UNCERTAINTY OF OUTCOME AND TELEVISION RATINGS FOR THE NHL AND MLS

Although there is mixed evidence of the role of uncertainty of outcome as it relates to attendance at stadiums, the limited evidence available for television ratings has shown that fans tend to prefer more uncertainty of outcome when it comes to watching live sports on television. Given the often substantially higher customer investments associated with live event attendance compared to television, fan preferences may differ across the two. This study examines Nielsen ratings for two previously unstudied sports in North America, the National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Soccer (MLS). The uncertainty of outcome hypothesis is supported by the results in both samples using two separate measures of uncertainty of outcome. In addition, expected scoring is shown to positively impact television ratings in the NHL.