Nearly one in four online American adults (23%) revealed that they will be using some form of social media to follow this year's NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, according to new research released this week from
IMRE Sports, a Maryland-based sports marketing agency, and conducted on their behalf by
Harris Interactive. The research showed that among those who plan to use social media to follow March Madness, 27% plan to utilize a mobile application to do so. The survey of 2,366 American adults was conducted online between February 24 and 28, 2011 by Harris Interactive. The research was spearheaded by the Maryland-based sports marketing agency, IMRE Sports.
"As more fans continue to engage in social media channels to view sports and follow their favorite teams and players, there are more opportunities for brands to share their messages with the very targeted demographic that lies within sports fans," said Kelly Nowlan, research director at IMRE Sports, in a release.
Here is the link to the
official NCAA March Madness on Demand information. The 2011 NCAA March Madness on Demand will be free to users across all platforms, including the full versions of the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch apps over Wi-fi and 3G.
Last year, Turner and CBSSports signed a 14-year agreement with the NCAA for Internet and wireless rights to the event. The $10.8 billion deal begins in 2011 and runs through 2024, and will bring every game live to four national networks. CBSSports.com and the NCAA begn March Madness on Demand in 2003 and have seen viewer numbers explode over the year
s.
Beginning this year, opening- , first- and second-round games will be shown nationally on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. CBS and Turner will split coverage of the regional semi-final games. CBS will provide coverage of the regional finals, as well as the Men's Final Four® including the National Championship Game, through 2015. Beginning in 2016, coverage of the regional finals will be split by CBS and Turner with the Final Four and the National Championship game alternating every year between the CBS Television Network and Turner's TBS.
NCAA March Madness on Demand, will continue to be launched from NCAA.com and CBSSports.com. Turner has also secured the rights for any Time Warner digital property. The player will be operated and developed by Turner and have enhanced digital rights allowing the NCAA to deliver content for multiple Turner and Time Warner platforms.
Additionally, those surveyed were asked how they followed college men's basketball during the regular season - see those answers as well below.
BALTIMORE, MD /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly one in four online American adults (23%) revealed that they will be using some form of social media to follow this year's men's NCAA Tournament, according to new research released today from IMRE Sports, and conducted on their behalf by Harris Interactive. The research showed that among those who plan to use social media to follow March Madness, 27% plan to utilize a mobile application to do so.
These are some of the results released of the survey of 2,366 American adults surveyed online between February 24 and 28, 2011 by Harris Interactive. The research was spearheaded by the Maryland-based sports marketing agency, IMRE Sports.
Social networking sites top resources to follow the games
The way Americans utilize resources to follow March Madness paints a unique picture of how brands can focus their spending as digital and social media options continue to rise in popularity.
Of the 23% of online Americans who plan to use social media to follow Mar
ch Madness, the research study revealed the following:
• 50% will use social networking sites
• 31% will specifically utilize YouTube
• 27% will utilize a mobile application
The research also revealed that those with higher household incomes ($75K+) and college graduates are more likely to be planning to use mobile applications and Twitter.
Checking scores atop reasons why fans plan to follow games via social media channels
The focus of why Americans plan to use social media to follow March Madness in 2011 reveals a variety of trends that brands can exploit via advertising.
Among the 23% of online Americans who plan to use social media to follo
w March Madness, the research study revealed the following statistics:
• 62% will use social media channels specifically to check the scores
• 44% will use them to watch the games
• 44% will use them to follow their favorite team/college
• 40% will use them to follow their own bracket/other gaming purposes
• 19% will utilize social media channels to follow their favorite player/coach
The research also shows that men will be more likely than women to use social media to follow March Madness, by a margin of 3 to 1 (32% men vs. 14% women).
Facebook is the most popular social media channel for men's college basketball fans throughout the season
March Madness aside, social media channels are very popular amongst men's college basketball fans year round. The survey revealed that roughly two in five online Americans (42%) follow men's college basketball throughout the year. Among those followers, the research also revealed statistics that might impact how brands spend money on college basketball next year.
Of the 42% who follow men's college basketball throughout the year, the study showed:
• 44% use social media tools to interact with the sport
• Facebook is the most popular way to follow/interact with the sport (25%), followed by Twitter (13%) and blogs (13%). 11% interact via online forums.
• Specifically, Facebook Pages (18%) and Twitter accounts (10%) hosted by sports or news networks are the most popular.
• Roughly one in 10 (13%) follow/interact with a team/college Facebook Page.
• 7% follow/interact with a player/coach Facebook Page.
"As more fans continue to engage in social media channels to view sports and follow their favorite teams and players, there are more opportunities for brands to share their messages with the very targeted demographic that lies within sports fans," said Kelly Nowlan, research director at IMRE Sports.
For more statistics and insight on the implications of this research, visit the IMRE Sports IQ blog at
www.IMRESportsIQ.com.
About the survey
This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of IMRE Sports from February 24 to 28, 2011 among 2,366 adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Kelly Nowlan at 410-821-8220 or kellyn@imre.com.