Suspense and enjoyment in portuguese mediated sports

Abstract

This dissertation explores how spectators of the Portuguese national football team experience suspense and enjoyment during a UEFA Euro 2024 match, focusing on their live emotional reactions. By tracing the evolution of mediated sports, both in Portugal and internationally, the research emphasizes the significance of studying sports contests as mediated experiences, particularly through television. The primary objective was to investigate the interplay between affective dispositions, suspense, and enjoyment to better understand what drives spectators to engage with sports through media. A quantitative methodology was employed, analysing emotional responses from spectators of a specific match. Findings revealed that spectators derived significant enjoyment from their strong emotional attachment to the team. However, the anticipated relationship between suspense and enjoyment was not fully supported, largely due to the predictability of the match, which limited the level of suspense experienced. Despite this limitation, the research makes a substantial contribution to the relatively underresearched area of Portuguese mediated sports. It highlights the active role of spectators in shaping their own mediated sports experiences, driven by their emotional investment in contests, and underscores the need for further exploration of how different factors influence those experiences. Thus, the findings pave the way for future studies to deepen the understanding of spectatorship in the context of Portuguese mediated sports.

Date of Award	10 Feb 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Jessica Roberts (Supervisor)