A paper published in the International Journal of Economics has claimed that as the money poured into football has grown, the demand from television viewers to watch the bigger teams has increased. They prefer that to watching matches with uncertain outcomes.
A paper published in the International Journal of Economics has claimed that as the money poured into football has grown, the demand from television viewers to watch the bigger teams has increased. They prefer that to watching matches with uncertain outcomes.
That runs against the conventional wisdom that what sports fans like is unpredictability of outcome. Thus, at least until yesterday’s Grand Prix, concerns had been expresed that Formula 1 this year was becoming something of a procession and this might lead to a loss of interest.
One note of caution is the data on which the paper is based only go up to 2008. Setting that aside, what are the possible explanations? One is that the sophisticated and well resourced marketing operations of the top clubs have become increasingly successful at raising their profile globally (see our recent story on Manchester United).
Another is that if you are not partisan about the outcome in a particular match, what the neutral wants to see is world class players displaying real skill and that is what the top clubs offer. Of course, a match with the best players can turn out to be a cagey and rather dull affair. Even in a more exciting match, there can be periods of poor play which might suggest that you are better off watching a highlights programme.