Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine factors, which motivate people to
watch electronic sports. The sample consisted of males and females aged 18 to 65
watching e-sport, both online and at live e-sport viewing events. All individuals
completed a 56-item instrument comprising the Sports Fan Motivation Scale (Wann,
1995) and the Motivation Scale for Sports Consumption (Trail, Fink, & Andersen, 2000)
as well as demographics and e-sport behavior questions. Motivations were analyzed on
the basis of subgroups (i.e., gender, age, ethnicity, preferred viewing duration, preferred
number of co-spectators, preferred viewing location, and whether or not the spectator was
an actual player). Overall the highest motivating factors were entertainment, eustress, and
aesthetics on the Sports Fan Motivation Scale, and the highest motivating factors on the
Motivation Scale for Sports Consumption were player skills, drama, and knowledge.
