Nearly 40 Percent of NCAA Tournament Viewers Will Watch Online; 22 Percent of Those Who Watch Will Do so at Work
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (PRWEB) March 22, 2019 -- As Americans increasingly turn to online devices to follow news and sports, a Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted this week reveals that 38 percent of those who will be watching the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament will do so either entirely or partially online.
The poll was asked of 606 adult Americans on both landlines and cellphones, with a margin of error of +/- 4.1%.
Of the men’s tournament, 38 percent of all Americans said they would be watching at least part of the coverage. Split by gender, 49 percent of men said they would be watching the tournament, and 29 percent of women said they would be watching.
Twenty-two percent of all respondents who will be watching also said they will watch the tournament while at work; among males that number rises to 29 percent.
Women’s Tournament
As for the Women’s Tournament, 24 percent of Americans said they would watch at least part of the coverage, with 29 percent of males saying they would, and 21 percent of females saying they would.
Pay
On a question of whether the players are paid for participation (they are not), only 5% said that would make the tournament more interesting, 17 percent said it would be less interesting, and 76 percent said it would make no difference.
“Even with lawsuits emerging and the subject being more frequently addressed, there is surprisingly little difference in this result than when we asked the question four years ago,” noted Rick Gentile, director of the Seton Hall Sports Poll, which is conducted by the Sharkey Institute within the Stillman School of Business. (In 2015, 7 percent said more interested, 14 percent said less, and 79 percent said no difference).
College Grads More Interested in Tournament?
On a question of whether college graduates have more interest in the men’s tournament than those who did not graduate college, 50 percent of graduates said they would be watching the tournament, with 35 percent of those who did not graduate college saying they would be watching it. For the women’s tournament, 27 percent of college graduates and 23 percent of non-graduates said they would be watching.
This release may be found online at http://blogs.shu.edu/sportspoll/2019/03/22/nearly-40-percent-of-ncaa-tournament-viewers-will-watch-online-twenty-two-percent-of-those-who-watch-will-do-so-at-work/
The Official Seton Hall Sports Poll podcast discussing this topic with Seth Everett and Rick Gentile can be found at https://itunes.apple.com/mt/podcast/seton-hall-sports-poll/id1053266467.
Further breakdown of poll below.
About the poll:
This poll was conducted by telephone March 18-20 among adults in the United States. The Seton Hall Sports Poll is conducted by the Sharkey Institute. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard landline and cell phones. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been conducted regularly since 2006.
Media: Media: Marty Appel, [email protected];
Michael Ricciardelli, Associate Director of Media Relations, Seton Hall, [email protected]
The results:
1. Do you plan to watch any part of the upcoming coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament?
Total Male Female
1 - Yes 38 49 29
2 - No 61 51 70
IF NO SKIP NEXT TWO QUESTIONS
2. Will you be watching tournament coverage just on TV, just online, or sometimes on TV and sometimes online (OF THOSE WATCHING)
Total Male Female
1 - Just TV 61 52 76
2 - Just online 5 7 2
3 - Sometimes TV and sometimes online 33 41 21
3. Will you watch any portion of the games while you are at work?
Total Male Female
1 - Yes 22 29 13
2 - No 77 71 88
4. Are you participating in any pools involving money for this year’s NCAA Tournament?
Total Male Female
1 - Yes 9 14 4
2 - No 90 85 96
5. If college players competing in the NCAA Tournament were paid a salary instead of receiving a scholarship would you be more interested in the event, less interested or would it make no difference?
Total Male Female
1 - More interested 5 7 3
2 - Less interested 17 17 17
3 - No difference 76 73 78
6. Do you plan to watch any part of the upcoming coverage of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament?
Total Male Female
1 - Yes 24 29 21
2 - No 73 70 76
7. How closely would you say you follow sports, very closely, closely, not closely or not at all?
Total Male Female
1 - Very closely 15 21 9
2 - Closely 28 29 28
3 - Not closely 33 31 36
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For more information, visit http://www.shu.edu.
Michael Ricciardelli, Seton Hall University, +1 (862) 520-9639, [email protected]
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