The Next Best Thing
How Media Dependency and Uses and Gratifications Inform Esport Fandom During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5126906 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Andrew C Billings (0000-0003-4818-5799, University of Alabama at Birmingham, corresponding author), Andrew Billings (University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Arts and Humanities, Birmingham, AL, USA), Sai Datta Mikkilineni (0000-0003-4095-2180, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 67 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 1212-1229 |
| Publication date | 2023-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00027642221118277 |
| PMID | 37475988 |
| OpenAlex | W4292560307 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 44 |
COVID-19 ushered new forms of media engagement when traditional sporting events and league play were suspended. Subsequently, certain sections of the audience moved online to fill their needs typically satisfied via traditional sport consumption. Esport is one such form of digital entertainment that significantly altered the ways in which sport fans can immerse themselves in related content. To examine how those audience obtained gratifications, we surveyed traditional sport fans who have either increased or initiated esports media consumption during the pandemic, doing so through the lens of media dependency theory. Results from 155 sports fans demonstrate three key findings. First, gratifications for traditional sports were significantly higher than those of esports. Secondly, ascending esports consumers maintained significantly more intense gratifications than did new users. Finally, media dependency was a significant, positive predictor of all 12 of the traditional sports motivations and 9 of the 12 esport motivations
Advertising · Art · Business · Click-through rate · Consumption (sociology) · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Dependency (UML) · Entertainment · Fandom · League · Media consumption · Media studies · Political science · Social media · Social science · Sociology · Uses and gratifications theory · Visual arts · Computer Science · Digital Games and Media · Media Influence and Health · Psychology · Sports, Gender, and Society
The Origins of Individual Media-System Dependency
Television Shopping
A theory of social media dependence
Social relationships and physiological determinants of longevity across the human life span
Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling
Push and Pull Factors in E-Sports Livestreaming
Antecedents of esports gameplay intention
Predictors of Internet Use
Let’s Watch Live Streaming
Factors Influencing eSports Viewership
Beyond the Game
Fulfilling the Basic Psychological Needs of Esports Fans
Active Within Structures
Gaming Gone Viral
Intersections of Fandom in the Age of Interactive Media
Motivational Differences Among Viewers of Traditional Sports, Esports, and NBA 2K League
Media Dependency During a Large-Scale Social Disruption
Uses and Gratifications Theory in the 21st Century
A Theory of Media Power and a Theory of Media Use
Beyond solitary play in computer games
SNS dependency and interpersonal storytelling
Gaming at a LAN event
Reinforcing Spirals
Learning about Politics from the Mass Media
Uses and Gratifications Research
What is eSports and why do people watch it
Social motivations of live-streaming viewer engagement on Twitch
Live Streaming, Playing, and Money Spending Behaviors in eSports
Preliminary Validation of the Sport Fan Motivation Scale
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |