“The Thing I Don’t Take for Granted”

How the Audience Shapes the Fantasy Sport Podcasting Environment

Bibliographic Data

ID17813975
AuthorsTyler Ratts (0000-0002-1094-238X, University of Dubuque, corresponding author), Brody J Ruihley (0000-0001-9740-5140, Miami University)
Year2026
Volume19
Issue1
Pages92-100
Publication date2026-02-06
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Sport Communication (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1936-3907 • E-ISSN: 1936-3915
PublisherHuman Kinetics (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1123/ijsc.2025-0217
OpenAlexW7128167936
LanguageEN
References cited17

The rise in podcast creation and consumption has created a congested landscape that necessitates intentional consideration from podcasters to connect with their audience. Through the collaborative production of content, known as produsage, podcasters are motivated by and take value from engagement with their listeners. Currently, a gap exists specific to the fantasy sport genre in examining how the audience impacts the podcasting environment. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study was to analyze the role of listeners on the experiences of fantasy sport podcasters. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 fantasy sport podcasters, with a thematic analysis revealing four main themes (i.e., meaningful audience, motivation from audience, leveraging feedback, and audience challenges). From a theoretical and practical perspective, findings advance understanding on produsage communities that elicit meaningful relationships as fantasy sport podcasters are reliant upon their audience to ensure positive outcomes

Fantasy · Qualitative analysis · Qualitative research · Thematic analysis · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Media Studies and Communication · Radio, Podcasts, and Digital Media

Tools

Open DOI