Factors Affecting the Sustained Market Position of TV Channels: Insights from Audience Preferences

Presently, in a rapidly changing environment, television (TV) channels—such as other profit-seeking institutions—should strive to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors to save their market shares and sustain themselves in the sector. This especially applies to local TV channels, which not only compete with other local TV channels, but also compete with international and online platforms at the same time. In North Cyprus, where the TV sector is very small and limited, TV channel owners try to generate profit out of a very small market. In this situation, it is important for them to create a good brand image in the minds of the audience, as well as good program quality, their end goal being to sustainably gain the preference of the audience. It is also important for local TV channels to increase their viewing times, leading to the sustainable behavior of the viewers. The present study aims to evaluate the hypothesized relationship between TV channels’ image and audience preferences, taking into account the mediation effect of program quality and the moderator effect of viewing frequencies. The scope of the study encompassed people living in North Cyprus who watch local TV channels, from whom a sample of 384 respondents was drawn. An online self-administered questionnaire was distributed in order to collect the data. The collected data were analyzed with the help of SPSS and AMOS 24. The results from the analysis showed that there was a positive relationship between the channel image and channel preferences of the audience, and that this relationship was mediated by TV program quality. On the other hand, viewing frequency was found to have no statistically significant moderation effect on the relationship between channel image and audience preferences.