Television show format preferences and aggression of football fans

Abstract

      Studying television and its audience has been a common domain of communication research. In this study, relations between television show format preferences of football fans and manifestation of aggressive behavior are studied. Data is collected with a sample of television football show viewers in Turkey. Results revealed fanship, aggression and format preferences during hours of football television program viewing are all interrelated. The significant preference of fan audiences for belligerent football shows among the other major types of football program formats available on Turkish television stations was found to be positively correlated with aggression trait. Aggression was found to increase the hours of viewing. As a vicious circle, hours of viewing the sports television shows further elevates fanship.