College Football Television and Attendance: The Problem With Selection Bias

Jeremy M. Losak, Samuel Marteka, Mackenzie Mangos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Television coverage’s impact on college football attendance is a topic of debate. Between 2005 and 2019, annual growth in athletic department revenues for Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools from media rights, postseason football, and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) conference distributions far exceeded revenue growth in ticket sales revenue. This study re-evaluates the substitution or complementarity of television coverage and stadium attendance in college football with updated data while controlling for selection bias through endogenous treatment regression. Although initial results reveal a positive correlation between television coverage and attendance, national coverage and attendance appear to be substitutes after controlling for selection bias. That said, from an attendance maximizing perspective, national coverage is preferable to lower-tiered coverage if a game is to be televised.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)179-194
Number of pages16
JournalInternational Journal of Sport Finance
Volume18
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2023

Keywords

  • college football
  • endogenous treatment regression
  • stadium attendance demand
  • television coverage

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Business and International Management
  • Finance
  • Marketing

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