AUTHOR=Wang Zongqing , Su Lide , Agudamu  , Gong Tao , Bu Te , Zhang Yang 

TITLE=Factors driving FIFA world cup 2022 viewership ratings in mainland China: marketing outlooks for FIFA world cup 2026

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sports and Active Living

VOLUME=5

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sports-and-active-living/articles/10.3389/fspor.2023.1282898

DOI=10.3389/fspor.2023.1282898

ISSN=2624-9367

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>The FIFA World Cup is not only the most lucrative athletic event globally, but it also functions as a platform for promoting peace owing to FIFA's new vision. Nevertheless, the determinants of TV viewership ratings, especially in the Chinese market, which is a critical revenue stream for FIFA TV broadcasting, are still unsolved. Using a distributional regression, this study aimed to quantify the dynamics of viewership ratings for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in mainland China.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>The CCTV viewership ratings were modeled using 12 covariables related to Chinese TV consumer behavior. Given the data structure, a Logit Normal regression model was chosen to fit the location and dispersion parameters of viewership ratings to explanatory variables.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>In the fitted heteroscedastic model, the viewership ratings dynamics in mainland China were driven by the match kick-off time: <inline-formula><mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="IM1"><mml:mrow><mml:mover><mml:mi>μ</mml:mi><mml:mo stretchy="false">^</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:mrow><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">logistic</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">[</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:mo>−</mml:mo></mml:mrow><mml:mn>4.874</mml:mn><mml:mo>+</mml:mo><mml:mn>0.043</mml:mn><mml:mo>×</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">match</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mspace width="thinmathspace" /><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">kick</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mstyle displaystyle="false" scriptlevel="0"><mml:mtext>-</mml:mtext></mml:mstyle><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">off</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mspace width="thinmathspace" /><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">time</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">]</mml:mo></mml:math></inline-formula>. In addition, the model captures the factors that influence the variations in viewership ratings: <inline-formula><mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="IM2"><mml:mrow><mml:mover><mml:mi>σ</mml:mi><mml:mo stretchy="false">^</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:mrow><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">exp</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">[</mml:mo><mml:mrow><mml:mo>−</mml:mo></mml:mrow><mml:mn>14.26</mml:mn><mml:mtext>–</mml:mtext><mml:mn>1.346</mml:mn></mml:math></inline-formula> (if, FIFA World Cup champion = “Yes”) + 0.004 × FIFA world ranking]. Thus, it shows that the FIFA World Cup champions tamp down such variations, leading to a more stable viewing behavior among Chinese consumers.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>Time- and team-sensitive strategies are proposed to aid in crafting uncertainty-suppressing business decisions for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Ultimately, in the more insecure 2020s, a broader live coverage of the FIFA World Cup would be invaluable for promoting peace.</p></sec>