Journal of Convention & Exhibition Management

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of media type (2D vs. VR) and signage location (center vs. periphery) on the cognitive processing of signage advertising during sporting events. The rapid growth of the virtual reality (VR) sports market has led to widespread integration of sports content into virtual reality services. Despite this, academic exploration of such services remains in its early stages. Using the framework of the dynamic human-centered communication systems theory (DHCCST), this research examines the effects of media type (2D vs. VR) and signage advertising location (center vs. periphery) on cognitive processing of advertising during sporting events. In an experiment, participants viewed a sports game in either 2D or VR format. Real-time biometric measures assessed attentional resources and visual attention, while memory tests evaluated brand memory performance. VR, compared to 2-D, sports viewing trended toward eliciting greater cognitive resource allocation during the periods when signage advertising was presented during the game but significantly decreased visual attention and impaired brand memory for ads. Further, advertising placed centrally received better visual attention and facilitated brand memory compared to advertising in the periphery, regardless of media type. The interaction effect between media type and signage location on attentional outcomes was minimal. Results are discussed in light of the DHCCST and to offer practical insights for designing content to enhance sponsor effectiveness in VR sports programming.

This paper aims to investigate three pillars of social media sports marketing engagement (quantitatively and qualitatively): (i) engagement with a sports league (event), (ii) engagement with the celebrity athletes, and (iii) engagement with the sponsoring brands. To achieve these three objectives, several posts on Instagram were monitored: (i) 145 posts from the surf sports league to compare gender and 57 to compare country of origin (ii) 737 posts from 13 famous athletes competing in the league (407 male and 300 female) (iii) and 763 posts containing information of 32 sponsoring brands. The Instrack, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Azure ML and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests were done. The results indicate factors such as gender and country of origin of the athlete posted significantly affect engagement with the World Surf League Instagram page (quantitatively and qualitatively). Additionally, gender, country of origin, professional experience, and attractiveness of the athletes affect the personal engagement of their own Instagram pages (quantitatively and qualitatively). Thirdly, the brand sponsoring the post also affects the level of engagement (quantitatively and qualitatively). A holistic view of the event, the athletes competing, and the sponsoring brands further contributes through new literature.

This article examines public attitudes towards the media coverage of women’s sport in a context of recent growth but also continued inequality in both quantity and quality of coverage. Drawing from literature on the role of gender ideology in underpinning the unequal media treatment of women’s sport, we focus on ‘gender essentialist’ ideology as a predictor of attitudes. We draw on 2023 survey data from a national sample of U.S. adults ( N = 2032), with results showing that just under a third of respondents feel the amount of media coverage for women’s sport is ‘about right,’ while 25.6% feel it is ‘too much’ and 42.5% feel it is ‘too little.’ Gender essentialist views of women’s sport as lower quality and less entertaining than men’s sport are associated with the belief that women’s sport receives adequate or too much media coverage. Respondents with negative evaluations of the quality and entertainment value of women’s sports attribute increased media attention to social and political pressures rather than genuine demand and interest. Counterintuitively, however, we find that perceptions of women’s sports as higher quality or more entertaining than men’s sports are associated with the belief that women’s sports receive ‘far too much’ media coverage.

In this essay, the founding editor of Communication & Sport considers an important study by Cummins and Hahn of the first ten years of research published in the journal. In framing the essay, the larger enterprise of research at the nexus of communication is situated on the larger playing and more established playing fields of the social sciences and humanities. It is argued that the twin fields that comprise this disciplinary focus—communication and sport—have been perpetually plagued by a “need for legitimization” complex and that this need may be driving the focus of this ten year assessment on questions of method and theory. In reacting to findings of continued focus on content-focused studies, obstacles of research approval, garnering samples, and gaining access are both noted and need to be overcome. In assessing the “critical turn” in research method, the evidence suggests that the death of empirical analysis has been greatly exaggerated. In reacting to “theoretical messiness” found in the ten year assessment, it is argued that such concerns are less important in establishing the field than an audit of what drives the questions we ask and why our answers matter . The essay closes by research models that might better assess whether we are asking the right questions and what is at the heart of the research enterprise for Communication & Sport .

Virtual reality (VR) enables the exploration of environments and situations that are otherwise inaccessible, making it particularly valuable for sports like diving. Virtual diving, as part of the metaverse, allows users to discover underwater worlds without the need to physically enter the water, providing benefits such as lower risks, a higher accessibility, and an easy introduction for non-divers. However, the extent to which this technology is accepted as a supplement or complement to conventional diving practice and training remains unclear. Hence, the present study examines the intention to use VR diving applications based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and aims to identify factors that influence the behavioral intention to dive in VR based on a survey with 202 participants. Except positive effects of the perceived ease of use on perceived usefulness, all hypotheses were confirmed in the study. Further, the study reveals that non-divers have a more positive attitude towards the utilization of VR diving applications compared to divers. Our study contributes to the extant literature by extending the TAM to the novel and specific domain of VR diving as a complement and supplement to conventional diving and dive training.

The ongoing development of extended reality (XR) technologies and the growing popularity of the esports industry suggest a future integration of XR in esports. However, research on the integration of the technologies in esport is sparse. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the opportunities and challenges of XR technologies in esports based on an explorative approach, relying on qualitative research methods and interviews with experts from the esports industry. The results show that XR technologies allow to significantly improve the spectator and player experience as well as processes in the event planning. In order to fully exploit this potential, it is crucial (1) to optimize the XR experience through the development of new, competitive XR games, (2) provide access to advanced hardware for an XR esports community to unfold, and (3) to establish XR collaboration formats and expertise in the esports industry. Furthermore, extensive research efforts are required to validate the promised advantages which are synthesized in suggestions for future research avenues.

In September 2020, Deion Sanders was named head coach of the Jackson State University Tigers football team. The announcement marked his shift in public consciousness from “Prime Time” to “Coach Prime” and came as the country was reeling from the debilitating impacts of COVID-19, sustained calls for racial redress following a string of police-involved deaths, and new NIL developments in the NCAA. Turning in this essay to Sanders’s “I Believe” speech, which he gave once he was named head coach, I argue that Sanders garners the support of his audience by employing aspirational rhetoric, a form of prophetic rhetoric that constitutes the rhetor as a prophet and the audience as change agents through their simultaneous commitment to a common goal (i.e., bringing a new world to fruition). In this way, Sanders makes an important intervention in public discourse on behalf of HBCUs. I conclude by exploring ways aspirational prophecy enables and constrains social and cultural change within sport as a site of political struggle.

With the rapid development of Metaverse technology, the sports industry has gradually integrated it to enhance event experiences and fan engagement. This study aims to explore the impact of event characteristics in Metaverse sports events on event immersion, event satisfaction, and team attitude. This study used questionnaire survey, collecting data from 1208 participants of the MZ generation (age 18–42) who had experience in Metaverse sports events in Korea, including Koreans and foreigners studying and working in Korea. The SEM analysis results revealed that relational transcendence in event characteristics had a significant positive effect on relational immersion, while cognitive image significantly influenced spatial immersion. Spatial immersion had a significant impact on personal satisfaction, and relational immersion also significantly influenced relational satisfaction. Further analysis showed that both personal satisfaction and relational satisfaction had positive effects on team attitude. Additionally, low-engagement consumers showing stronger perceptions of relational transcendence and relational immersion. The immersive experiences in Metaverse sports events significantly enhance consumer satisfaction and foster a more positive attitude toward the team. Future sports marketing strategies should consider the integration of virtual and real experiences, providing deeply interactive and personalized experiences for consumers with varying levels of engagement.

Women have been traditionally excluded from sport, and recent work has argued for the need to increase the visibility of both women’s sport and female athletes in order to secure public attention and commercial opportunities and encourage the next generation to participate. In this paper, we introduce the concept of the visibility bind to offer a more nuanced understanding of these debates. Here, we note that growing visibility may often operate as a double-edged sword for women operating in ‘traditional’ male domains and, largely unregulated, online spaces. Drawing on interviews with elite athletes from professional cricket in England, we show that visibility may not only lead to abuse and stereotyping, both overt and covert, but also places an added burden on players who are often expected to carry out unpaid physical and emotional labour. Finally, we draw attention to the benefits of being in a team sport where colleagues can provide advice, support and levity when dealing with such challenges.

This study investigates how team identification, moral emotions, and moral decoupling influence fans’ punitive behaviors in response to sports-related crises. Using a sample of 437 sports fans, the researchers examined whether negative moral emotions (anger, contempt, and disgust) drive punitive behaviors and how team identification affects moral decoupling. Findings reveal that higher team identification is associated with increased moral decoupling, enabling fans to separate their support for team performance from ethical transgressions. Additionally, negative moral emotions were significant predictors of punitive behaviors, with perceived crisis severity mediating the relationship between team identification and fan punishment. Forgiveness emerged as a key moderator, reducing the likelihood of punitive actions among highly identified fans. However, forgiveness did not moderate the relationship between team identification and moral decoupling. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The role of female journalists in local television news is a tenuous space. Having women occupy jobs in traditionally hegemonically male roles enriches perspective and content. Simultaneously, the work environment can be challenging—often hostile—which leads to negative work experiences for female practitioners. The instability has led to an outflow of women opting out of the television news industry. The purpose of this study was to investigate why female local sports journalists were leaving the business. Researchers conducted 27 semi-structured interviews with local sports television journalists who left their jobs in the last four years (since 2020). The findings of this study rendered two main themes and one smaller secondary theme that offered a perspective on several variables behind these decisions and important distinctions between those factors facing women and men. Many of the variables influencing practitioners to leave were similar. For instance, almost every respondent offered low salary and bad schedules as reasons for getting out. However, findings showed that women made less money and did not serve in newsroom leadership roles, which meant they had even worse schedules. The conclusion of this study is that newsroom leaders need to address the stronger headwinds facing female journalists and need to be more strategic about fostering healthier work environments for women in the newsroom.

Concerns over the short- and long-term health implications of concussions has led to a surge in concussion education materials, resources, and modalities to educate youth athletes as a first line of defense in injury prevention. In this paper, we argue that this over-emphasis on concussion education–and a reliance on static, sensationalized, and culturally disconnected messaging–fails to consider the sociocultural implications of concussion education and the subsequent uptake and impact of this information by/on youth athletes. To do so, we present research involving semi-structured interviews with youth athletes in Ontario, Canada ( N = 28; aged 13-18-years-old) focused on understanding experiences with concussion knowledge and education. Through our analysis, we highlight three important domains related to athletes’ experiences with concussion education concerning (1) sufficient education, (2) scare tactics in education efforts, and (3) equity, access, and responsibility. By problematizing education as an effective mode of injury prevention, we draw attention to a gap within current sport-related concussion literature concerning knowledge uptake, education, and behaviour with the social and cultural realities of concussion experiences.

Despite a widespread belief that sports can build community and help lift people out of violence and poverty, scholars have yet to establish a definitive relationship between marginalized communities and sports fandom as a pathway to social inclusion. In this study, we examine publicity surrounding a series of “Super Soul parties,” Super Bowl parties for people experiencing homelessness, to show how sports fandom can be rhetorically positioned to create a sense of belonging. We argue that Kay’s use of the Super Bowl is a strategic utilization of sports as a tool for rhetorically creating 1) visibility, 2) legibility, and 3) dignity. However, we also find this strategy is tenuous; over time, Super Soul parties’ housed attendees revert from seeing homeless people as fans to understanding them as others in need of service. For sports fandom to successfully provide dignity and inclusion, advocates must find ways to avoid reinscribing traditional service hierarchies.

During the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, the International Paralympic Committee launched a global campaign called WeThe15 to draw attention to the 15% of the global population with a disability with the hopes it would become the largest human rights movement in history. Utilizing framing theory, this study sought to understand how the mass media framed WeThe15 in its coverage during the Tokyo 2020 Games and the subsequent Paralympic Games, Beijing 2022, and to determine if any differences existed between the two Games. Using qualitative document analysis, we examined English-language articles about WeThe15 during both Games. There were stark differences in the amount of coverage, with our search uncovering 177 articles from 22 countries during Tokyo 2020, and only 10 articles from six countries during Beijing 2022. Three broad frames and four overarching themes were used to contextualize the WeThe15 campaign during the Tokyo Games: basic campaign information, partners leveraging the campaign, athlete narratives, and amplifying disability visibility. Basic campaign information was identified in coverage from the Beijing 2022 dataset. Our findings highlighted the need for sustained media coverage and engagement for growing social movements and offered both theoretical and practical implications of media framing of social movements related to sport.