ONE World Sports Study Reveals Broad Interest in Global Sports Television Programming Across the U.S.

ONE World Sports and Frank N. Magid Associates have released a new research study that reveals a surprisingly broad interest in global sports television programming across the U.S. and among a number of demographic segments that together comprise a majority of the population. Based on a nationally projectable survey of 2,800 U.S. consumers, aged 18 to 70, the Magid study uncovers that almost five out of 10 consumers express interest in both global TV sports and ONE World Sports, with significant over-indexing among the “millennial” 18-34 adult age group and also among non-Whites, segments that many multi-channel programming distributors are focused on attracting and retaining.

The study’s overall findings highlight that today’s strong and growing global perspective carries over to sports. Nearly half of the total sample expressed interest in watching sporting events from other parts of the world, with 60% of 18- to 34-year-olds showing interest in international sports.

The study also reveals a robust interest in ONE World Sports, and the specific sporting events and leagues that the network covers, especially among millennial sports fans. Additionally, the strong appeal for the network is evident among all non-white groups, representing one-third of the U.S. population, making the channel truly a millennial and multicultural draw.

“We gained new insights about the sports TV market through ONE World Sports’ custom study which underscores how the global shift in consumer expectations has taken place in the sports television market,” explains Jill Rosengard Hill, senior vice president of Frank N. Magid Associates. “With the millennial generation, we’ve discovered that this culturally diverse group is very interested in everything global, and ONE World Sports resonates perfectly with this 18-34 year old age group. We also know that this is the most vulnerable segment to downgrades and disconnects, underscoring the important retention attribute of ONE World Sports”.

Among other findings from the study:

• 56% of all 18- to 34-year-olds, 55% of African Americans, 50% of Asian Americans and 49% of Hispanics who subscribe to pay-TV want to watch ONE World Sports.
• 70% of those identifying themselves as global sports fans express interest in watching at least one of the network’s programs.
• The appeal of ONE World Sports is evenly spread across the country with no geographic region over indexing in the interest to watch the network.
• Americans who travel overseas (a market that expanded dramatically in the past decade) are more likely to be interested in ONE World Sports.

“Today’s consumers, especially young adults, expect sports programming to address their lifestyles,” says Alexander “Sandy” Brown, president and CEO of ONE World Sports. “This study shows how ONE World Sports’ exclusive global content directly targets the 21st century consumers’ interests, making the network an essential ingredient for video programming platforms to appeal to young adults.”

The study also indicates that ONE World Sports can play a key role in helping distributors acquire and retain pay-TV subscribers. More than one-half of current subscribers to a sports package indicate that the inclusion of ONE World Sports would make them less likely to cancel their sports tier subscription. On the acquisition side, more than one-third of pay-TV subscribers reported that they would be more apt to switch to a competitor that offers ONE World Sports.

“The key message for programming distributors is that ONE World Sports will certainly help them both acquire and retain subscribers,” Brown notes.