A screen with a view: how and why college students watch college football

Abstract

In the past several decades, cable has been the choice for viewers to watch live television, whether that be entertainment, movies, news, or sports. There has, however, been little research on sports and the preference for how people watch those games using technology/devices. This study explored how college students choose to watch college football using technology at a Big 12 University in the Midwest. Cable has been slowly on the decline as a younger generation has become more familiar with new viewing options such as streaming. Streaming can be done in a number of ways, and is seen to be cheaper and more adaptable than cable packages. The purpose of this study was to examine two major topics: (1) What is the preferred technology for college students to watch college football, and (2) What network do college students go to when they want to watch college football? This study found that college students use a streaming device more often than they choose to use cable. Thirty-five percent of respondents said they frequently or always prefer streaming, while 33 percent said they use cable. Uses and Gratifications and Media Dependency theories were used to better understand the findings. Another aspect of this study was to examine which traditional networks college students are tuning into to watch college football. Of the 115 respondents, 57 percent (N=65) of them said they pay for ESPN to watch college football. It was also found that 67 percent (N=77) of college students go to at least one college football game in-person per year. The results will be useful to both the networks broadcasting college football games and advertisers targeting younger audiences, as well as viewers making choices. This study could help viewers choose what technology is the cheapest and most effective in the future.