Published November 26, 2007
This is the third annual SportsBusiness Daily/SportsBusiness Journal reader survey, and we have again asked to hear from you about what you like, and about what you don’t like, in the industry. More than 2,300 voters took part this year, up more than 10% from last year and more than 50% from two years ago.
WHAT YOU SAID: Clearly, you see challenges. The percentage of voters who said the sports industry, in general, is headed in the right direction went down from '06. Further, when we asked you to identify the biggest threat to sports, your responses were wide-ranging, with each of five areas drawing more than 10% of the vote. There also, however, are sustained successes. Several past winners become three-time picks this year. Robert Kraft (most effective NFL owner), LeBron James (most marketable NBA player) and Al Michaels (favorite TV play-by-play personality) are among those honorees. We have some first-time winners, including Roger Goodell as the most effective commissioner and Kirk Herbstreit as the favorite TV game broadcast analyst. We also have some new categories. Questions about YouTube, concessionaires and college conferences were among the new questions posed to you this year.
METHODOLOGY: Voting was conducted between September 24 and October 14, with polling via SportsBusinessDaily.com and SportsBusinessJournal.com. Only the top vote-getters are listed, and the results have been rounded. Our thanks here to Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, who again this year provided the technical and surveying support to make this effort possible. Of course, we also thank you. Whether you’re a first-time voter or a third-time voter, these are your results, which you will see in THE DAILY over the next five days. Today, we present data on the general state of the industry, as well as on media and sponsorship.
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ABOUT THE INDUSTRY
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| Do you think the sports industry, in general, is on the right track or is it headed in the wrong direction? |
| |
2007
|
2006
|
2005
|
| Right track |
79.0%
|
81.7%
|
76.1%
|
| Wrong direction |
21.0%
|
18.3%
|
23.9%
|
| Responses |
2,331
|
2,115
|
1,549
|
|
| What is the biggest threat to sports? |
| Disconnect with fan base |
26.1% |
| Integrity of the game |
21.0% |
| Players’ poor off-field conduct |
15.1% |
| Rising ticket prices |
12.2% |
| Inflated salaries |
11.4% |
| Use of drugs |
6.0% |
| Other |
5.0% |
| Losing competitive balance |
3.2% |
| Responses: 2,336 |
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ABOUT THE VOTERS
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Residence:
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| New York |
18.10%
|
| California |
10.10%
|
| Florida |
6.00%
|
| North Carolina |
5.60%
|
| Illinois |
5.30%
|
| Other U.S. states |
48.00%
|
|
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Age:
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| Under 20 |
3.50%
|
| 21-30 |
36.10%
|
| 31-40 |
33.30%
|
| 41-50 |
18.70%
|
| 51-60 |
6.80%
|
| 60 and above |
1.70%
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MEDIA
| From the sidelines |
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 BACK ON TOP: In 2005, George Bodenheimer was picked as the most effective TV network sports exec, with Dick Ebersol finishing second. Last year, they flip-flopped, with Ebersol being voted No. 1 and Bodenheimer finishing No. 2. Flip-flop again this year: Bodenheimer back as No. 1, Ebersol No. 2.
CLOSE PLAY: Al Michaels was voted favorite TV play-by-play personality for the third straight year, and this year’s top five matched last year’s top five. Michaels’ win over Joe Buck came by a mere six votes out of more than 2,000 cast.
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 |
 |
| |
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| Most effective TV network sports executive: |
| George Bodenheimer (ABC/ESPN) |
55.8%
|
| Dick Ebersol (NBC) |
15.9%
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| David Hill (Fox) |
13.4%
|
| Sean McManus (CBS) |
8.1%
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| Responses: 2,121 |
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Favorite TV play-by-play personality:
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| Al Michaels (NBC) |
15.3%
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| Joe Buck (Fox) |
15.0%
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| Jim Nantz (CBS) |
10.1%
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| Mike Tirico (ABC/ESPN) |
7.6%
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| Marv Albert (Turner) |
5.7%
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| Responses: 2,091 |
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WORLDWIDE LEADER: ABC/ESPN, for the third straight year, was the runaway winner in voting for both most effective overall sports division and network with the more effective sports PR department.
|
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| Most effective overall sports division: |
| ABC/ESPN |
70.9%
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| Fox |
13.2%
|
| CBS |
6.9%
|
| NBC |
5.3%
|
| Turner |
1.5%
|
| Versus |
1.2%
|
| Responses: 2,144 |
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| Network with the most effective sports PR division: |
| ABC/ESPN |
62.6%
|
| Fox |
16.5%
|
| NBC |
8.3%
|
| CBS |
7.0%
|
| Turner |
1.7%
|
| Versus |
1.3%
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| Responses: 2,061 |
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CAPTAIN KIRK: On Saturdays in the fall, Kirk Herbstreit has gone from the set of ESPN’s on-campus “GameDay” show to the broadcast booth for ABC’s prime-time game coverage. Now, he’s gone past two-time winner John Madden to finish atop the voting for favorite TV game broadcast analyst.
AFTER FOOTBALL: John McEnroe finished seventh in voting for favorite TV game broadcast analyst. With 4.6% of the total vote, McEnroe received more votes than any other nonfootball game analyst.
BOOM!: Chris Berman topped Bob Costas in voting for favorite studio show host after finishing second to Costas each of the past two years.
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 |
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| Favorite TV game broadcast analyst: |
| Kirk Herbstreit (ABC/ESPN) |
12.2%
|
| John Madden (NBC) |
10.9%
|
| Troy Aikman (Fox) |
9.2%
|
| Ron Jaworski (ABC/ESPN) |
5.5%
|
| Phil Simms (CBS) |
5.3%
|
| Responses: 2,055 |
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| Favorite studio show host: |
| Chris Berman (ABC/ESPN) |
21.4%
|
| Bob Costas (NBC/HBO) |
20.8%
|
| Chris Fowler (ABC/ESPN) |
11.5%
|
| James Brown (CBS) |
10.7%
|
| Ernie Johnson (Turner) |
5.6%
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| Responses: 2,041 |
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 |
| Favorite studio show (anthology): |
| Pardon the Interruption (ESPN) |
37.9%
|
| Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO) |
12.9%
|
| Outside the Lines (ESPN) |
11.7%
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| Best Damn Sports Show Period (FSN) |
9.2%
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| Responses: 1,992 |
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| Favorite studio show (game-related): |
| College GameDay (ESPN, Football) |
34.2%
|
| Baseball Tonight (ESPN) |
21.6%
|
| Fox NFL Sunday (Fox) |
13.5%
|
| Sunday NFL Countdown (ESPN) |
9.7%
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| The NFL Today (CBS) |
7.4%
|
| Football Night in America (NBC) |
3.8%
|
| Monday Night Countdown (ESPN) |
3.7%
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| Responses: 2,012 |
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BIG BARK: Four of the top five, and eight of the top nine, vote-getters for favorite non-NFL studio show analyst work for ABC/ESPN. The one exception was the top vote-getter: NBA analyst Charles Barkley, of Turner.
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| Favorite studio show analyst: NFL |
| Terry Bradshaw (Fox) |
13.1%
|
| Cris Collinsworth (NBC/HBO) |
9.8%
|
| Tom Jackson (ABC/ESPN) |
9.3%
|
| Howie Long (Fox) |
8.7%
|
| Steve Young (ABC/ESPN) |
5.6%
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| Responses: 1,997 |
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| Favorite studio show analyst: Non-NFL |
| Charles Barkley (Turner) |
25.8% |
| Peter Gammons (ABC/ESPN) |
15.3% |
| Kirk Herbstreit (ABC/ESPN) |
15.3% |
| Michael Wilbon (ABC/ESPN) |
7.5% |
| Lee Corso (ABC/ESPN) |
5.9% |
| Responses: 2,003 |
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| Favorite sports magazine: |
| Sports Illustrated |
50.7%
|
| ESPN The Magazine |
19.5%
|
| Sporting News |
6.3%
|
| Responses: 2,094 |
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| Favorite league Web site: |
| MLB.com |
32.1%
|
| NFL.com |
23.4%
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| NBA.com |
8.4%
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| NHL.com |
8.3%
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| MLSnet.com |
6.7%
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| NASCAR.com |
6.2%
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| PGATour.com |
5.8%
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| Responses: 2,060 |
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MAKING WAVES: ESPN.com got the nod as favorite non-league Web site for the third straight year. Newly rebranded CBSSports.com moved up to No. 2 from a No. 4 finish last year.
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ESPN.com was a clear winner.
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MLB's digital strategy has a big lead among the major sports properties.
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| Favorite non-league sports Web site: |
| ESPN.com |
59.9%
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| CBSSports.com |
10.3%
|
| Yahoo! Sports |
7.7%
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| SI.com |
7.1%
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| FoxSports.com |
6.4%
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| Responses: 2,040 |
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| League/property with the best overall digital strategy: |
| MLB |
34.0%
|
| NFL |
20.4%
|
| NBA |
7.8%
|
| NASCAR |
7.4%
|
| NHL |
6.9%
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| Response: 1,973 |
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| ‘YOU’ DON’T SAY?: Four of five voters characterized YouTube as a “friend” rather than a “foe” for networks and sports properties, with more than half of all voters also picking the Google-owned entity as their most desired digital partner. |
| Digital partner you’d most like to have: |
| YouTube/Google |
52.0%
|
| FaceBook |
11.2%
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| MLB Advanced Media |
10.8%
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| Yahoo! |
10.6%
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| MySpace/Fox Interactive Media |
9.6%
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| Responses: 2,046 |
|
 |
| YouTube: Friend or foe for networks and sports properties? |
| Friend |
79.90%
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| Foe |
20.10%
|
| Responses: 2,071 |
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SPONSORSHIP
| From the sidelines |
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STILL NO. 1: Nike repeated as most desired corporate sponsor, having also topped A-B last year (19.4% to 16.6%). Coca-Cola repeated in the No. 3 slot (13.8% last year).
SLOWING ENGINE?: NASCAR got the nod for the third straight year for athletes with the best reputation with sponsors, but its percentage of the vote received has fallen from 36% in 2005 to 33% last year to 30% this year.
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The swoosh continues to get high marks.
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NASCAR drivers such as Jimmie Johnson are seen as wise investments for sponsors.
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| Corporate sponsor you most want aligned with your property: |
| Nike |
16.7%
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| Anheuser-Busch |
14.5%
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| Coca-Cola |
10.5%
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| Apple |
5.4%
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| American Express |
5.3%
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| Responses: 1,822 |
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| Property whose athletes have the best reputation with sponsors: |
| NASCAR |
30.40%
|
| PGA Tour |
18.00%
|
| NFL |
9.90%
|
| NHL |
7.90%
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| MLB |
6.40%
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| Responses: 1,825 |
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| GETTING SACKED?: While the NBA again got the most votes for athletes with whom sponsors are most reluctant to deal, the NFL continued to draw more votes in this area, moving up to No. 2 from No. 3 last year (7.0%) and from No. 4 in 2005 (5.4%). |
Few gains are expected in sponsorship spending.
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| How sports sponsorship spending will change over the next five years: |
| Increase slightly |
58.4%
|
| Not much change |
16.6%
|
| Increase dramatically |
15.6%
|
| Decrease slightly |
8.5%
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| Decrease dramatically |
0.9%
|
| Responses: 1,802 |
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| Property whose athletes sponsors are most reluctant to deal with: |
| NBA |
40.1%
|
| NFL |
15.9%
|
| MLB |
8.1%
|
| UFC |
5.6%
|
| NHL |
4.2%
|
| Responses: 1,759 |
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