Consumer Satisfaction with Television Viewing

Abstract

Based on theDisposition Theory of Entertainment (Zillmann,1996, 2000) this study examines people's consumption of entertainment within the context of increasingly popular reality television. We specifically focus on the ways in which affective disposition toward characters relates to desired outcomes, and, consequently, to overall emotional responses and evaluations. Through transcripts from Internet chat rooms for a reality television show, we found that viewers formed likingand disliking-relationships with different characters and watched the show to follow these characters. This was true when viewers disliked particular characters and wished bad outcomes for them. When bad outcomes did arise for disliked characters, consumers derived satisfaction and enjoyment from the viewing experience.