Content area
Full text
Abstract
The purposes of this study were to identify the attributes consumers use to distinguish between mainstream and niche sports and determine which of those attributes were related to support for niche sports. Niche sports were classified as those sports not attracting mainstream media attention or large scale live audiences (Miloch & Lambrecht, 2006). Participants (n = 197) were asked to rate their perception of seven attributes (i.e., accessibility, popularity, uniqueness, affordability, star power, player similarities, and player skill) with four niche sports and one mainstream sport. Results indicated that consumers differentiate niche sports from mainstream sports across several attributes. Specifically, fans associated affordability and player similarity with niche sports, and star power and popularity with the mainstream sport. These findings illustrate which aspects the respective sports should emphasize to reach consumers and suggest how niche sport marketers may position their sport property against mainstream sports.
Introduction
There is little doubt the sports world is different today than it was 20 years ago as there are now a number of offerings designed to appeal to smaller, more focused segments. There are now a variety of cable and satellite channels including the Golf Channel, SPEED Network, and the Outdoor Channel. On today's newsstands, there are a variety of options such as Inside Lacrosse, VeloNews, and Paddling. And where the major team sports such as football, baseball, men's basketball, and men's ice hockey (Kahn, 2000) have traditionally provided the majority of spectating opportunities in the US, there are now numerous nonmainstream sports to appeal to sports fans with unique tastes.
Each of these products appeals to smaller, more focused audiences, also known as niche markets or niche segments. Marketing to smaller segments allows organizations to capitalize on the interests of homogenous groups with distinct tastes by specializing to their unique needs (Dalgic & Leeuw, 1994; Kara & Kaynak, 1997; Parrish, Cassill, & Oxenham, 2006; Toften & Hammervoll, 2009). Sport properties marketed to these narrow markets are often referred to as niche sports. Niche sports have been identified as sports that are not mainstream and do not appeal to a mass audience (Miloch & Lambrecht, 2006) and include sports such as bull riding, beach volleyball, women's basketball, and lacrosse (Lehman, 2007). These niche sports are becoming more...