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26 May
2008 Are Athletes
Beyond Reproach? Sporting News
recently announced findings from its annual
research study of Sports
fans called "Fandemonium." The quantitative
study was fielded nationally among a panel of 1,500
male and female sports enthusiasts ranging in age
from 12-64. The study included a large battery of
attitudinal statements measuring how today's fans
think and feel about the current state of
sports. "Fandemonium"
takes a comprehensive look at today's sports fans
ranging from casual to the die-hard enthusiast. The
data was segmented by sports in the following
categories: attitudinal questions, sports loyalty,
product purchase power, media consumption and
perception of athletes. In addition, the study
measured the emotional and personal benefits fans
receive from sports and the number of weekly hours
male and female fans spend following sports on TV,
print and online. The study
revealed that the majority of fans - 62% of men and
63% of women - completely or mostly agree that
"more and more athletes today feel like they are
above the law." The study also showed that 67% of
men and 59% of women completely and mostly agree
that "athletes today seem to be willing to do
anything and everything to get an edge," and half -
52% of men and 49% of women - completely and mostly
agree that "athletes are less accessible and
approachable today than ever before." Despite these
numbers, fans are spending more time and money
watching sports. Fandemonium segmented respondents'
into light, medium or heavy sports enthusiasts
based on their consumption of sports media -
watching sport TV, reading sports magazines and
surfing sports web sites. Among males, light
enthusiasts represent 27% of the sports fan market
and on average spend 5.2 hours a week consuming
sports media, while heavy enthusiasts represent 29%
of the market and spend 32.4 hours a week with
sports media. Medium enthusiasts, at 44%, the
largest male sports fan segment, spend an average
of 14.8 hours a week with sports media. The comprehensive
study was divided into two waves. Wave One was
fielded in February 2008 and is a combination of
1,500 male and female sports fans. A second wave
will be fielded in August, exclusively among 750
men. "In fielding a
two-wave study this year, our goal was to
neutralize the interest fans have with seasonal
sports and any bias that may occur as a result of
topical news for a given period, such as the
congressional hearings on steroids usage a month or
two ago," said Stuart Marvin, Vice President of
Integrated Marketing & Sales for Sporting
News. "This year for
the first time we also incorporated the view of
female sports fans - this allowed us to get a
better understanding of the role of women in the
sports market place. "Fandemonium" is a tool that
can help people identify emotional touch points for
reaching and influencing today's sports
fans." Ed Baker,
Publisher of Sporting News noted, "With all the
controversy in sports today, it's not surprising to
see that the majority of sports fans - male and
female - believe there is a culture of cheating in
organised sports. According to our study it's
apparent that fans are spending more and more time
following their favorite teams and are extremely
dedicated to their favourite athletes." Where
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