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Structural relationships among sportscasters' speech components, online relationships, and viewing behavior
Yong-Seok Jang1, Jae-Moon Lee2, Sun-Young Lim3
1Graduate School of Media and Communication, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Frontiers in Psychology
|May 21, 2026
Summary
Sportscasters' speech components, like expressiveness and appearance, build online relationships and influence viewing behavior. Emotional connection, not just information, drives audience engagement in sports media.
Area of Science:
- Media Psychology
- Communication Studies
- Sports Media Analysis
Background:
- Parasocial interaction, source credibility, and uses and gratifications theories inform the study.
- Sportscaster speech is conceptualized as multidimensional: cognitive (logicality, timing), affective (expressiveness), and perceptual (appearance, voice).
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the structural relationships between sportscasters' speech components, online relationships, and audience viewing behavior.
- To test how different speech elements influence perceived intimacy and media consumption.
Main Methods:
- Data collected from sports media users.
- Structural equation modeling used to analyze relationships and test hypotheses.
Main Results:
- All speech components positively impact online relationship formation.
- Affective and perceptual speech components directly influence viewing behavior.
- Cognitive components indirectly affect viewing behavior via online relationships, which positively mediate engagement.
Conclusions:
- Viewing behavior in sports media is driven by emotional resonance and relational closeness.
- An integrated framework explains how multidimensional speech cues shape media consumption through relational mechanisms.
- Enhancing expressive delivery and relational communication is crucial for sports broadcasting.
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