Scheduling slots and sports league objectives: an empirical analysis of the Australian football league

Abstract

We concentrate on the redistributional aspects of sports league decisions by analyzing the allocation of scheduling slots in the Australian Football League. We model and empirically test a number of team variables that we hypothesize are likely to influence the league’s allocation of scheduling slots to teams. We frame each of these variables in terms of its likelihood of contributing to either competitive balance or "infant industry" objectives versus its likelihood of contributing to increased gate attendance and television viewership (viz profit) objectives. We found no evidence that the league’s distributional choices were consistent with competitive balance-infant industry goals. Rather, our results suggest that the league is pursuing a policy of profit maximization.