A survey of 1,000 "sports followers" was conducted fromNovember 21-29 for BUSINESS WEEK by Louis Harris. The margin oferror is +/- 3.1% (BUSINESS WEEK, 12/19 issue).
| HOW HAS THE TIME SPENT WATCHING SPORTS ON TV CHANGED IN PAST FIVE YEARS? OR ATTENDANCE AT GAMES |
| Watching much more | 25% | | Attending much more | 10% |
| Watching somewhat more | 24 | Attending somewhat more | 16 |
| Watching somewhat less | 20 | Attending somewhat less | 17 |
| Watching much less | 15 | Attending much less | 33 |
| No difference | 14 | No difference | 21 |
| AGREE/DISAGREE WITH FOLLOWING? | AGREE | DISAGREE |
| Commercials clutter up the broadcast and annoy me | 70% | 29% |
| Athletes just sell endorsements to the highest bidder | 70% | 24% |
| A clever ad campaign enhances my enjoyment of sports on TV | 48% | 50% |
| An athlete's endorsement influences my purchase of the product | 25% | 74% |
| HOW MUCH HAVE YOU MISSED BASEBALL/HOCKEY WITH WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE EXPECTED BEFORE THE STRIKE/LOCKOUT? |
| BASEBALL | HOCKEY |
| Much more | 13% | 5% |
| Somewhat more | 15 | 8 |
| Somewhat less | 19 | 15 |
| Much less | 45 | 53 |
| Not sure | 8 | 19 |
| WHICH IS CLOSEST TO YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE STATE OF SPORTS IN THE WAKE OF THE BASEBALL AND HOCKEY SITUATIONS? |
| Both players and owners are equally money-hungry and don't care about the fans | 48% |
| Sports has become a big business, but it's just responding to the demands of the free market | 25% |
| Pro sports has been taken over by a small, elite group of profit-minded executives who don't care about fans | 13% |
| Pro sports is dominated by players who only care about money and don't care about the fans | 13% |
| IN LIGHT OF THE HOCKEY AND BASEBALL SITUATIONS, HOW WORRIED ARE YOU ABOUT THE FUTURE OF SPORTS IN AMERICA? |
| Very worried | 10% | | Not at all worried | 45% |
| Somewhat worried | 26% | Not sure | 0% |
| Not very worried | 19% | | |
| FAVORITE SPORTS: The NFL was tops with 25%. |
