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Fantasy Sport Consumer Segmentation: An Investigation into the Differing Consumption Modes of Fantasy Football Participants

Brendan Dwyer and Joris Drayer

Brendan Dwyer, PhD, is assistant director of student services and outreach in the Center for Sport Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University. His research interests include issues related to sport marketing and sport consumer behavior, specifically sport consumer behavior of fantasy sport participants, issues in intercollegiate athletics, and the financial man- agement of college athletics. Joris Drayer, PhD, is an assistant professor of sport and recreation management at Temple University. His research interests include topics related to ticketing in both the primary and secondary ticket markets, as well as consumer behavior, particu- larly in relation to fantasy sports participation.

Abstract Sport fandom is one of the preeminent leisure activities in our society, and contemporary sport consump- tion has evolved to a point wherein it includes several activities such as event attendance, television viewer- ship, and publication subscriptions, both online and in print. Among these means of sport fan consumption is fantasy sport participation. While the activity has grown immensely within the past few decades, relative- ly little is known about who participates and what impact participation has on the consumption of sport products and services. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the differing modes of sport consump- tion exhibited by fantasy sport participants. Employing an orthogonal research design, the study uncovered four distinct consumption modes, each with differing patterns of behavior. Discussed are the theoretical results with regard to player attachment and psychological commitment to team as well as practical impli- cations for sport marketers looking to utilize fantasy sport participation as an enhanced marketing commu- nication tool.

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, ,.1 ^ • u • I ^ 1 $800 million IS spent direct y on fantasy sports prod- numerous opportunities and outlets in which to spend , . ^ , ', ., , , . . , , their limited amounts of time and money. As a result, "'̂ ^̂ !'"'* '^'^'^''' ''''f year while an additional $3.5 b.l- contemporary sport consumption has evolved to ihTac'tivT"' ''" '"' ' ' ' " ' ' " " ' ' '^ihinclude several activities including event attendance, , television viewership, and publication subscriptions, . ^""^ ' P ^ ^ marketing researchers, fantasy sport partie both online and in print. Among these means of sport 'Potion also has the potential to influence several well- consumption is fantasy sport participation. researched constructs within sport consumer behavior

r̂ f J It ^ t. I .. inquiry. That IS, while the majority of previous Derined as an ancillary s p o r t service heavily associât- , , r • . . , , , , -

J .., , I , ^ . . • . • f . . . • • research has focused o n an individual s favorite o r ed with real-world s p o r t statistics, fantasy s p o r t partici- r • / ,

.̂ . . ., ,. .,.• v »u ^ • 1 .. 1 m o s t - p r e t e r r e d t e a m ( M a h o n y & H o w a r d , 1998; p a t i o n IS p r i m a r i l y an o n l i n e activity t h a t is c o m p l e t e l y , ^ ' , , ,

, . , , . / , . J . , , M a h o n y & M o o r m a n , 1999; M a h o n y , M a d r i e a , & c u s t o m i z a b l e , interactive, a n d involves nearly every \ / ' °

c • I ,. c û M ̂ - t r 1̂ ti Howard, 2000; Trail & James, 2001), fantasy sport par- major professional sport, from the National Football . . I v V I /xTni \ .. xTAc^An r> î »u »• u ticipation has the potential to add another ayer to League (NFL) to NASCAR. Recently, the pastime has ^ ^ . , . , ,

. ^ 1 • Ul r -̂ V r 11^ r Contemporary sport consumption due to lts enhanced grown into a highly popular activity for all types of r / r r

Volume 19 • Number 4 • 2010 • Sport Marketing Quarterly 207

focus on individual players and statistics. For instance, a typical fantasy football owner manages 10 to 12 het- erogeneous NFL players. Each week this owner com- petes against an additional 8 to 10 players. As a result of these combined competitive interests, this partici- pant may have a curiosity in nearly every NFL game played each weekend. This phenomenon has the potential to create a psychological paradox for individ- uals with a vested interest in their favorite NFL team. That is, with a limited amount of time and money to consume NFL football, the widened scope of fantasy football participation has the potential to dilute one's attachment to their favorite team. Given this intriguing circumstance, the aim of this study was to investigate the differing modes of sport consumption exhibited by fantasy sport participants.

As an activity, however, fantasy sport relies heavily on sport media consumption as opposed to traditional forms of sport consumption (i.e., event attendance, merchandise acquisition, etc.). While the traditional forms still account for a considerable amount of a sport organization's income, the significance of sport media as a revenue stream should not be underesti- mated. In fact, "trends of escalating consumption via media continue to indicate attendance is becoming less central to an organization's profitability" (Pritchard 8c Funk, 2006, p. 316). Moreover, the gargantuan amount of revenue generated from television rights fees have driven teams to continually focus on generating large, committed television audiences. As a result, quickly evolving technological trends such as high definition televisions, surround sound stereo, and slow-motion replays have created a mediated sport product that rivals an in-stadium experience. For fantasy sport par- ticipants, up-to-the-minute scores and statistics, com- prehensive pre-game news and analysis, and league-wide, on-demand network services such as DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket and Major League Baseball's MLB.TV also add to the allure of mediated sport consumption.

Thus, to account for the aggressive media consump- tion habits of fantasy sport participants (Comeau, 2007; Woodward, 2006) and the possibility of behav- ioral changes with regard to a participant's favorite team, the current study investigated the relationship between favorite team-specific and fantasy team-spe- cific media consumption. Fantasy football participants were examined due to the game's popularity and its designation as the gateway activity to all fantasy sports (FSTA, 2008). A framework was proposed with four modes of behavior (see Figure 1): (a) light consump- tion, (b) favorite team-dominant consumption, (c) fantasy team-dominant consumption, and (d) heavy consumption. Each mode holds a different pattern of

NFL media consumption, and in order to validate this proposed framework and investigate unique differ- ences and similarities in NFL-related product usage, this study performed group contrasts of related factors of sport fandom and fantasy participation to determine if the consumption modes were theoretically distinct. Specifically, the following two research questions were developed:

ROl: Among fantasy football participants, do differing high/low mixes of fantasy team and favorite NFL team consumption identify distinct modes of NFL media consumption behavior?

R02: Based on these modes of behavior, are there any social, attitudinal, or additional con- sumption behaviors (attendance-related and medi- ated) that differ significantly across the modes? In addition to answering the research questions, the

current article provides theoretical and practical impli- cations for sport marketers with respect to the con- sumption behavior of fantasy sport participants. Initially, however, the concepts of contemporary sport consumption, sport media consumption, and fantasy sports are discussed to lay the groundwork for this study's data analysis and results. The current study looked to extend and confirm these findings with a larger sample of fantasy football participants.

Review of Literature

Contemporary Sport Consumption Previous sport management literature has categorized sport consumption into participation in competitive, nature-related, and fitness activities as well as specta- torship in the form of event attendance, television viewership, and reading of sport publications (Shohlan 8c Kahle, 1996). The distinction between the various forms of spectatorship is important as some of the most highly involved sport fans rarely attend games. Given the enhanced accessibility via televisual and elec- tronic media communication, these fans continue to practice the traditions associated with being an avid supporter, and, thus, require the same amount of attention as event attendees.

In addition, within the last two decades, the amount of televised and new media sport programming has exploded. For instance, in Bryant, Brown, and Cummins' (2004) week-long analysis of broadcast and basic cable programming during June 2004, 532 sports programs were listed, adding up to 38,675 minutes, or nearly 645 hours, of sport content. Given that there are only 168 hours in a week, it is safe to say that sport consumers have numerous viewing choices. In addi- tion, the recent flood of sports-related websites epito- mizes the legitimacy of sport in the realm of new media

208 Volume 19 • Number 4 • 2010 • Sport Marketing Quarterly

services (Boyle & Haynes, 2003). After search engines, the most frequently visited sites on the web were those that offered some kind of entertainment and sports (Ferguson & Perce, 2000). Furthermore, online betting and fantasy sports are two of the fastest growing areas in terms of interactivity, sports, and the Internet (Boyle & Haynes, 2003). Interestingly, previous definitions of sport consumption have failed to include any form of interaction with sport as a component of consumption, and with the sudden increase in social media applica- tions such as Facebook, message boards. Twitter, and blogs, sports fans have the ability to actively interact with sport products at a level unknown to them just a decade ago (Seo & Green, 2008). Fantasy sport partici- pation, though not defined as a social media activity, contains a strong social component (Farquhar & Meeds, 2007), and, thus, should be added to this group of interactive forms of sport consumption.

Overall, the rapid growth of televised and new media sport content has created several additional means for sport consumption (Sullivan, 2006). For sport mar- keters and consumer behaviorists, this has created an additional avenue to forecast sport consumer behavior through highly developed attitudes. In 2006, researchers Pritchard and Funk investigated the symbi- otic and substitution relationship between media use and event attendance. According to the authors, the most interesting facet of the study was the information provided about the media-dominant consumer stating that these patrons are "more likely to purchase team- related merchandise, view media advertising and pro- motions, and are as involved with the sport as the 'heavy' consumer" (p. 316). Given the previously men- tioned connection between fantasy sports and media, the current study aimed to examine an important por- tion of the media-dominant sport population.

Fantasy Sport Participation What was once considered a niche hobby for statisti-

cal fanatics, the activity of fantasy sport participation has blossomed into a lucrative and highly influential industry that has encapsulated the most active of sport fans. For instance, a recent survey of participants con- ducted by Ipsos Public Affairs indicated that fantasy players are stronger consumers of the major product and service categories than the average sport fan and the general population, as a whole (Fisher, 2008). In addition to this robust consumption behavior, the average fantasy participant continually represents cor- porate America's most-coveted demographic (Fisher, 2008; FSTA, 2008). As a result, the industry has come to demand serious consideration from sport marketing practitioners and researchers, alike.

Unfortunately, the scholarly literature in the area of fantasy sports is still underdeveloped (Lomax, 2006). Previous studies have examined gambling associations, masculinity issues, and communication (Bernhard & Eade, 2005; Davis & Duncan, 2006; Shipman, 2001). In 2007, researchers Farquhar and Meeds identified the following motivational factors for fantasy sport partici- pation: surveillance, arousal, entertainment, escape, and social interaction. The study concluded that two perceived gratifications of participating in fantasy sports, arousal and surveillance, led highly involved participants to believe they "got more out of fantasy sports when they put in more time and money" (Farquhar & Meeds, p. 1217).

Researchers Drayer, Shapiro, Dwyer, Morse, and White (2010) examined the relationship between fan- tasy football participation and the consumption of NFL products and services. Following a theoretical framework focused on the attitude and behavior rela- tionship, the authors proposed that fantasy partici- pants created new perceptions of the NFL through fantasy football. The redefined NFL broadened their consumption behavior of associated products and services, and the continually evolving outcomes of NFL competition influenced both a participant's favorite team norms and fantasy-specific perceptions. In all, the authors determined that fantasy sport participation has created a new, highly engaged sport fan with a rede- fined interest in professional football. In addition, fan- tasy sport-related consumption behavior has the potential to be more diverse and league-wide as opposed to singularly team-specific (Drayer et al., 2010).

Methods

Survey Development and Research Design Survey items were developed based on a comprehen- sive literature review of consumer behavior antecedents, media consumption, and fantasy sport research, namely the qualitative results from Drayer et al. (2010). After items were created, the questionnaire was analyzed by three independent investigators. These evaluators, from a mid-sized university in the southern United States, suggested minor alterations to wording and question order. In all, the instrument was deemed satisfactory and suitable for the intended inquiry. The following sections highlight the selection of items and rationale for inclusion.

Media consumption measures: Fantasy team and favorite NFL team. In line with previous leisure research (Backman & Crompton, 1991; Pritchard & Funk, 2006), this study employed an orthogonal research design. That is, this framework proposes four types of

Volume 19 • Number 4 • 2010 • Sport Marketing Quarterly 209

media consumption formed as a function of two factors —fantasy team and favorite team media consumption. Six statements regarding the frequency of sport media consumption relative to both one's fantasy team and favorite team were used to assess an individual's behav- ior. Given the breadth of NFL programming and based on previous sport media consumption studies (Drayer et al., 2010; Pritchard & Funk, 2006), respondents were asked to indicate the number of hours per week, from zero to more than 20, spent following both teams through several mediums, including newspapers, maga- zines, the Internet, radio, event programming, and sport journalism programming.

Based on the results of these 12 questions, a principal component analysis (PCA) with promax rotation was implemented in order to determine the number of dimensions and obtain a more complete understand- ing of the underlying structure of the data. A PCA is generally used when the research purpose is data reduction (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). Thus, the analysis was run to refine the 12 items, provide parsi- mony, and validate the proposed framework by estab- lishing two distinct factors. Once again in unison with previous media and consumption studies (Backman & Crompton, 1991; Pritchard & Funk, 2006), median scores for each factor were then used to construct the four groups of differing consumption.

Other contrast measures. After constructing the four different modes of consumption, three group contrasts (ANOVA, MANOVA, chi-squared tests) were instituted to determine the distinctiveness of each mode. First, a refined version of Mahony, Madrigal, and Howard's (2000) Psychological Commitment to Team (PCT) scale was used to assess a participant's loyalty toward their favorite NFL team. The concept of psychological commitment commonly represents the attitudinal component of loyalty (Backman & Crompton, 1991; Pritchard, Havitz, & Howard, 1999). The PCT is a psy- chometrically sound instrument that specifically emphasizes the resistance of changing preference toward a particular professional sport team (Mahony et al., 2000). Given a fantasy participant's enhanced focus on a group of heterogeneous individual NFL players and limited amount of time and money to consume sport, it was logical to assume differing levels of fantasy football consumption may affect one's loyalty to their favorite team. Thus, the PCT scale was added to com- pare and contrast team loyalty differences between the four distinct consumption modes and to provide addi- tional validation of the proposed framework.

Next, five statements evaluating interest in the indi- vidual players that make up the respondent's fantasy team were used to measure fantasy player attachment. Attachment is a well-established and heavily researched

antecedent of sport consumption (Robinson & Trail, 2005). However, the majority of previous sport specta- tor research with regard to attachment has primarily focused on teams, not individual players. Therefore, five statements were derived to measure attachment to individual fantasy football players. The five statements were developed following a review of attachment litera- ture and based on the Drayer et al. (2010) results. Given that this was the initial use of this scale, the dimensionality, internal consistency, and convergent validity were assessed. Similar to the inclusion of the PCT scale, the distinctiveness of each consumption mode with regard to this construct provided further attitudinal contrasts between groups and validation of the proposed framework.

Ten items were then used to assess the frequency of NFL gameday consumption. The findings of Drayer et al. (2010) suggested that fantasy football participation resulted in enhanced mediated sport consumption through a redefined NFL where individual player sta- tistics via real-time updates were as important as tradi- tional game outcomes. In addition, previous research with regard to fantasy sport motives indicated that social interaction and the need to communicate with competitors was a significant connection point (Farquhar & Meeds, 2007). Therefore, respondents were asked to indicate, on a five-point Likert-type scale, the frequency in which they consume the follow- ing products and services on gamedays: (1) pre-game shows, (2) post-game shows, (3) Monday Night Football (MNF), (4) Sunday Night Football (SNF), and

(5) other sport journalism shows. In addition, partici- pants were asked to reveal the frequency in which they: (6) attended a game, (7) went to a bar/restaurant to specifically follow the NFL, (8) checked the Internet for scores and statistics, and (9) used a cell phone to communicate with fantasy league members, including the use of (10) text messaging services. Lastly, demo- graphic contrasts such as age, income, education, and years participated were interpreted through a chi- squared analysis. Ultimately, these items were analyzed in order to discover the distinctiveness of each con- sumption mode and validate the proposed framework.

Participants and Procedures Data were collected online from individuals who visited two popular fantasy sports web sites (ESPN.com and CBSsports.com). These sites were selected due to their popularity and level of interaction between participants. Currently, ESPN.com and CBSsports.com rank second and third in terms of unique fantasy football users with 3.37 million and 3.24 million participants, respectively (Nielsen Media, 2006). Fantasy football participants were surveyed due to the game's popularity and its des-

210 Volume 19 • Number 4 • 2010 • Sport Marketing Quarterly

Table 1. Demographic Characteristics of the Study Sample (N=306)

Variable

Gender Male Female Age ]8-24 25-34 35-44 Over 44

Ethnicity African American Asian Caucasian Hispanic Multiracial Rather Not Say Other

%of Respondents

95.1% 4.9%

34.0% 37.9% 19.9% 8.2%

1.3% 2.9%

88.9% 2.6% 2.0% 1.0% 1.3%

' Variable

Education Less than High School High School Craduate Some College College Craduate Technical School Craduate School Rather Not Say Other

Income Less than $25,000 $25,000 - $49,999 $50,000 - $74,999 $75,000 - $99,999 $100,000 or more Rather Not Say

% o f Respondents

3.9% 12.1% 31.4% 33.7% 3.6% 10.5% 1.6% 3.3%

11.4% 20.6% 19.3% 17.3% 16.0% 15.4%

Figure 1. Models of NFL Media Consumption & Proposed Types of Consumers

HEAVY Fantasy Team-

Doniinaiil

Fantasy Team Consumption

LIGHT Liulil ' '.uiir

FavoiiteTeaiii- Doiiárianl Consumer

LIGHT Favorite NFL ieam Consumption

HEAVY

ignation as the gateway activity to all fantasy sports (FSTA, 2008). Specifically, fantasy football message boards were utilized to attract respondents.

Of the 2,536 individuals who viewed the initial post- ings, 509 began the survey. Of these, 36 were excluded from analyses because they indicated that they were less than 18 years old, and 167 were excluded because they failed to complete the questionnaire. The 306

respondents who remained represented a 12.1% com- pletion rate. The sample examined in this study was younger than previously studied samples, but was still representative of the fantasy sport demographic with regard to gender, education, income, and ethnicity (FSTA, 2008). In addition, the use of message boards to solicit participants may be considered a limitation of the study due to the type of participant that uses these

Volume 19 • Number 4 • 2010 • Sport Marketing Quarterly 211

platforms. That is, while previous research has deter- mined that self-selected respondents participate because of ease, accessibility, and online status (Walsh, Kiesler, SprouU, & Hesse, 1992), the perception of highly involved users may represent a sampling bias. Further research into the exact typology is required and additional research on fantasy football participants should utilize other solicitation means. Demographic characteristics are depicted in Table 1.

Analysis and Results Using the responses from the 306 fantasy football par- ticipants, a principal component PCA with promax rotation was performed on the 12 mediated sport con- sumption items. In line with our hypothesis, two fac- tors, favorite team (factor 1) and fantasy team consumption (factor 2), were retained based on a vari- ety of criteria. Specifically, the Kaiser criterion, which considers all eigenvalues greater than one as common factors (Table 2; Kaiser, 1970), a Scree-Plot test, and interpretability suggested two factors (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). However, following scale refinement pro- cedure and consistent with previous research (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007; Drayer et al, 2010), six items were removed due to poor factor loadings (s 0.3). The items were newspaper, magazine, and radio consumption for both fantasy team and favorite team. Item deletion improved the internal consistency of the model evident with the strong alpha coefficients for both factors (favorite team, a = 0.83; fantasy team, a = 0.85). The item deletion, however, may signify an interesting finding for sport marketers and media companies. According to the FSTA (2008), over 98% of all fantasy sport leagues reside completely online, and it appears this residency has kept participants online. That is, the inconsistent consumption rates of print publications (e.g., magazines and newspapers) may suggest fantasy participants are consuming the sizeable amount of fantasy sport content currently available on the web in a more consistent manner. Similarly, the industries of radio broadcasting and newspapers, in general, have struggled since the late 1990s and the rapid accent of Internet usage (Freiré, 2007; Morton, 2007). This may explain some of these unanticipated results. Regardless, the remaining items and factors, including loadings and alphas, are detailed in Table 2. With reliable factors in hand, the next step was to identify the (high/low mix) modes proposed in Figure 1.

Research Question 1 Each of the four modes of consumption was produced as a function of the two factors (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). Similar to previous orthogonal research and

work on consumer patronage (Backman & Crompton, 1991; Mahony et al., 2000; Pritchard & Funk, 2006), four modes of consumption were plotted. Median fac- tor scores for fantasy-dominant and favorite team- dominant media usage identified high- and low-consumption mixes for each mode.

Once the modes were identified, the next step deter- mined whether they constituted the four unique forms of consumption proposed in the framework displayed in Figure 1. To begin with, MANOVA results shown in Table 3 examined whether the median-mix procedure formed distinct behavioral groupings. Previous con- sumer behavior studies have used a similar median- mix approach to understand consumption (Backman & Shinew, 1994; Pritchard & Funk, 2006; Warrington & Shim, 2000), and this procedure was performed as an internal validity check of the proposed framework. The results suggest average fantasy team media usage for light consumption and favorite team-dominant spectators ranged from less than one hour to two hours per week, which was significantly less (F= 68.8, p < .001) than heavy and fantasy-dominant fans (3 to 12 hours). Favorite team media use also differed across the groups ( P = 130.1, p < .001), with follow-up Scheffe t tests demonstrating that the favorite team- dominant and heavy groups consistently reported greater media use with respect to the participant's favorite NFL team. In addition, the results indicated consumption of televised programming, both event and sport journalism, were significantly different for individual groups as well. Ultimately, the results in Table 3 show that the high/low median mix did gener- ate forms of consumption consistent with Figure 1.

Research Question 2 Next, a series of analyses were conducted to determine if any social, theoretical, or gameday consumption behaviors differed across the groups mentioned above. Previous research has suggested that fantasy partici- pants show a level of attachment to the heterogeneous group of players that make up their fantasy team (Drayer et al., in press; Farquhar & Meeds, 2007). Consequently, a measure of player attachment was used to compare the modes of consumption (see Table 4). However, factorial validity, consistency, and con- vergent validity were assessed first. In order to investi- gate the dimensionality of the construct, a PCA was conducted on the attachment scores. One factor was discovered with factor loadings greater than .70 for each of the five items. In addition, the attachment con- struct scores were deemed internally consistent with an Alpha coefficient of .78 and convergently valid with an Average Variance Extracted (AVE) score of .56. With respect to research question two, mean scores for the

212 Volume 19 • Number 4 • 2010 • Sport Marketing Quarterly

Table 2. Factor Analytic Results of the Consumption Measures (N=306)

Dimensions of Mediated Sport Consumption

Fantasy Team Measures (a = 0.85) # of hours following fantasy team via the Internet # of hours following fantasy team's live games # of hours following fantasy team via televised programming

Favorite Team Measures (a = 0.83) # of hours watching favorite team's live games # of hours following favorite team via televised programming # of hours following favorite team via the Internet

Factor 1

Eigenvalue % Variance

Table 3. Modes of Behavior (N=306)

Favorite Light Fantasy Team

Consumption Behavior Consumption Dominant Dominant (hrs/week) («=79) («=93) («=55)

Favorite NFL Team* Live Games 1.4='' 1.8='' 4.8"" Televised Programming 0.4='' 0.7='' 4.8"" Internet 0.8='' 0.8='' 6.2""

Fantasy Team* Live Games 1.8'"' 7.6"= 2.0" Televised Programming 0.4"='' 2.8"='' 1.2"" Internet 2.2'"' 7.6"='' 1.8"

Explained

Heavy

0.125 0.143 0.395

0.766 0.906 0.879

3.311 55.191

Consumption ( «=79)

6.6""= 7.0""= 8.8""

10.0"'̂ 8.2"''= J J gabc

Post hoc Scheffe tests: "different (p < .05) from light group mean, "different (p < group mean, "different (p < .05) from favorite team-group mean, and mean.

*Main effects MANOVA design, with follow-up ANOVA tests.

''different (p

130.148 47.193 138.289 133.476 68.771 83.663 96.105 80.148

Factor 2

0.870 0.874 0.763

0.230 0.200 0.139

1.276 21.274

P •

.001

.05) from fantasy-dominant < .05) from heavy group

attachment construct indicated differences across the groups and further validate the proposed framework. Specifically, fantasy-dominant consumers indicated stronger levels of attachment to individual players than light and favorite team-dominant participants (F= 9.9, p < .001 ). While the results are theoretically valid and reliable, this was the first use of the scale; therefore, it may be a potential limitation of the study and further research is required in this area.

With respect to team loyalty, the mean commitment scores of Mahony et al.'s (2000) PCT scale were exam- ined, and the results showed significant differences across the groups. Favorite team-dominant and heavy consumers indicated higher levels of psychological com-

mitment toward their favorite NFL team than fantasy- dominant and light participants (F= 11.1, p < .001).

In addition to the theoretical measures applied above, a series of gameday behaviors were analyzed to deter- mine any differences among fantasy participants. The results indicated that 9 of the 11 consumption activities examined were significantly different between fantasy- dominant/heavy consumers and favorite team-domi- nant/light consumers. To illustrate, fantasy-dominant/heavy consumers indicated watching a significantly greater amount of the five televised pro- grams examined (pre- and post-game shows, SNF, MNF, and cable sports channels). Additionally, these same consumers signified going to a restaurant or bar

Volume 19 • Number 4 • 2010 • Sport Marketing Quarterly 213

Table 4. Attitudinal and Behavioral Contrasts (N=306)

Light Consumption' Behavior Consumption (frequency, 1-5)

Attachment to Players

(«=79)

3'' Psychological Commitment

to Team

Gameday Consumption Pre-Game Shows Post-Game Shows Sunday Night Football Monday Night Football Sports News Channels Event Attendance Bar Internet Phone Calls Text Messaging

3.7"'

3.2" 3.0" 3.9" 4 . 1 " 3.2" 1.4

2.0" 4 . 1 " 2.0" 1.7"

Post hoc Scheffe tests: "different (p < .05

Fantasy Dominant («=93)

3.5='

3.6"'

4.P' 3.8" 4.6"' 4.6"' 4.1"' 1.6

3.3"' 4.7"' 2.9"' 2.7"'

from light

Favorite Team

Dominant («=55)

2.9"

4.0"''

3.3" 3.2" 4 . 1 " 4 . 1 " 3.3" 1.9

2.4" 4.2" 2 . 1 " 1.8"

Heavy Consumption

(«=79)

3.2

4.0"''

4.4"' 3.9"' 4.6"' 4.6"' 4.3"' 1.6

3.4"' 4.7"' 3.0"' 3.0"'

jroup mean, ''different {p < .05] group mean, 'different {p < .05) from favorite team-group mean, and mean.

9.795

11.055

20.072 10.863 10.232 7.245 16.935 3.678 23.156 10.739 12.665 18.231

.001

.167

.001

from fantasy-dominant different (p < .05) from heavy group

more often to watch NFL games and spent more time communicating with league members via phone calls and text messaging. Lastly and similar with previous research (Drayer et al., 2010, the results indicated that there were no significant differences across the groups with regard to event attendance (F = 3.7, p = .167).

Finally, even though the attitudinal contrasts charac- terized the modes in a theoretically consistent manner, further descriptive contrasts were conducted. Demographic accounts are displayed in Table 5. Results here note no significant difference across the groups in terms of age of the participants ( F = 2.2, p < .086), level of education (x^[21] = 20.9, p = .464), and household income (x^[15] = 20.1, p = .168). However, an important discovery indicates that heavy and fanta- sy-dominant consumers have more years of experience playing fantasy football ( F = 8.2, p < .001). Given the consumptive behavior of these two groups, this finding may speak to the potential of fantasy football as a pre- dictor of NFL consumption, for it appears league-relat- ed consumption increases with years of experience.

Discussion Due to the interactive qualities of fantasy sport and its place within an online environment, fantasy sport users represent an important portion of the media-

dominant sport consumer population. However, even within this population, it appears that fantasy partici- pants differ significantly in terms of product usage and media consumption. The present study provided an in-depth look into the differences (as well as the simi- larities) among fantasy sport participants based on varying levels of consumption and has provided sport marketers with important information about this lucrative segment of consumers. The following section details some of the key discoveries and provides insight for future studies in this area.

Managerial Implications Not surprisingly, favorite team-dominant participants indicated that their psychological commitment remained with their favorite team. They supported their team by spending time watching more program- ming related to their favorite team instead of their fan- tasy team. However, an important finding in this study is that participants that were considered heavy users maintained their commitment to their favorite team as opposed to the players on their fantasy team. They spent more time watching programming related to their favorite team and reported higher levels of psy- chological commitment to their favorite team than fantasy-dominant participants. In other words, when

214 Volume 19 • Number 4 • 2010 • Sport Marketing Quarterly

Table 5. Demographic Contrasts (N=306)

Light Fantasy Consumption Dominant

Demographic Factors («=79) («=93)

Age (Years) 32.1 29.8 Number of Years Played 4.3" 6.7"' Education*

Less than High School 5 (3) 3 (4) High School Graduate 6 (10) 14(11) Some College 28 (25) 20 (30) College Graduate 25 (27) 37 (32) Technical School 2 (3) 5 (3) Graduate School 9(8) 11(10)

Income* Less than $25,000 10(9) 9(11) $25,000 - $49,999 18(15) 15(20) $50,000 - $74,999 13(14) 19(19) $75,000 - $99,999 8(13) 20(17) $100,000 or more 14(12) 21(16)

Favorite Team Heavy

Dominant Consumption («=55) (n=79)

28.7 4.3"

1(2) 6(7)

18(17) 18(18) 1(2) 8(6)

7(6) 8(11) 12(10) 9(9) 8(8)

28.4

3 (3) 11(9)

30 (24) 23 (26) 3(3) 4(8)

9(9) 22(17) 15(15) 16(14) 6(13)

2.221 8.197

20.924 (21)

.086

.001

.464

20.109(15) .168

Post hoc Scheffe tests: "different (p < .05) from light group mean, ''different (p < .05) from fantasy-dominant group mean, 'different (p < .05) from favorite team-group mean, and "different (p < .05) from heavy group mean.

*Cross-tabulated actual and (expected) counts shown: likelihood ratios reported for x^ tests.

given a choice, heavy consumers will still choose to associate most strongly with their favorite team instead of their fantasy team. This result, combined with the finding that each type of consumer has similar levels of event attendance, should reassure the NFL and its teams that fantasy football is not negatively impacting fans' attitudes toward their favorite team.

Additionally, the findings of the current study sug- gest that fans who are more engaged in fantasy football watch more NFL games. While the favorite-team dominant consumer may only watch for a single three- hour block on Sunday afternoon, the fantasy-domi- nant consumer has an interest in games throughout the league and therefore watches significantly more NFL programming (see Table 3). Therefore, not only is fantasy football not negatively impacting fans' atti- tudes toward their favorite team, but it also serves as a tool to increase television viewership, which should incentivize the NFL to promote fantasy football partic- ipation to its fans.

An intriguing outcome of the current study centers on the similarities between groups with regard to gameday consumption habits. That is, with respect to television viewership and Internet and telecommunica- tions usage, the fantasy-dominant consumer is highly

similar to the heavy consumer. The group contrast results for nearly each form of gameday consumption classified these two consumer segments together. Interestingly, the favorite team-dominant and light consumers were also often grouped together. This, per- haps, indicates the importance of fantasy football par- ticipation as an advanced marketing vehicle for the NFL. An enhanced interest in a group of NFL players as opposed to a singular team appears to increase media consumption on a variety of levels. Specifically, the findings of the current study should incentivize the NFL to utilize different means of communicating with its fan base, particularly the most highly dedicated fans and the fantasy-dominant consumers.

However, as mentioned previously, there is a tenden- cy for fantasy-dominant consumers to have stronger levels of attachment to individual players as opposed to their favorite team. While this group of consumers is still in the minority, the results also showed that fanta- sy-dominant consumers have played fantasy football for more years than favorite team-dominant con- sumers. Perhaps as consumers play fantasy football, they are slowly and continuously redefining how they consume the NFL toward a fantasy-dominant perspec- tive. A longitudinal study is needed to examine

Volume 19 • Number 4 • 2010 • Sport Marketing Quarterly 215

whether or not psychological commitment and con- sumption shifts over time from favorite team-domi- nant to fantasy-dominant. In the end, the NFL should embrace both populations as they each show a strong tendency to consume at high levels.

The fantasy-dominant consumer should also be more attractive to restaurants, bars, football-related websites, and cellular phone providers due their signif- icantly higher levels of consumption. Businesses in these industries should consider catering their message

, to the fantasy-dominant consumer. While this study focused only on mediated consumption, future studies should examine the differences in consumption of other products and services to see if potential exists to market specifically toward one group of consumers over the other. The qualitative study by Drayer et al. (2010) suggested that fantasy participation does not lead to purchases of NFL-related products. Thus, there is potential for practitioners to bridge the gap between fantasy sport participation and other forms of tradi- tional sport consumption. However, additional research with regard to this specific population of sport fans is required.

Ultimately, this study shows that the advent of fanta- sy football has created distinct groups of NFL fans that have vastly differently attitudes and behaviors. The NFL and its constituents would be wise to try to understand these populations as well as they can in order to maximize the profit-potential of each group. Finally, this study also focused specifically on existing fantasy players. Future research should examine the attitudes and behaviors of these distinct groups of fan- tasy players with NFL fans that do not play fantasy football.

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