Abstract

The 2008 Beijing Olympics represented a broad expansion and emphasis on online sports content. This study integrated variables associated with uses and gratifications, technology adoption theories, and sports fanship literature to examine the influence of the Internet on "big-event" sports viewing. The study found that four statistically significant factors—the amount of time that individuals spent watching television online, perceived benefits of watching the Olympics online, time spent following sports news online, and preferences for various Olympic sports—combined to explain 34.6% of the variance in Web use for the Olympics. Those who used the Internet for Olympic content watched the Olympics more and indicated stronger motivations to watch sports than non-users. The findings suggest that networks should continue to increase emphasis on Web content, especially for event sports programming.

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