A new study, involving an online sample of 4,612 males,
was commissioned by ESPN.com and conducted by marketing
investment strategy group Copernicus over the last three
months in an effort to gauge Internet use by "wired young
men." The study defined wired young men as those aged 18-34
who access the Internet for personal reasons several times a
month or more. The study shows that 19.5 million men in
that category now regularly turn to the Internet as a medium
for personal use. Wired young men who regularly access the
Internet spend 32% of their total media consumption, or 12.2
hours per week, online, compared to 12.1 hours watching TV,
9.9 hours listening to radio, 2.1 hours reading magazines
and 2.0 reading newspapers. Sports is the number one reason
(57%) wired young men access the Internet, ahead of music
(49%) and product research (47%) (ESPN.com). The HOLLYWOOD
REPORTER's Matthew Doman writes that the survey was "the
first to specifically target online habits of young males."
Of the 19.5 million regular Internet users in the target
demo, the study defined 11.7 million as "SportsCentered" --
those who visited sports Web sites "several times a month or
more -- and concluded that these men were more affluent,
more active and more likely to make e-commerce purchases
than young men less interested in sports." The survey found
sports fans in the survey group had mean household income of
$64,000 -- compared to $58,000 for men who were "less
enthusiastic" about sports -- and 78% had made an online
purchase in the last six months (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 10/24).
CHIMING IN: AD AGE reports that ESPN.com announced it
would launch Page 2, an "offbeat sports commentary of its
site" on November 6. Page 2 will host contributions from
ESPN reporters and analysts, as well as other writers and
celebrities (AD AGE, 10/24). In S.F., Tommy Cummings calls
ESPN.com's Page 2 an "interesting content deal," as the site
has enlisted contributions from journalist Hunter S.
Thompson and novelist Richard Ben Cramer. ESPN.com Exec
Editor John Walsh, who was a colleague of Thompson's at
Rolling Stone in the '70s, said, "He'll probably express his
viewpoints a little bit different than you'll see anywhere
else. He's a sportswriter from way back when, so I think
he's looking forward to it" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 10/24).
