Genuine Liking or the Need for Closure? The Differential Effects of Consumers’ TV Drama Viewing Motivations on Commercial Viewership

ABSTRACT Television advertising effectiveness constitutes a key marketing issue. Advertisers rely on program TV ratings to determine advertisement placement because consumers’ decisions to view TV commercials are largely influenced by their TV program-viewing behavior. However, high program viewership of television dramas does not always entail high commercial viewership; consumers’ motivations for drama consumption play a critical role. In the context of TV drama viewing, we build a two-stage structural model that distinguishes two motivations for TV drama consumption—viewers’ liking for a drama and the need for cognitive closure—and demonstrate their contrasting effects on consumers’ commercial-viewing behavior. Although both motivations enhance drama-viewing behavior, consumers exhibit an enhanced (vs. diminished) tendency to watch subsequent commercials when they possess heightened liking for the drama (vs. the need for cognitive closure). These findings contribute to extant research on TV commercial-viewing behavior by distinguishing the roles of different drama-viewing motivations. Based on the model estimation results, we conduct a series of simulation studies to generate rich managerial implications. Managerial practices for both advertisers and TV networks are discussed.