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Sports betting markets are an attractive setting to evaluate the degree to which publicly available information is efficiently incorporated into asset prices. Weather information represents one category of potentially undervalued public data, and we assess its impact on wagering outcomes and market behaviour in American college football. We uncover statistically significant effects of weather characteristics on totals market outcomes, indicating that the market does not appropriately assimilate this data into its forecasts. We also demonstrate that weather characteristics are not statistically significant predictors of totals market line movement magnitude. Together, these results suggest the market systematically undervalues weather data. We then develop simple wagering strategies utilizing only three weather characteristics and illustrate the ability to profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) utilizes a unique pay-per-view (PPV) product distribution structure, and relies heavily on social media to promote its events. Yet, no research has examined how UFC fans' social media motivation influences their consumption. Using uses and gratifications theory and a mixed-method design, this study qualitatively explored the themes of UFC fans' social media motivations and identified five themes (i.e., information, convenience, social interaction, entertainment, and economic). Based on these themes, this study developed the Scale of Social Media Motivation through quantitative analyses and further investigated how Scale of Social Media Motivation factors would affect consumption behavior by incorporating fan identification as a mediator. The findings revealed that the factors were positively associated with purchase intentions when fan identification serves as a partial mediator. Discussions are focused on utilizing the social media motivation factors and nurturing fan identification to promote UFC consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors demonstrate that betting market outcomes are a statistically significant and economically relevant driver of local market television viewership in the National Basketball Association. Ratings are higher when the local market team covers the point spread and when point spread outcome uncertainty is increased. They further illustrate that point spread market outcomes have a larger relative impact on viewership in less-popular games and when the local market team is expected to perform poorly. This suggests wagering market access serves as insurance to the league and its franchises against reduced viewership in games that are less appealing to consumers. The results assess the degree to which wagering interest has driven past revenues as well as how the legalization of sports wagering may influence future revenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study integrates upper echelons theory into the sport management literature by investigating general manager (GM) strategic decision-making in the National Basketball Association. Specifically, this research examines individual contextual variables as they relate to the human resource decision-making tendencies of GMs. Utilizing 17 seasons of data on team performance and individual GM characteristics, we estimate twostage panel regression models to examine the relationship between GM-related variables and organizational performance. We find that both GM technical experience and GM education are positively related to winning and efficiency. The results also illustrate the importance of acquiring elite-level talent and indicate positive returns to GMs whom are able to do so. These findings are relevant for team ownership and suggest a link between organizational performance and the personal characteristics of league GMs. The analysis furthers our understanding of the GM-team player talent-organizational performance relationship in professional sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research examining how information influences pricing, efficiency, and line accuracy in sports betting markets is common. The existing literature, however, does not consider that the natural release of information through standard game play may be systematically related to changes in line accuracy. We test this hypothesis and find a statistically significant improvement in line accuracy in both the sides and totals markets as more information is released. This indicates the information produced through game play is valuable in improving contest forecasts by both oddsmakers and the market. We also find a reduction in line movement in both the sides and totals markets as more information is released, suggesting forecasts of oddsmakers and the market converge along with an increase in available information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We add to the recent ticket market literature by using a unique, disaggregated, and proprietary data set of primary market ticket sales transactions from a National Basketball Association team that includes previously unavailable information on date of purchase, customer location, and other consumer demographics. We find that local and out-of-market fans differ in their total purchase amounts, with out-of-market fans spending more than local consumers, on average, and differential spending effects based on the home team win probability. In particular, this differential behavior has important implications for Rottenberg's uncertainty of outcome hypothesis. We find evidence that interest in visiting team quality dominates interest in perceived contest uncertainty, fitting the reference-dependent preference model in the context of low local team quality. Further, these findings also have important implications related to market segmentation and dynamic ticket pricing in professional sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scholarship on the economics of individual sports is scant relative to that of team sports. This study advances sport management scholarship, particularly sport economics, by using consumer-theory modeling to estimate Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) pay-per-view purchases. Our generalized linear models show fan preferences for certain weight classes, star fighters, outcome uncertainty and comain event quality factors as well as scheduling preferences for holiday weekends. The popular notion that The Ultimate Fighter reality series served as the impetus for the UFC's growth is supported in part. The study concludes by showing how the modeling results impact firm revenue generation via fight card characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the relationship between outcome uncertainty and television viewership in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The results demonstrate mixed support for the uncertainty of outcome hypothesis. Viewers prefer contests anticipated to be more certain, but also respond favorably to contests which have higher levels of within-game outcome uncertainty. The results also indicate that these preferences are not static across the season calendar. During postseason play, the preference for anticipated contest certainty is reduced, while the preference for within-game uncertainty is heightened. Given that consumers respond favorably to lower levels of anticipated contest uncertainty, from a policy perspective, there is little evidence that the current NCAA structure-which allows competition between programs with sizeable differences in both revenue and team quality-negatively impacts television viewership or associated revenues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has demonstrated that bettors believe positive momentum carries over from contest to contest. This article examines whether there is any empirical support for this belief by testing for the presence of across-contest momentum effects in college football. We characterize momentum in multiple fashions and after controlling for between-team heterogeneity find no evidence that systematic relationships exist between the degree of momentum a team enters a contest with and the outcome of that contest. From a wagering market perspective, this indicates that there is no statistically significant advantage to betting on teams perceived to possess positive momentum. Our results also suggest that the combination of the opening betting line set by odds makers and the subsequent market movement of that line does not systematically overreact to teams on streaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilizes Nielsen ratings to estimate the factors that influence viewership for Bowl Championship Series telecasts. Our modeling demonstrates increased start-of-game ratings for contests of higher absolute quality, but not of anticipated higher relative quality. Little support is generated for the notion of consumer preference for scoring. However, the relationship between outcome uncertainty and television ratings is dynamic as consumers initially prefer more certain games, but ratings increase systematically throughout a contest when the outcome of that contest becomes more uncertain. Preferences also exist for games in which actual outcomes match pregame expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A strong secondary market has emerged where National Football League (NFL) personal seat licenses (PSL) and season ticket rights (STR) are sold electronically. These data allow us to estimate determinants of market prices for long-run access to NFL attendance. The analysis finds that high-quality seating locations are a strong determinant of price. Clear differences exist between PSL and STR markets in regard to both general interest in the live NFL product and the effect of team quality on market price. Furthermore, we find that higher face value ticket prices are associated with lower secondary market PSL and STR sales prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies three historical events, listed in the title, representing key changes in the business structure of American college football and then tests to see whether these events are associated with changes in competitive balance. The analysis shows that balance has been relatively stable despite these alterations. The significant effects that are uncovered are confined to single conferences suggesting these events are not tied to widespread changes in balance throughout the sport. Additionally, the margin of victory ratio, a metric accounting for game closeness is introduced. Based on this measure, game uncertainty in individual conferences has improved over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]