Younghan Lee

This study analyzed how the behavioral patterns of esports and authentic sports viewers differ, adopting user and gratification theory and media transportation theory. In particular, it was investigated whether there was a difference in behavioral patterns according to the experience of playing the sport even among authentic sports viewers. As a result of analyzing the relationship between viewers’ motivation and media transportation outcomes through structural equation modeling and multigroup structural equation modeling, it was observed that cognitive motivation was more important for esports viewers than for authentic sports viewers. A second analysis of comparisons among fans of authentic sports showed that viewers with sports experience had greater cognitive needs. This result shows that there is a difference between the viewer behaviors of esports and traditional sports, but it is concluded that the presence or absence of sports participation experience rather than content is the factor that separates the difference.

Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is the apprehension stemming from missing out on social interactions, and it is a salient motive for sport consumption. Sport fans are active and engaged on social media, and they give Continuous Partial Attention (CPA) to other screens, displaying online behaviors such as accessing team social media channels while watching live sports on screens. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were performed to examine the role of FoMO, with mediations of social media involvement and CPA, on fans' online engagement with sports teams' social media. Participants ( N = 328) demonstrated that fans with FoMO have a desire to continuously connect with other fans while watching live sports on screens, which leads to engaging in social media activities related to the sport team. This study provides theoretical and practical implications related to sport fans' social media information-seeking behaviors and for social media managers of sports teams, including the operations of live broadcasts during sports games.