The Emerging Social Media Water Cooler? Motivations for Reddit Use in a Niche League

Social media play a key role in sport marketing—with athletes, teams, and leagues directly engaging with their audiences. While Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have received much attention in the sport marketing and communication literature, research on Reddit is scant. This is particularly noteworthy, as the platform is growing rapidly and promises utility for users with nonmainstream interests to find and engage with each other. This study employs a uses and gratifications approach to investigate how prevalent Reddit use is among fans of the United Football League (UFL), what motivates users to engage with the platform, and whether Reddit use leads to increased team identification. Findings indicate a high rate of Reddit use among sports fans, driven by a combination of six distinct motivations, leading to increased identification with their favorite team.