Sports Business Journal and Chicago-based sports marketing agency rEvolution commissioned a study among sports fans to gauge how COVID-19-related changes have affected several aspects of their fandom, including the appropriateness of sponsors’ game-day activations; athletes using sports as a platform to highlight social issues; changes to TV broadcasts; and rule changes to the games themselves. The 10-minute, mobile-enabled survey was conducted by Ipsos among 2,008 total sports fans from Oct. 5-12.
Sponsorships
More than two-thirds of fans believe it is acceptable for league/team sponsors to run game-day promotions both outside of and inside sports venues during the pandemic. However, a majority of fans say they would only be willing to participate in sponsor promotions that are touchless and can allow for social distancing. Fans of smaller niche sports are more receptive to game-day promotions than fans of major league sports.
Attitudes toward the role of sports in diversity and social justice issues
More than two-thirds of the fans surveyed prefer there not to be political protests or statements within sports, although about the same amount support the right of athletes to kneel or be absent during the national anthem and believe that sponsors should offer the same support.
Most fans don’t want to keep changes in their sports post-covid
COVID-19 didn’t just alter our sports calendars. In almost every case, it also changed how the games were played and the at-home viewing experience. League-specific fans were asked if they thought some of these changes should carry over into next season. For example, MLS and NASCAR fans who noticed the presence of recorded fan noises that were used during live telecasts were far more likely than fans of other leagues to approve of it.
NFL
Preseason games are often criticized for being low-quality due to the lack of playing time for starters and for ticket prices being the same as a regular-season game. However, less than half, 43%, of the 1,402 NFL fans in the study want to permanently drop them. And although only 21% of the fans paid attention to the league’s virtual draft, nearly half of them thought it should be repeated next season.
MLB
Roughly one-quarter to one-third of the 1,120 MLB fans in the study want to keep any of the changes introduced last season. Although 11% of the fans say they paid attention to the league’s virtual draft, more than half of them think it should be repeated next season.
NBA
Around one-quarter to one-third of the 1,016 NBA fans in the study want to keep any of the changes introduced last season. Awareness of new technologies and features within the broadcasts was limited to one-third of fans, at the most.
NHL
Almost half of the 886 NHL fans in the study want to keep the neutral playoff sites used this season, with only slightly fewer favoring keeping the expanded number of playoff spots. There is low awareness of the new technologies and features within the game broadcasts and little appetite for them to continue post-COVID.
NASCAR
Nearly half of the 787 NASCAR fans in the study want weekday races. In terms of new technology, about a quarter of them were aware of iRacing this season, with 58% saying that it should return next season.
MLS
Almost half of the 681 MLS fans in the study want to keep the later start to the season for next season and more than two-fifths want to keep the expanded five substitutes allowed.
