Fan loyalty is the lasting commitment of a fan to a team, athlete or sport. Researchers treat it as two linked parts: what fans do, such as attending games or watching on television, and what fans feel, meaning a real attitude toward the team. Loyalty is more than repeat consumption, because attitudes count as much as behaviour [1].
Key points
- Loyalty has a behavioural side (attendance, viewing) and an attitudinal side (commitment to the team) [2].
- The two sides are measured differently, and good research uses both [2].
- Fans move from awareness through attraction and attachment to allegiance [3].
- Satisfaction is necessary for loyalty, but it is not enough on its own [4].
Origin
The idea comes from consumer research, not from sport. In 1969 George S. Day argued that brand loyalty is more than consistent buying of the same brand, and that attitudes belong in the definition [1]. Sport researchers later took over this two-part view. Mahony, Madrigal and Howard (2000) noted that behavioural loyalty is easy to measure in team sports, through attendance and television viewing, but that no appropriate measure of attitudinal loyalty existed before their Psychological Commitment to Team (PCT) scale [2]. Funk and James (2001) then described the Psychological Continuum Model, which follows a person from first awareness of a team to allegiance [3].
How it works in sports media
Media create the first contact with a team or athlete, and they keep the relationship going between games. In the Psychological Continuum Model, a fan’s connection grows through four levels: awareness, attraction, attachment and allegiance [3].
Loyalty is not the same as satisfaction. Oliver (1999) concluded that satisfaction is a necessary step in loyalty formation, but it becomes less significant as loyalty is set through other mechanisms, including personal determinism (“fortitude”) and social bonding [4]. For sport, this means a good season does not create a loyal fan by itself. Social bonding with other fans and the club adds to it.
Because attitudinal loyalty is separate from behaviour, marketers can use a scale like PCT to split fans into segments by loyalty strength and plan different actions for each group [2].
Examples
- A supporter who keeps buying tickets and watching broadcasts but has no deeper bond shows behavioural loyalty without attitudinal loyalty [2].
- A casual viewer who has just discovered a team sits at the awareness or attraction level; a lifelong season-ticket holder is closer to allegiance [3].
Common questions
Is fan loyalty the same as fan satisfaction?
No. Satisfaction is a necessary step towards loyalty, but loyalty also depends on other factors, so a satisfied fan is not always a loyal one [4].
How is fan loyalty measured?
Behavioural loyalty is read from attendance and viewing figures. Attitudinal loyalty needs a survey scale, such as the Psychological Commitment to Team scale [2].
What is the difference between fan loyalty and fan identification?
Loyalty describes the strength and persistence of the commitment. Fan identification describes how far a fan sees the team as part of the self. The two are related but are studied as separate ideas.
Related terms
- Fan Identification — how strongly a fan sees the team as part of who they are
- Fan Engagement — the ways fans interact with teams, leagues and athletes
- Rivalry — contests that sharpen loyalty to one side
- Hype — short bursts of attention that can start a fan’s attraction
- Parasocial Relationship — one-sided bonds with athletes and personalities
- Brand Equity in Sports — the value a loyal following gives a team or athlete
Read more on Play of Values
- The psychology behind sports rivalries
- Marketable athletes over winning
- Media revolutions in the sports ecosystem
- Management theories and entities of the sports ecosystem
Sources
- Day, G. S. (1969). A two-dimensional concept of brand loyalty. Journal of Advertising Research, 9(3), 29–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218499.1969.12520010
- Mahony, D. F., Madrigal, R., & Howard, D. (2000). Using the Psychological Commitment to Team (PCT) scale to segment sport consumers based on loyalty. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 9(1), 15–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/106169340000900103
- Funk, D. C., & James, J. (2001). The Psychological Continuum Model: A conceptual framework for understanding an individual's psychological connection to sport. Sport Management Review, 4(2), 119–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1441-3523(01)70072-1
- Oliver, R. L. (1999). Whence consumer loyalty? Journal of Marketing, 63(4_suppl1), 33–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222429990634s105