Communicative Appropriation of Digital Sports

In cooperation with the University of Agder in Norway and Manchester Metropolitan University in England, this tri-national research project is analysing the communicative characteristics of eSports using the example of the complete chat logs of the Counter-Strike tournament "BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023".

The focus is on analysing the interactions that take place between viewers and with regard to the (attempted) addressing of players or teams as well as casters, organisers and developers. In this context, on the one hand, dynamics in the identification, thematisation and evaluation of central game moments in communication are to be worked out. Furthermore, the focus is on self-revelation and identity-forming statements as well as documentation of competence and expertise on the part of the spectators and, in connection with this, the question of how fanhood and stardom are realised in writing and what they can be linked to.

The aim is to gain an understanding of the empathic feedback loops that unfold between the actors involved in the context of digitally enhanced live events in order to recognise communication occasions and needs with a view to constructing meaning, which will make it possible to develop mediation formats for the field and contribute to increasing the social recognition of electronic sports with the associated cultural and communicative practices.