The purpose of the study has been to identify the motivational factors prompting the South African MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fan to attend events and how these factors are influencing their spending patterns and media consumption. With the growing popularity of Africa’s biggest MMA promoter and the production values and size of events, EFC (Extreme Fighting Championship) is taking the African market to a global level. To understand the South African MMA fan, marketers should differentiate strategies to meet these various customers’ satisfaction needs and demands. Media plays a big role in the growing of the sport, and Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and television broadcasts all contribute to fans gaining access to the MMA sport. The following motivational factors were used to measure the MMA fan: Aesthetic quality, Sports interest, Drama/Eustress, Socialising, Vicarious achievement, Fighter interest, Adoration/Hero, Violence, Escape, National Pride and Economic Factors. Participants who attended the local amateur MMA fights in the south of Johannesburg were requested to complete the online web questionnaire to establish the motivational factors of South African MMA fans. Aesthetic quality, Sports interest and Drama/Eustress were ranked as the highest motivators. There were some gender differences where females indicated that they were more interested in the Drama factor and the males in the Sports interest factor. It was clear from the results that most male fans were drawn to MMA by word-ofmouth, clubs or events. The female fans used the internet and television as their media consumption of MMA. Although the study was limited to a local MMA event, insights into the motivation of the South African MMA fan were discovered as well as how media is consumed differently by different genders. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The purpose of the study has been to identify the motivational factors prompting the South African MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fan to attend events and how these factors are influencing their spending patterns and media consumption. With the growing popularity of Africa’s biggest MMA promoter and the production values and size of events, EFC (Extreme Fighting Championship) is taking the African market to a global level. To understand the South African MMA fan, marketers should differentiate strategies to meet these various customers’ satisfaction needs and demands. Media plays a big role in the growing of the sport, and Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and television broadcasts all contribute to fans gaining access to the MMA sport. The following motivational factors were used to measure the MMA fan: Aesthetic quality, Sports interest, Drama/Eustress, Socialising, Vicarious achievement, Fighter interest, Adoration/Hero, Violence, Escape, National Pride and Economic Factors. Participants who attended the local amateur MMA fights in the south of Johannesburg were requested to complete the online web questionnaire to establish the motivational factors of South African MMA fans. Aesthetic quality, Sports interest and Drama/Eustress were ranked as the highest motivators. There were some gender differences where females indicated that they were more interested in the Drama factor and the males in the Sports interest factor. It was clear from the results that most male fans were drawn to MMA by word-ofmouth, clubs or events. The female fans used the internet and television as their media consumption of MMA. Although the study was limited to a local MMA event, insights into the motivation of the South African MMA fan were discovered as well as how media is consumed differently by different genders. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Interest in sport, especially in soccer has been increasing in Turkey. Consequently, sport clubs should ascertain the reasons why people attend sporting events and what motivates them to attend in order not to lose their interest. From this point / the purpose of this study was to examine the motivational factors affecting spectator attendance of soccer games in Turkey. In order to measure the sport fan motivations of the spectators, the Turkish version of Motivational Scale for Sport Consumption (MSSC) was distributed to 602 spectators in three different Super League Soccer games with the systematic sampling procedure. Results of this study indicated that the physical skills of the athletes, aesthetics related with the game of soccer and the achievement motives are the most effective motives in explaining spectators&rsquo / decisions to attend soccer games in Turkey. On the other hand, escape, drama, and social interaction motives were found to be the least important motives of the Turkish soccer spectators. The findings of this study also revealed that the more frequent ticket consumers&rsquo / achievement and acquisition of knowledge motivations were higher than the other consumer types in spectator segmentation. Multiple regression analysis revealed that 27 % of the variance in future ticket consumption intentions can be accounted for by the linear combination of 6 of the 12 variables including past ticket consumption frequency, fan identification with the team, and the motives of achievement, acquisition of knowledge, aesthetics, and social interaction. These findings indicated that Turkish spectators are mainly motivated by the core product of the sport, the game itself. However, previous studies indicated that overarching motives (escape, social interaction) should be one of the aspects of the game attendance. Thus, findings of this study showed that Turkish spectators do not perceive the attending a sport game as a social and stress releasing activity. In conclusion, motivations are the needs of the sport consumers, therefore, Turkish sport clubs should try to fulfill the needs of their customers, in this case, acquiring skilled soccer players, playing good team soccer, and playing combatively to win games should be the prerequisites of the sport clubs to not to lose their spectators&rsquo / interest in following their team from the stadium.

Esports is a growing cultural phenomenon with a large number of stakeholders such as professional players, audiences, sponsors, game developers, and competitive events like tournaments, championships and leagues. This thesis studies spectator experiences in e-sports; exploring the factors that make for an enjoyable spectatorship experience. The study takes a qualitative approach involving questionnaire and interviews. A total of 30 questionnaire responses and 4 interviews were used to identify 5 factors that make for a good viewing experience. They are moments of great skill, live commentary, favorite teams/players and social aspects, watching the game in person, and intense matches. The research findings provide insights that can inform the development of strategies to optimize and enrich the spectatorship experience, thus contributing to the continued growth and success of esports as a form of entertainment.