We’ve Come a Long Way Baby (Maybe): Male and Female Fans Watching Men’s and Women’s Basketball

Abstract

Seizing on the growth of interest in and coverage of women’s basketball, this study assesses the attitudes, perceptions and viewing behaviors of males and females with expressed interest in men’s and women’s college and professional basketball. Surveying a sample of 808 USA adults participating in an ongoing national online panel for Qualtrics, this study examined similarities and differences in viewing behaviors, perceptions of production quality, assessments of skill and athleticism of players, based on respondent gender and the variant of basketball. Considerable gender- and variant-based differences emerged. At the same time, responses were remarkably similar and generally positive. No single basketball variant was dramatically stronger or inferior to the others. Yet, when forced to choose, respondents were more likely to select a men’s game to watch. We discuss findings from an active audience perspective to shed light on the changing reception to women’s sports.