Exploring the Impact of Virtual Anchor Features and Live Content on Viewers' Willingness to Pay for “Superchat” in Live Entertainment Scenarios

Abstract

With the Internet, the Virtual anchor industry has flourished, gaining a wide fan base and creating eye-catching economic benefits. The new form of reward “Superchat”, which is born with the development of Virtual anchors, has not been studied yet. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the influence of the features of Virtual anchors and live content on viewers' willingness to pay for Superchat in the live entertainment scene. The results showed that: (1) Virtual anchor features are significant, and viewers' willingness to pay for Superchat is strong, and different features will have different effects on willingness. (2) Viewers' perceived recognition and internalization mechanisms mediate the process from virtual anchor features to the willingness to pay for Superchat. Different features correspond to different mechanisms to influence the willingness to pay for Superchat. (3) The type of live content will have a moderating effect on the mechanism of viewers' perception. (4) In summary, in the hedonistic live broadcast, the attractiveness, technical capability and character property of the virtual anchor influence the willingness to pay for Superchat through the mediating effect of the recognition mechanism; in the utilitarian live broadcast, the professionalism of the virtual anchor influence the willingness to pay for Superchat through the mediating effect of the internalization mechanism.