There are two types of quality or talent that provide the bases of competition and hence enhance the demand by fans to watch or attend sporting events. Phil Miller has a terrific discussion. Here's a summary:
- Absolute quality. The better the players, the more fans want to watch them. To use Phil's example, people'd generally rather watch a Grand Slam tennis event than a high school championship because the players are better.
- Relative quality. Fans seem to prefer close games.