Third tier football: national or regional entertainment product?

When the German Football Association established the ‘3. Liga’ as third tier national football league, skeptics doubted that there was sufficient consumer interest and claimed that lower tier football was only of regional interest. Analyzing a unique dataset of 3. Liga free-to-air live telecasts, the current study provides evidence that the 3. Liga is primarily perceived as a regional rather than a national product. Matches are telecast by the regional public service broadcasters (PSBs) based on their regional relevance and affiliation. Consumption is primarily driven by coincidence and regional identification. Taken together, the evidence suggests that free TV-coverage of the 3. Liga serves to cater for niche audiences consuming regional PSBs and showing some interest in regional football. The rating figures seem to indicate a limited audience potential for lower tier football and raise relevant questions about the future of the 3. Liga as a media sport.