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All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zccb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 AN ECOLOGICAL STUDY OF GRATIFICATION NICHE DIMENSIONS AND COMPETITION IN THE VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES DISSERTATION presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University b y Alan B. Albarran, B. A., M. A. ***** The Ohio Stale University 1990 Dissertation Committee: Approved By: John W. Dimmick, Ph.D. Joseph M. Foley, Ph.D. Kathleen J. Krone, Ph.D A d v iser Department of Communication Copyright by Alan B. Albarran 1990 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Measures from "Formulas for computation of niche breadth, niche, overlap, and competitive superiority of communication media using gratification measures/' Copyright 1985 John W. Dimmick. Used with permission of the author. This study was supported in part by a dissertation grant from the Dowden Center for Telecommunications at the University of Georgia. My sincere thanks and appreciation are extended to my dissertation adviser, Dr. John Dimmick, for his helpful guidance and assistance throughout this research. I am also deeply indebted to Dr. Joe Foley and Dr. Kathy Krone, the other members of my advisory committee, for their helpful comments and suggestions throughout my course work and dissertation study. Finally, to my wife, Beverly, thanks for your love and undying support, and your willingness to disrupt your career so I could return to graduate school. To my children, Beth and Amanda, I thank you for your love, understanding and patience. To my mother, Jean, thanks for always having faith in my ability to succeed. VITA 1976 .............................................. B. A. in Speech Marshall University Huntington, West Virginia 1977-1978 .................................. Manager, WMUL-FM Graduate Teaching Associate Department of Speech Marshall University 1978 .............................................. M.A. in Speech Marshall University 1978-1979 .................................. Broadcast Coordinator Raleigh County Schools Beckley, West Virginia 1979-1987 .....................................Instructor, Radio-TV-Film Sam Houston State University Huntsville, Texas 1987-1989 .....................................Graduate Teaching Associate Department of Communication The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1989-1990 .....................................L ecturer Department of Communication The Ohio State University iii PUBLICATIONS Albarran, A. B. (1989), The Federal Communications Commission's multiple ownership rules: Implications for program diversity and the public interest. Arizona Communication Association Journal. 18 (Fall) 15-24. Albarran, A. B. (1983). Managing sales conference highlights. Feedback. 25 (2) 28-9. Albarran, A. B. (1981). The growing unity of college radio. Feedback. 25 (2) 23-4. Albarran, A. B. (1981). Promotions at the college radio station. Journal of College Radio. 18 (4) 16. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Communication ABSTRACT The ecological theory of the niche was combined with the uses and gratifications approach to determine how the video entertainment media (broadcast television, cable television, the VCR, premium cable, pay per view) compete with one another in their ability to satisfy audience needs. Telephone survey research methods included a pilot study of 150 respondents which generated fourteen gratifications obtained and eight gratification opportunities items for use in the main study. Interviews with 464 heads of household in cable television homes were completed in October of 1989 in Franklin County, Ohio. Factor analysis extracted three niche dimensions underlying audience entertainment needs which were labeled as affective, cognitive and gratification opportunities. The ecological measures of niche breadth, niche overlap, and competitive superiority were used to describe the complex pattern of competitive relationships which exists among the video entertainment media across the three gratification niche dimensions. On the affective dimension the VCR exhibited the broadest niche in satisfying entertainment needs, followed by cable television and broadcast television. Broadcast television had the broadest niche on the cognitive dimension, while the VCR was found to be the most diverse medium in satisfying audience needs on the gratification opportunities dimension. Competition for audience gratifications was the strongest on the affective dimension as indicated by the niche overlap measures. Across dimensions the most intense competition was observed between premium cable and pay per view and between broadcast television and cable television. In terms of media superiorities cable television and the VCR dominated the pairwise comparisons on the affective and gratification opportunities dimensions, while broadcast television and cable television were superior to other media forms on the cognitive dimension. Implications of the findings were (1) broadcast television is vulnerable to the diversity of programming options offered by cable television and the VCR, but is superior to premium cable and pay per view in serving entertainment needs; (2) cable television serves a wide variety of entertainment needs and is the strongest competitor to broadcast television; (3) the VCR is clearly superior in providing gratification opportunities to the audience; and (4) premium cable and pay per view are perceived as too similar to one another and offer little in the way of need satisfaction across the gratification niche dimensions. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................. ii VITA........................................................................................................ iii ABSTRACT.............................................................................................. v LIST OF T A B L E S ............................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................. xii CHAPTER PAGE I. RATIONALE AND LITERATURE REVIEW...................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................... 2 The Theory of the Niche......................................................... 5 Niche Dimensionality ................................................... 7 Niche Breadth and Niche O verlap.............................. 8 Displacement ................................................................... 9 Uses and Gratifications ........................................................ 12 Gratifications Research............................................... 13 Gratification M odels ..................................................... 16 Gratification Studies of the New M ed ia ...................16 Pay Cable and Pay Per View Studies ........................18 Niche Theory and Media Gratifications ............................. 2 0 Competitive Superiority ................................................2 1 Other Niche Studies..................................................... 2 2 Gratification Opportunities ......................................... 2 3 Conclusion and Overview of Subsequent Chapters . 2 5 II. METHODS.........................................................................................2 7 Overview of Research Methods ..............................................2 8 Sampling Method ........................................................................3 0 The Pilot S tu d y 3 2 Pilot Design and Administration 3 2 Pilot Results 3 6 Main Study 4 2 Questionnaire D esig n 4 3 Internal V alidity 4 4 Pretesting and Adm inistration 4 5 Quantitative Data Analysis 4 7 III. RESULTS: GRATIFICATION NICHE DIM ENSIONS 5 0 Introduction