Blacks, Latinos and Asians on average spent more time visiting sports sites on the computer and watching sports videos on the computer last year than the U.S. average, says a new Nielsen report.
Nielsen’s 2013 Year in Sports Media Report found that “television is not the only medium where sports consumption is on the rise. The average amount of time spent visiting sports sites and accessing sports content on mobile phones in April 2013 increased by double digits compared to 2012.”
It also showed a 10-year growth in sports programming from 35 billion available hours in 2003 to over 116 billion in 2013.
Sports consumption by Blacks, Latinos and Asians, however, fluctuated last year in the following three categories examined last year, according to the Nielsen report.
Visiting sports sites on a computer (hours:minutes)
• April 2013: U.S. (1:25); Blacks (2:12); Asians (1:47); Whites (1:19); Latinos (1:02)
• September 2013: U.S. (1:45); Asians (1:56); Whites (1:47); Blacks (1:45); Latinos (1:17)
Watching video on a sports site on a computer
• April 2013: U.S. (35 mins.); Blacks (46 mins.); Asians (43 mins.); Latinos (36 mins.)
• September 2013: U.S. (36 mins.); Asians (1:05); Blacks (47 mins.); Whites (33 mins.); Latinos (30 mins.)
Accessing sports content on a smart phone
April 2013: U.S. (1:08); Latinos (1:31); Whites (1:10); Asians (1:00); Blacks (44 mins.)
September 2013: U.S. (1:32); Latinos (1:45); Asians (1:42); Whites (1:35); Blacks (1:15)
Watching sports on TV
The Nielsen report also broke down fan viewing demographics by race/ethnicity. It found that other than the NBA, Whites watch pro and college sports more than Blacks and Latinos:
• NFL: Whites (77 percent); Blacks (15 percent); Latinos (8 percent)
• NBA: Blacks (45 percent); Whites (40 percent); Latinos (12 percent)
• MLB: Whites (83 percent); Blacks and Latinos (9 percent each)
• NHL: Whites (92 percent); Blacks (3 percent); Latinos (2 percent)
• Motor sports: Whites (94 percent); Blacks and Latinos (2 percent each)
• Golf: Whites (87 percent); Blacks (7 percent); Latinos (3 percent)
• Soccer: Whites (65 percent); Latinos (34 percent); Blacks (8 percent)
• Men’s college basketball: Whites (80 percent); Blacks (14 percent); Latinos (4 percent)
• College football: Whites (82 percent); Blacks (13 percent); Latinos (4 percent)
The Nielsen report shows their media and advertising clients that sports content today exists in “an increasingly fragmented media marketplace.” It also shows, depending on the media, where Blacks and other sports fans of color get their daily sports bread.
Good news, bad news
The Big Ten last week released its opponents breakdown for the 2015 league basketball season. With the addition of new members Maryland and Rutgers, the women and men teams will play an 18-game conference schedule — each will play five teams both home and away and eight teams once (four at home and four on the road).
Next season will be the first time since 2009-10 that the Big Ten women’s basketball teams will play 18 league games; these teams previously competed in 18-games slates from 1982-83 through the 1993-94 seasons.
As a result, the Gophers men next season will play Rutgers once at home and Maryland once on the road.
However, the Gophers women will play Rutgers once away, depriving home fans the chance of seeing C. Vivian Stringer, who currently is the winningest women’s basketball coach.
Gender-imbalanced coverage strikes again
While the whole world endlessly heard last week about LeBron James’ one-game ‘black mask’ performance, it overshadowed, however, the news that the WNBA and its players reached in principle a new collective bargaining agreement.
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.
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