of the findings in this dissertation.
RQ5: Highly Identified
The point of this question was to see if highly identified fans are more likely to be dependent upon new media. The thinking behind this question was that those who are highly identified feel more connected with the idea of competing and thus will become habitual users of the media in order to win at fantasy sports. I found that the more people
101 talk about fantasy sports, whether face-to-face or online, they are more likely to become highly identified fans and media dependent.
The findings for this question suggest that media leaders need to focus more on ways to get people talking. Past media research has suggested that while the media cannot tell the people what to think they can persuade them to talk about certain topics
(McQuail, 2000). Those in the media industry need to start talking even more about fantasy sports to get people involved. One way is to use some of the billions of dollars that fantasy sports generate to start an advertising campaign during sporting events, an advertisement on different websites and other places that sports fans are likely to see the message. If they use messages that appeal to the community and competition motivations of individuals the number who play fantasy sports should go up.
The data also found that social identity is a strong indicator of media dependency. Thus media leaders should work on creating social identity scores because those scales will lead to the discovery of how dependent one becomes upon the media.
The literature suggests that in order to feel a part of a group, fantasy sports community participants would attempt to consume as much media as possible. Part of belonging to a community means using the language of those who play fantasy sports to fit in. This suggests to those in fantasy sports management roles need to create different types of fantasy sites that address both information for those who have been playing a short time or a long time, and secondly, they need to create more material that appeals to the fantasy sports player’s motivations of community and competition.This translates to other segments of the population. Searching for highly identified individuals will help
102 find those who are either dependent on the media or will have a strong aptitude to become dependent upon the media.
RQ6: Community
Dependency also correlates with the concept of being a part of a community.
Media industry leaders should focus on how to create more of a community environment with their product, because a sense of community leads to media dependency among fantasy sports players. The survey results showed that the more a person is motivated to play fantasy sports in order to be a part of a community the more dependent on the media a person becomes. As the goal of media producers is to have as many people consume as much of their product as possible, this finding is significant in that it clarifies in what direction media moguls need to move to secure more growth in the fantasy sports arena.
While this question was answered in the affirmative, I discovered the question basically was question five in a different form.
RQ7: Gratifications
The final research question explored uses and gratification and tried to measure the level of gratification fantasy sports players are getting. Relating the amount of time one spends consuming mass media with a person’s feelings of gratification suggests that media industry leaders need to focus on the amount of time one spends talking about fantasy sports. If these people can create situations for more discussion about fantasy sports they will increase understanding about fantasy sports and play to the social motivations of individuals who could be playing fantasy sports.
The exploratory findings based on the relationship between social motivations and
TVs in the home, time spent watching sports, or time spent reading sports online
103 indicates suggest there is potential for significant relationships and media industry leaders
need to look more closely at these things. For example, watching television and reading
sports online are social activities in that through these activities the fantasy sports player
gains information with which to interact with others. These relationships indicate that fantasy sports players use television to facilitate their social gratifications. This correlation means a link between social motivations and televisions for gratification needs further investigation.
The results showed significant relationships between the amounts of time spent reading magazines, the number of fantasy magazine subscriptions, time spent researching fantasy sports, time spent talking about fantasy sports, or time spent watching sports and competitive motivation. All of these media use variables can be seen as indicators of a competitive motivation. Media leaders, especially those in fantasy sport information, should incorporate fantasy sports marketing strategies that target these areas of media consumption. These results send a strong signal that fantasy sports are for those who see gratification through sporting activities.
Limitations
One limitation of this research project was access to accurate email addresses of
every fantasy sports player in the country to truly conduct a random survey. The
companies who sponsor online fantasy games like to keep that information close to the
vest. Another limitation was time, in the form of not having the desired time to read every
newspaper, magazine, and online article ever written about fantasy sports, or to be able to
spend more time cultivating responses through individual invites to various fantasy sports
platforms and leagues. If I had more time and money I would have attended the Fantasy
104 Sports Trade Association’s annual meeting to develop contacts to cultivate more respondents.
However, the largest limitation was my experience with quantitative research methods. While I conducted thousands of surveys when I worked for a telephone research company, I had not yet created my own instrument and conducted a survey. As a result of conducting this survey, I learned I need to ask different types of questions to truly find the answers I am looking for the next time I research fantasy sports.
Despite its limitations, this exploratory study provides evidence that individuals are becoming more dependent upon technology and fantasy sports players are leading the way. Some of the questions I will ask in the future include how much time does one spend texting, or using cell phone apps, or searching the Web on one’s cell phones. I will also ask more direct questions regarding ages and how many years one has been playing rather than using scales. I am confident that my next effort will be much stronger and will elicit the types of responses that are more reflective of those who play fantasy sports.
Future Research
The next step in this research should be taking a look at fantasy sports and media dependency using a qualitative methodology. Interviews with players and fantasy sports experts would provide a deeper look at motivations and media habits. Another study based on a previous uses and gratifications approach would be to conduct a content analysis looking at a number of the top fantasy sports websites to see how they are promoting their products (Chan-Olmsted & Park, 2000).
105 Role-Playing Theory
Future studies of fantasy sports should also include role-playing theory (Coney &
Steehouder, 2000; Edwards & La Ferle, 2003; Heintz, 1992; Keyes, 1998; Ladousse,
1987; Landy, 1993; Milroy, 1982; Moyles, 1989; Wenner, 2008). Role-playing theory is a useful framework to examine the relationship between participation and media consumption (Gantz et al., 2008; Randle & Nyland, 2008; Stryker & Burke, 2000). “The
rhetoric of fantasy games is frequently one of empowerment and role-playing. It asks the
player to imagine himself or herself as the coach, with all the power to make decisions
for the team” (Shipman, 2009).
In combination with role-playing theory, identity theory, which states “that an individual’s concept of self is comprised of multiple role-identities that give meaning to one’s past behavior and provide direction for future behavior,” should be fleshed out in regards to fantasy sports and those who play them (Trail et al., 2005). People could have several distinct selves and be members of many distinct groups whose opinions matter to them (Hogg et al., 1995).
Media Dependency and Self
Another research project could look at the difference between one’s fantasy sports self and one’s real life self and how they impact media consumption. In the same vein of social identity and dependency, research should be conducted regarding how media dependency with fantasy sports players impacts self-esteem and self-image (B. W.
Brewer, Van Raalte, & Linder, 1993). Social identity has also been found to change one’s actual behavior over time and I would like to take a closer look at how identity ties to individual players and their impact on fantasy sports players (Basil & Brown, 2004).
106 Fantasy vs. Non-Fantasy
Another possible project would be to examine the specific consumer behavior
research looking at the relationship between fantasy sports participation and specific
media such as television, Internet, and newspaper/magazines (Dwyer, 2009). I want to
research the media dependency of non-fantasy users and compare it with what I found with fantasy users (Brown, 2000). I also think that dependency and loyalty in fantasy sports players needs to be examined (Funk & James, 2001, 2006). Heere and Dickson
(2008) created the Psychological Commitment to Team scale (PCT), which I believe would be a good instrument to adapt to measuring loyalty and dependency in fantasy sports. They also wrote about the concept of branding that could be valuable to those marketing fantasy sports and those who wish to cash in on the craze. Additionally, a couple of Australian fantasy sports researchers have found that behavioral and affective consumption has an impact on one’s loyalty to his or her team. As the way people consume the media changes, fantas sports players’ loyalties as well (Karg & McDonald,
2009a).
Interactivity
With the increases in technology, I think it is important to look at fantasy sports
through the lens of interactivity (2011c). The issue at hand is that some scholars say interactivity is based on the medium while others say it is based on the perceptions of the participants (Kiousis, 2001). Kiousis said there needs to be an interactivity score, which I
think could be used to evaluate fantasy sports, an area of academia where new media is
adopted quickly and used frequently to hone the player’s craft. One place to start would
be a content analysis of fantasy sports websites looking at how interactive they are. It is
107 important to research a question suggested by Rafaeli and Sudweeks (1994) in regards to computer mediated groups like fantasy sports groups: “Why do people make this investment and why does this social phenomenon happen?”
108 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION
The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the media habits of fantasy sports players in relationship to media dependency. In doing so, the research was designed to search for information that would identify players’ levels of social identification, level of motivation, and levels of gratification to see if these factors influenced player’s media dependency.
In the end this research’s key finding was that the primary motivations for playing fantasy sports are competition and community. These two motivations were narrowed down from the eight used by both Mahoney et al. (2002) and those used by Wann, which also included escape, economics, eustress, self-esteem, family, and entertainment. This discovery is vital for future research in that it provides good indicators for why people play fantasy sports. This is significant because it lets us know how fantasy sports integrate with the uses and gratifications framework. I can build on this knowledge to look deeper into how fantasy sports influences social identity and how playing links to media dependency.
Another theoretical implication came from learning about the motivation variables. There was a significant relationship between those who have a desire to be a part of a community and the likelihood of media dependency. The more one has a desire to be a part of a fantasy sports playing community, the more likely they are to become dependent upon the media. Researchers can connect the dots from why people play fantasy sports to fantasy sport players’ dependence upon the media.
The significance of these findings regarding motivation is that media executives, researchers, and marketers have a better focal point from which to begin. This study
109 explores what drives people to play fantasy sports. New marketing campaigns for those in the fantasy sports industry should be created to appeal to people’s competitive nature and their desire to be a part of a group. As those two motivations are addressed and satisfied the industry will once again see a significant bump in those playing fantasy sports.
While fantasy football continues to be the king of the hill as far as the number of people playing fantasy sports, this study suggests that industries looking to grow fantasy sports should look at college sports. Armed with these results media producers will know how to better allocate their journalistic talent and also have more information on how to transform casual fans into fantasy fanatics.
This direction for fantasy sports came as a result of this study’s demographic question. The data from this study showed that 82% of fantasy sports participants have a college degree. This in itself is an instant community, and with the addition of college fantasy sports one would have an instant media community as well. The data also showed that those with post-graduate degrees spent less time playing than those who held bachelor degrees. So those who have less education appear to have more free time to play fantasy sports and are thus a prime marketing target.
The research also found a relationship between social identity and media dependency. For some fantasy sports participants there is a bond between how one scores on the identity scale and how dependent they are upon the mass media. This study identified a connection between fantasy sports participants and social identity and media dependency and justified the need for further research on the relationship between new technology and media dependency among those who play fantasy sports.
110 One minor finding suggests that one’s education plays a factor in the time one spends playing fantasy sports. The results showed that while the majority of those who play fantasy sports still have at least a bachelor’s degree, those with advanced degrees spend less time playing fantasy sports than those without a college education. Marketing should be aimed at those with college degrees -- primarily those with bachelor degrees.
Specifically focusing on college students prior to graduation and marketing new fantasy sports from the collegiate arena could have a big impact.
Introducing college fantasy sports will create life-time interest in fantasy sports at a key age and will also foster the creation of fantasy sports communities centered on colleges, which have already established communities through alumni foundations. One only has to see the excitement during the football seasons at major college campuses to realize this should be an area of growth for fantasy sports. Again I suggest the findings are establishing a connection between catering to the desire to be a part of a community and dependency upon the media.
In the end this body of work provided important theoretical insight into how fantasy sports are leading to a media dependent society and how playing fantasy sports are becoming engrained in our culture. This dissertation helped fill in the information gaps currently found regarding fantasy sports.
Finally this dissertational journey is but the beginning of my endeavor to see the impact fantasy sports are having on the media and society. I feel fantasy sports and their participants are just beginning to be legitimized. I strongly believe the one reason professional football has overtaken baseball as America’s favorite sport is in part due to fantasy football and the ability to let anyone play at any skill level. The surface has only
111 been scratched in examining fantasy sports and thus I am ending one journey and starting another as I anchor my future research around fantasy sports. One reason fantasy sports interests me is the fact that this activity impacts other areas including human behavior as fantasy sports is not entirely focused on its contribution to technology. I will build on this research to see how fantasy sports impacts other communication activities such as social interaction and interpersonal communication. As a result of this work I feel I have helped to validate fantasy sports as an important area of study in the communication field. I feel
I am now armed with the tools to be able to dig deeper into how fantasy sports is creating media dependency and expanding the uses and gratifications framework
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