Gymnastics, Figure Skating, Men’s Golf, High School Sports and Pro Boxing Rank High in Fan Interest
American consumers have typically shown unwavering support for the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, College Football and Basketball, NASCAR and the Olympics.
In fact, the latest study from Scarborough Sports Marketing shows over half (53 percent) of American adults are “Avid Fans” of one of these sports. When we eliminate these time-honored sports from the conversation, we are left with an intriguing list of fan favorites which include sports like Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Men’s Golf, High School Sports and Pro Boxing.* Scarborough Sports Marketing defines “Avid Fans” as consumers who are “very interested” and “Fans” as respondents who are “very, somewhat or a little interested” in a given sport.
American sports fans have been opening their minds and wallets to a host of diverse sports. Avid Fans of these sports are often characterized by distinct audience demographics. For instance, 73% of Avid Gymnastics Fans are female and 81% of Avid Figure Skating Fans are female. This is a unique demographic makeup since Avid Fans of sports like the Olympics, Women’s Tennis and the WNBA – classically “female friendly” sports – are only about 50% female. This notable demographic base helps explain findings such as: Gymnastics Fans are 53% more likely than all American adults to schedule a spa day, 30% more likely to visit a jewelry store and 33% more likely to visit a bridal store. Similarly, Figure Skating Fans are 28% more likely to visit a florist and 27% more likely to visit a dry cleaner. Read more
2011 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint: 10 Candidates, 4 Days, Millions of Online Votes
10th Annual Vote for Final Midsummer Classic Roster Spots Now Underway
American and National League All-Star Team managers Ron Washington and Bruce Bochy, in conjunction with Major League Baseball, have announced the candidates for the 2011 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint (#FinalVote), which is held exclusively on MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, and the individual Club Web sites.
Last week, MLB.com finished the voting for the 17 starting position players via the 2011 All-Star Game MLB.com Ballot Sponsored by Sprint in record-setting fashion with 357.5 million votes and 27.4 million ballots, setting the stage for a dramatic, four-day online voting for the two remaining All-Star roster spots among the following 10 players: Read more
MLB.com Sets New Standards: Records Include 142 Million Page Views on April 20
MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball, on April 20 drew the largest page view day in its history as fans visited 142.3 million pages. Overall during over the first 20 days of the season (March 31 – April 19), baseball fans have shattered traffic records at MLB.com and the 30 club sites, including daily averages of 7 million video streams delivered and 11.5 million visitors.
“We are gratified fans responded so favorably to the material changes we made this off-season across our web sites, mobile applications and live game products,” said Dinn Mann, Executive Vice President, Content, MLB.com. “As we do every season, we will continue to develop and deploy additional technology and content offerings to further daily fan engagement with the game.”
Among the traffic records established at MLB.com during the first days of the season (March 31 – April 19) include:
- Fans watched 7 million video streams per day during the season’s opening 20 days, including 1 million live video streams per day.
- MLB.com averaged 11.5 million visitors per day, representing an increase of 17 percent from 2010 (9.8 million), highlighted by its single-highest visited day ever in the month of April with 13 million visitors on Friday, April 8.
- MLB.com averaged 122 million page views per day, 48% higher than the comparable 2010 average, and reached 2 billion page views earlier than ever before.
- MLB.com’s mobile sites have totaled 992 million page views across all Internet-enabled devices, a 138% increase from the 2010 season’s first 20 days.
- At Bat 11, the #1 selling suite of mobile applications available on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android and BlackBerry, has been accessed 35 million times since Opening Day, a daily average of 1.75 million accesses and a 115 percent increase over the 2010 comparable time period.
MLB.TV has served one billion live video streams since its inception
As one of the largest subscription video offerings on the Internet, MLB.TV has served one billion live video streams since its inception, 25% of which were delivered in 2010 alone. The 2011 season packages for MLB.TV are on sale now at MLB.com, the official Web site of Major League Baseball.
“Fans have continued to demonstrate, in record numbers, their desire to consume live baseball in the most convenient ways possible,” said Noah Garden, Executive Vice President, Revenue, MLB.com. “We remain committed to expanding MLB.TV for our subscribers by leveraging emerging technological platforms and partnerships that deliver a rich experience.”
In 2011, fans will be able to follow every game wherever they are with MLB.TV support across a variety of mobile and connected platforms, including iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android devices through the top-selling MLB.com At Bat apps for each and Sony PS3 and other connected devices. Additional platform offerings for MLB.TV live streaming will be announced as they become available.
Along with portability, this year’s product offers subscribers a host of cutting-edge features in the award-winning MLB.TV media player, delivering a dynamic live viewing experience for every out-of-market regular season game. Those include:
- HD Quality Picture – Speed detection technology delivers live high definition video at the industry standard of 720p on any size monitor.
- Home and Away Feeds – Watch either the home or away teams’ broadcasts.
- Alternate Audio Options – Overlay the home or away teams’ radio broadcasts over the live video or use the “Park” option to include the ballpark’s natural sounds.
- Live Game DVR Functionality – Pause and rewind or fast-forward live games.
- Clickable Linescores – Go directly to any at-bat or half-inning of a game.
- Multi-Game Viewing Options – Watch up to four games simultaneously.
- Picture-in-Picture – Choose one game and track another or watch in-game highlights simultaneously in a secondary window.
- Live Game Highlights – Real-time highlights and player stats automatically load into the media player. With one click, the clip instantly launches in a picture-in-picture window.
- Player Tracker – Customize a list to feature entire fantasy rosters and receive on-deck notifications to watch live at-bat look-ins for each player.
- Spring Training – Watch about 150 live games from Florida and Arizona.
Atlanta Braves Pitcher Tim Hudson Named Hutch Award Winner
Major League Baseball’s Tim Hudson, starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, will receive the 46th annual Hutch Award®. The award is given each year to a Major League Baseball player who best exemplifies the honor, courage and dedication of baseball great Fred Hutchinson, both on and off the field.
The 35-year-old native of Columbus, Ga., made his major league debut with the Oakland Athletics in 1999. Since joining the Braves just prior to the 2005 season, Hudson has become a staple in the team’s pitching rotation. In 2008 Hudson underwent an extensive reconstructive surgery on his right elbow, but he returned to become more dominant than ever during the 2010 season, earning his third All-Star selection.
Hudson said he is honored to win the Hutch Award and anticipates his upcoming visit to Seattle and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, founded by Fred’s brother Bill, a prominent Seattle surgeon, after Fred died of cancer at age 45.
“My wife Kim and I have seen firsthand the devastation that a cancer diagnosis can have on a family,” Hudson said. “We intend to do all that we can to help to find a cure.” Read more