Nearly 50% of Respondents use Internet to Check Sports Scores
BURLINGTON, Mass. – Burst Media, (www.BurstMedia.com), a leading provider of advertising representation, services and technology to independent Web Publishers, released the results of a survey focusing on the Internet’s impact on sports content. Administered earlier this month to over 2,200 adults 18 years and older, the survey compared the demand for sports content online versus TV. Although people turn the TV on to watch the actual game, the Internet tops the charts for both men and women (36.1% and 32.7% respectively) as their primary source to get sports news and information. The Internet is trailed by local TV programming (23.7%), national TV networks (15.1%), local newspaper (6.7%), national newspaper (3.6%), and sports radio (2.9%).
Among the key age segments, 18-24 years and 25-34 years, the Internet far outweighs both local and national TV coverage as the primary source of sports news and information. Not surprisingly, adults 55 years and over still turn to local TV news over the Internet.
Among all respondents sports content is in demand – regardless of which media is cited as their primary source. Nearly one-half (49.2%) of respondents use the Internet to check sports scores and 41.3% read sports-related news stories online. Interestingly, nearly as many women as men use the Internet to check sports scores (47.3% vs. 50.5%), read sports stories (39% vs. 42.8%) and visit professional team sports sites (25.2% vs. 26.2%). The Burst survey also found that despite all of the hype over online video services today, over one-half (55%) of all respondents indicated that they have never watched live streaming game coverage on the Internet.
“It’s abundantly clear that men and women of all ages are active consumers of sports content online,” said Chuck Moran, Chief Marketing Officer for Burst Media. “This provides marketers an opportunity to expand the reach of their campaigns targeted to sports enthusiasts by adding an online component. Also, by utilizing a multichannel strategy of combining internet and TV, advertisers can surround their target audience with coordinated messaging for greater impact.”
Particularly interesting to web content providers, the survey finds that although the Internet is the most popular media source for sports content, it is not perceived as the best source. Overall, national TV sports networks, such as ESPN, are viewed by respondents as the best place to get sports information and news. However, men believe national TV sports networks and Internet sports content sites deliver equivalent sports content (30.1% and 28.7% of men, respectively.)
About Burst Media
An online media and technology company founded in 1995, Burst Media (www.BurstMedia.com) is a leading provider of advertising representation, services and technology to independent Web Publishers. Burst Media enables advertisers to reach finely segmented, engaged consumers as they visit Burst’s extensive number of interest-based sub-channels. Through its Burst Network and Burst Direct units, the company represents one of the broadest and deepest offerings of interest-based websites online. Burst also markets its ad management platform, adConductor™, which empowers content websites, online ad networks, and web portals to manage the complete process of ad sales and service. Burst Media is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, with offices throughout the United States and in London, UK. For more information, visit www.BurstMedia.com or call 781.272.5544.
