Although traditionally the preserve of the great outdoors, Sport is now becoming a huge force to be reckoned with in the online domain. Sport and sports related content is now hugely popular within the online community, and interestingly, not just (as stereotypes would have us believe) for men.

Nearly as many women as men use the Internet to check sports scores (47.3% vs. 50.5%), and to read sports stories (39% vs. 42.8%).

A recent study by Burst Media highlights the popularity and huge marketing potential that lies in Sports associated content. Perhaps the most startling of figures being that nearly 50% of all respondents use the Internet to check on sports scores. In addition to this finding, it became apparent that users were interested not only in online sports content but also the associated sponsors. This provides marketers with a growing and captivated audience of sports fans to target through the multiple and ever evolving online channels, and with the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Olympics,  there has never been a more appropriate time for organisations to capitalise on this engaged and loyal sports fan market.

Consumption of Sports Content – A Global Overview  (October 14th 2009)

• Time spent on sports sites globally has increased by 25% year-over-year.
• Asia Pacific region represents a third of the global sports content audience.
• Sports sites reach 46% of the North American online population.
• Sports category audiences growing even in developed online markets – 22% annual growth in Europe.
• Consumers of sports content are engaged for 6% longer year-over-year.
• Developing online markets have younger consumers of sports content.
• Males account for

Consumption of Sports Content – UK vs. US (September 30th 2009)

• The percentage of total Internet users that visit sports sites are similar in the US and UK, but the number of visits to sports sites in America make up a smaller percentage of all website visits.
• Additionally, the average time spent per visit on sports sites is longer in the US (approximately 8 minutes), while the average UK visit was about 6 minutes.
• The two markets have different age compositions, with 25-54 year olds over-represented in the UK market.
• 62% of the audience sports content audience in the UK is male, compared to 57% in the US.

Sporting Events Audiences Correlates with Sponsors (October 14th 2009)

• Wimbledon.org: A core demographic of wealthy 25-34 year olds, with visitors more than 4 times as likely to also visit Rolex.com (index = 423).
• UEFA.com: A relatively older audience who are over four times more likely than the average online European to visit Mastercard.com (index = 425).
• FIFA.com: Twice the representation of 15-24 year olds than the average Internet site, and an affinity with Adidas-Solomon sites at more than eight times the global average (index = 840).

"It’s abundantly clear that men and women of all ages are active consumers of sports content online,” said Chuck Moran, Chief Marketing Officer for Burst Media. “This provides marketers an opportunity to expand the reach of their campaigns targeted to sports enthusiasts by adding an online component. Also, by utilising a multichannel strategy of combining internet and TV, advertisers can surround their target audience with coordinated messaging for greater impact.”

Also check out:

• Friday Fact Box - Online Education
• Friday Fact Box - Online Tourism