SCC Blog

ESPN’s “Fandom” Survey

Readers of this blog probably know I often listen to Colin Cowherd’s show on ESPN radio during my a.m. commute.  Earlier this week I was tuned in when he reeled off some pretty intriguing numbers, courtesy of a survey the fine folks at ESPN take each year to gauge levels of “fandom” in an attempt to capture some valuable consumer information.  In the sports and entertainment business world, we call this market research.

Before we delve into some of the poll’s findings, let’s examine the term “fandom”.  What is fandom?  The classic definition, according to Wikipedia, is “a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest.”  Does that sum it up?  Probably not.  Fandom is a complex set of behavioral intricacies that cannot be defined in such an abbreviated context.  Wikipedia’s basic definition, however, can serve our purposes before examining the numbers behind ESPN’s “State of Sports 2007” survey. 

Here is a sampling of the poll results, according to Colin Cowherd on his show in a segment that aired on April 15th on ESPN radio…

* “Stick and ball sports have the highest fan bases but fan intensity measures show a much broader sports reach”

* “Sports fandom is at a record level and it is growing”

* More people enjoy sports than ever before (percentage-wise) but there is indication of a slow erosion indication among teenagers…Cowherd speculates this is due in part to the emergence of action sports

* 90% of male respondents claimed to be sports fans on some level

* Teenagers do not like sports as much as 20-30-40-50 year olds

* Golf, horse racing, tennis and baseball have the oldest fan base

* MMA, Pro wrestling, boxing, soccer have the youngest fan base

* Hunting, boxing and car sports have the most male dominated fan base

* Horse racing, WNBA, volleyball and women’s tennis have most female dominated fan viewers

* The average age of:  NFL fans (40), college football fans (41), NBA fans (38)

Most intense fans:

1) NFL
2) College football
3) NASCAR
4) MMA

10 most popular sports teams in America:

1) Dallas Cowboys
2) New York Yankees
3) Pittsburgh Steelers
4) Green Bay Packers
5) Indianapolis Colts
6) New England Patriots
7) Atlanta Braves Boston Red Sox
9) Los Angeles Lakers
10) Chicago Bears

10 most popular athletes in America:

1) Tiger Woods
2) Michael Jordan
3) Peyton Manning
4) Brett Favre
5) Derek Jeter
6) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7) Kobe Bryant Tom Brady
9) LeBron James
10) Jeff Gordon

Because I was curious about the accuracy of ESPN’s findings, I took the liberty of informally polling a few high school students to see if their responses were consistent of some of the survey results (I had a previously scheduled conference call with one of our member’s classes today and figured this might be a fun exercise).  SO, a big thank you to the students in Mrs. Hinkle’s class at Bellevue West High School in Nebraska!

As for the finding that “there is indication of a slow erosion indication among teenagers” and the speculation that this is due in part to the emergence of action sports, well, the class strongly disagreed.  In fact, 87.5% of the class disagreed.  When asked how many prefer action sports to mainstream sports like the NFL or NBA, not one student raised a hand.  In other words, 100% of the class suggested they prefer mainstream sports to action sports. 

Interestingly enough, an informal polling of whether they agreed with the top ten most popular American athletes yielded a response suggesting otherwise.  In fact, the first response was “Where is Shaun White”?  Several other students suggested Tony Hawk should be listed somewhere in that top ten.  Why is that significant?  White and Hawk or both superstars of the Action Sports world.  

As a side note, A-Rod’s absence from the list got mention from one student and the class seemed to agree that there were “too many” NASCAR athletes listed.  Many students also suggested that Jackie Robinson deserved mention in the top ten.  What about Beckham you ask?  We got a 50/50 split on that one.

In terms of whether a difference exists in levels of fan intensity and loyalty between teenagers and older generations of fans, one student (Mary) had this to say:  “I think older generations have more loyalty to an individual team or teams where younger generations tend to show more loyalty toward a sport with less interest in rooting for specific teams.” 

For what it’s worth, I thought this was an intriguing study.  I’m glad ESPN shared some of the results.  I also thought it made for an interesting classroom discussion.  Thanks again to the students at Bellevue West and Mrs. Hinkle for calling today.  It was fun!  Perhaps many other teachers who follow along with our blog can engage students in much the same way…give it a shot if you’ve got some time!  I’d be curious to see the results so don’t be afraid to share!

*** Questions for Classroom Discussion ***

1) What is market research?

2) Why is market research important to a sports/entertainment business?

3) What other types of information might ESPN have included as part of this survey?  Discuss your answers with the class.

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