With the emergence of new media platforms one wonders about the impact new media is having on sports fans’ media consumption patterns. Are traditional media platforms still having the same impact on the sports fan relationship, or has there been a shift across to new platforms? Looking through the lens of the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) framework, we analyse the impact of team identification and sports fans’ media consumption patterns.Trying to gain an understanding across various sports and to reach as many fans as possible, the snowballing technique was deployed. Using quantitative data allowed us to establish emerging patterns through categorical data. This study used cross-sectional data, which allowed us to take a snapshot in time of what the current trend in fans’ sports media consumption was. 235 sports fans media consumption patterns were analysed using the PCM staging algorithm and a sports media consumption instrument.The results throughout this study reflect that new media is having an impact on team identity and sports fan media consumption. The findings suggests that fans that display higher levels of team identification on the PCM framework, i.e. attachment and allegiance to teams, are more likely to engage regularly on social media, especially Twitter. As such, marketers, sports teams and associations need to look at how they engage with social media broadly and Twitter in particular. Various constructs impact sports fans’ media consumption patterns and, as such, marketers, sports teams and organisations need to ensure that they maintain relevance with their targeted demographic to ensure the continued engagement with sports fans. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Using a theoretical synergy between the Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) and Behavioral Ecological Model (BEM), the current dissertation research provides empirical evidence to support that organized participant sporting events can play a significant role in building a healthier community. First, using a proprietary U.S. community-based panel data from 2008 to 2014, study 1 examines the incremental effects of participant sporting events (PSE) in promoting active living at the population level. Panel regression with an instrumental variable approach and Multigroup Latent Growth Curve Analysis were administered. The key findings included (1) these population-based interventions have the capacity to impact population health at the state level; (2) such an influence significantly varies across the United States contingent upon a state’s economic development and the geographical region to which a state belongs. In study 2, the Multilevel Mediation Analysis was conducted with a spatially clustered cross-sectional data in 2014. The findings revealed that the access to exercise opportunities at the state level represents the underlying mechanism through which various forms of participant sporting events have the ability to elicit positive effects on health with respects to mental health, physical health, and physical activity participation at the county level. The findings suggested that PSEs represent effective public health platform to create healthier communities through integrating physically active leisure into population’s everyday routines. Overall, empirical results also help us better understand the importance of effectively leveraging community sporting events to deliver required health benefits to the general public and create practical guidelines to inform policy formation on resource allocation. / Tourism and Sport