VAB: TV Sports Viewing 'Preferred' To In-Stadium, Arena

Touting higher results for home TV sports viewing versus live, in-stadium/arena viewing, video advertising association VAB says 72% of sports fans “prefer” sports viewing at home. which compares favorably to in-stadium/arena viewing at 19% and out-of-home locations at 8%.

Advertising with TV sports viewing also has better results than advertising associated with in-stadium/arena watching, the study finds.

VAB commissioned Dynata, a research company, to conduct a September 2019 online survey of 1,023 U.S. adults 18 years and older who identified themselves as casual, moderate or avid sports fans.

The study points to some key reasons: TV screens (73%) and off-field TV interviews/highlights (68%), as well as the watching other sports/events during natural sports breaks (85%).

Some barriers to live in-stadium/arena watching include higher ticket prices (among casual fans), at 84%; the time spent traveling to games, at 74%; less-than-viewable seating, at 68%; and difficulty in following sports action (for causal fans), at 52%.

Strong advertising metrics are associated with live TV sports viewing.

The study says that avid sports fans are 24% more likely to have visited a website for a product they saw advertised on TV compared to one seen within a stadium or arena, with 40% of sports fans more likely to have purchased a product advertised while watching sports on TV than a product or service seen advertised within a stadium or arena.

2 comments about "VAB: TV Sports Viewing 'Preferred' To In-Stadium, Arena".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, January 29, 2020 at 6:31 p.m.

    The advertising "metrics" part of this study, Wayne, are rather vague and very impressionistic. I would be more impressed if they took a sample of brands that advertise on TV sports as well as at the stadiums and showed specific results per visit and per telecast viewing.

  2. Scott Maxworthy from Ultimate Edge Communications, January 30, 2020 at 2:01 a.m.

    There is no doubt the at-home TV sports experience is getting better every year as technology and production quality improves (multi-camera 4K > 8K resolution, hi-fidelity sound etc) but smarter stadium owners are also upping the customer experience anti - bringing fans and their teams closer together.  The TV experience no matter how good it gets will never match the raw energy and emotion of a large crowd at a thrilling sports spectacle or concert.  The FOMO gets only stronger as scarcity increases.    

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