By Robbie Butler
They say good things come in threes, and perhaps there’s something to that. Following recent successes in the Review of Behavioural Economics and the Journal of Sports Economics, I’m delighted to share that a paper co-authored with regular blog contributor Daragh O’Leary has just been accepted for publication in European Sport Management Quarterly.
Our new paper, An Exploration of English Premier League YouTube Highlights Consumption: Unexpected Outcomes & Schadenfreude, develops a conceptual model to understand how fans engage with post-match content in the English Premier League. We explore how consumption patterns differ between live matches and highlights, and how supporters’ preferences for match outcomes, particularly when their rivals lose, shape viewing behaviour.
The central focus of the paper is Schadenfreude, that uniquely German word for taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune, or, in modern terms, ‘hate-watching’.
Our findings reveal a significant and positive relationship between highlight views and instances of big teams losing. In short, people really do enjoy watching the mighty fall. It seems that for many viewers, football entertainment extends beyond their own team’s success; they also derive satisfaction from the setbacks of others.
This might help to explain the growing popularity of certain online influencers and fan channels. Their appeal does not necessarily come from celebrating constant victories, but from the drama, frustration and emotional rollercoaster that come with supporting a team, especially when things go wrong.
The full paper should be available online soon, and we look forward to sharing more about our findings once it is published.
They say good things come in threes, and perhaps there’s something to that. Following recent successes in the Review of Behavioural Economics and the Journal of Sports Economics, I’m delighted to share that a paper co-authored with regular blog contributor Daragh O’Leary has just been accepted for publication in European Sport Management Quarterly.
Our new paper, An Exploration of English Premier League YouTube Highlights Consumption: Unexpected Outcomes & Schadenfreude, develops a conceptual model to understand how fans engage with post-match content in the English Premier League. We explore how consumption patterns differ between live matches and highlights, and how supporters’ preferences for match outcomes, particularly when their rivals lose, shape viewing behaviour.
The central focus of the paper is Schadenfreude, that uniquely German word for taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune, or, in modern terms, ‘hate-watching’.
Our findings reveal a significant and positive relationship between highlight views and instances of big teams losing. In short, people really do enjoy watching the mighty fall. It seems that for many viewers, football entertainment extends beyond their own team’s success; they also derive satisfaction from the setbacks of others.
This might help to explain the growing popularity of certain online influencers and fan channels. Their appeal does not necessarily come from celebrating constant victories, but from the drama, frustration and emotional rollercoaster that come with supporting a team, especially when things go wrong.
The full paper should be available online soon, and we look forward to sharing more about our findings once it is published.
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