<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This sports media research uses a single case study approach to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mediatic consumption of sports heroes. The case of airing the “3mm” documentary film about WTA tennis player Simona Halep on Romanian television is being analyzed. The theoretical framework is set around the concept of parasocial interaction specific for the mediated relationships between sports fans and their favorite sports brands. The research question asks about the factors induced by the COVID-19 pandemic that might have influenced the rather low audiences of the broadcasted documentary. Results show that, indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic might have well had a considerable impact upon audience figures, mainly because, due to the pandemic situation, the patterns of parasocial interaction between sports fans and sports brands have been altered. The paper discusses the changes in parasocial interaction which occurred due to the pandemic.</p>
</abstract>

This sports media research uses a single case study approach to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mediatic consumption of sports heroes. The case of airing the “3mm” documentary film about WTA tennis player Simona Halep on Romanian television is being analyzed. The theoretical framework is set around the concept of parasocial interaction specific for the mediated relationships between sports fans and their favorite sports brands. The research question asks about the factors induced by the COVID-19 pandemic that might have influenced the rather low audiences of the broadcasted documentary. Results show that, indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic might have well had a considerable impact upon audience figures, mainly because, due to the pandemic situation, the patterns of parasocial interaction between sports fans and sports brands have been altered. The paper discusses the changes in parasocial interaction which occurred due to the pandemic.

Meters Wide: A Failed Mediatic Annexation of Sporting Heroes During Pandemic Times?

Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This sports media research uses a single case study approach to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mediatic consumption of sports heroes....

Meters Wide: A Failed Mediatic Annexation of Sporting Heroes During Pandemic Times?

Published Online: Jul 14, 2023

Page range: 1438 - 1448

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2023-0130

Keywords
parasocial interaction, sports marketing, sport brands, mass-media, tennis, documentary

© 2023 Vlad I. Roşca et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Meters Wide: A Failed Mediatic Annexation of Sporting Heroes During Pandemic Times?

Published Online: Jul 14, 2023

Page range: 1438 - 1448

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2023-0130

Keywordsparasocial interaction, sports marketing, sport brands, mass-media, tennis, documentary

© 2023 Vlad I. Roşca et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
parasocial interaction, sports marketing, sport brands, mass-media, tennis, documentary