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The purpose of this paper is to introduce a conceptual model of branded entertainment into sport marketing and highlight Red Bull’s strategy as a “best practice”. Branded entertainment, the full integration of advertising into entertainment content, is an innovative marketing strategy that can provide sport enterprises and sponsors with consumer attention and engagement.

Branded entertainment was theoretically framed and conceptualised. Using an inductive approach Red Bull’s portfolio of self-generated action/extreme sport content as well as its production, distribution and viral processes were analysed.

A communication model of sport-related branded entertainment was developed to distinguish actors such as athletes, sponsors, and co-operating companies, traditional and new (sport) media as well as sport consumers and prosumers and analyse their actions and relationships.

This study is limited to Red Bull’s branded entertainment activities. However, a thorough conceptualisation and analysis of branded entertainment and findings of unique characteristics and anomalies related to branded sport entertainment allows academics and professionals to understand and apply the concept.

The research theme triggers a dialogue and encourages marketing practitioners to consider alternative ways to engage their target audiences and expand their integrated communication strategies via a unique and dynamic promotional tool.

This paper contributes to the sport value framework by addressing “value co-creation” in a sport media and marketing context. By highlighting the Red Bull phenomenon as an innovative approach a successful integration of branding and sponsorship activities into sport entertainment content production, distribution and viral marketing is presented.

Electronic Sports (eSports) is an emerging sector of the sports and entertainment industry experiencing an accelerated increase in consumer and sponsor demand. This paper aims to study selected cases of eSports service ecosystems, to identify similarities and differences and to understand the different roles, relationships and multiple interactions of actors involved in value co-creation processes.

This empirical paper follows the service-dominant logic to highlight value creation. Based on the sport value framework, an organizing logic for the actors in sports-related ecosystems to exchange service and co-create value, the authors apply the conceptualization of an eSports service ecosystem framework in which actors create value through their interactions. A case study approach was applied to qualitatively describe two cases of value co-creation by multiple actors during three eSports events. Case study 1a is the 2019 League of Legends World Championship Finals in Paris. Case study 1b is the 2020 League of Legends World Championship Finals in Shanghai. Case study 2 is the BLAST Premier Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Global Final 2020, which was entirely virtual.

The outcome is an empirically investigated conceptual framework of multiple actors co-creating value within a service ecosystem in eSports. The insights of the cases explain how actors interact with each other and co-create value during events in eSports ecosystems. The cases illustrate interactions in the context of eSports where the actors are connected within ecosystems. This enables further development of a value co-creation concept and a better understanding of value co-creation in eSports.

This study contributes to research by explicating a theoretically grounded framework for eSports service ecosystems based on empirical evidence. This research extends the scope of value co-creation beyond the firm–customer dyad to a service ecosystem in eSports, demonstrating the dynamic interactions of multiple actors.

Notwithstanding the dynamics of digital transformation and its relevance for revenue generation in the entertainment industry, empirical research that focused on consumer behavior at the intersection of sport content and media technology acceptance is limited. Virtual reality (VR) is a re-emerging and nowadays commercially available technology that impacts sport consumed through media. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consumer acceptance of VR technology and highlight the effects of content quality and flow experience as influencing factors of behavioral intention.

Based on a literature review, the authors constructed and empirically tested a model that extends the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) by considering additional antecedent factors. Participants (N=570) in the empirical study viewed sport content via VR technology (Sport VR) and completed a survey before and after viewing. The authors conducted factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

Three UTAUT2 influencing factors, i.e., performance expectancy, social influence and hedonic motivation, showed significant effects. Furthermore, flow and content quality had positive indirect effects. Thus, the quality of sport content and the state of flow that users experience when immersed in a VR environment are relevant factors that determine the performance expectations of consumers and their Sport VR usage intention.

This empirical study contributes to knowledge on consumer acceptance of a hedonic technology in a sport media context. Moreover, two factors extended the established UTAUT2 model.

New media has emerged as a significant dimension of branding and global sports sponsorship because it provides the capability to communicate with consumers worldwide via a multitude of digital platforms. This paper discusses the results of a systematic review of the development of global sports sponsorship and the importance of new media integration to the sector for the future. Results indicate that a new paradigm is emerging which involves thematically linked, integrated, strategic global marketing initiatives driven by new media applications, which have enhanced the value of sports sponsorship.

This paper seeks to examine the management of General Electric's (GE) Olympic sponsorship and provides insights related to the organizational and transformational leadership dynamics involved in the development, implementation and activation of the sponsorship, as well as the results of pull‐through marketing efforts and the sponsorship's impact on GE's global business practices, brand equity, and revenue.

The case‐study method was used due to the complexity and specificity of the topic, and the fact that only a discrete element of the sport sponsorship sector and a limited number of events and their relationships were addressed.

The primary objective of GE's The Olympic Partner (TOP) sponsorship was to enter the Chinese market and build brand equity across Asia. Using GE's proprietary WorkOut™ and Change Acceleration models, transformational leaders facilitated the development and implementation of a new integrated organizational structure that enabled GE to maximize branding opportunities in Asia, product/service pull‐through marketing opportunities, and return on objectives.

This paper demonstrates how GE has effectively modified the structure of its global sales unit, generated revenue, and increased brand recognition in emerging markets across Asia. GE's management of its TOP sponsorship represents an innovative model for Chief Financial Officers, Chief Marketing Officers, brand managers, and sport marketers considering a long‐term sponsorship investment.

The purpose of this article is to examine selected public policy and funding issues of six New York Metropolitan Area sport venues and to discuss their implications for the future of sport venue construction.

The design of this paper is a descriptive case study, which is appropriate when the question to be answered is how or why, when there is no necessary control of behavioral events, and when the study is focused on contemporary events. A systematic review of public documents and available research related to the recent development and funding of selected sport venues was conducted. In addition, a critical appraisal and financial analysis was performed on selected data collected from a variety of proprietary facility reports and public documents.

Based on a systematic examination of public documents and available research it was determined that a complex mix of local, regional, and state politics has impacted significantly the dynamics of professional sport venue development in the New York Metropolitan Area. It is also apparent that there has been a significant lack of transparency with respect to public policy. In addition, it appears that sport venue development in the entire US will experience a trend toward integration with retail, commercial, and residential real estate development that appears to be a result of political pressure and the need to rapidly recoup investment costs associated with sport venue construction.

Because this is a descriptive case study, the findings, etc., are limited to those specific venues and public policy issues that were selected for examination.

This case study should provide educators and practitioners with insight into the complexity of mission critical decisions that are involved in the development and funding of sport venues. It also should provide insight into the political process related to sport venue construction and the importance of transparency in communicating with the public.

This case study may provide educators and practitioners with insight into the relationship among public policy, venue financing, and selected social issues.

This case study provides original insight into the key elements of funding sport venues in the New York Metropolitan Area. It will provide educators and practitioners with a frame of reference for further examination of the development of sport venues worldwide.