TURNKEY Sports Poll

Turnkey Sports & Entertainment owns the Turnkey Sports Poll, the industry’s continuing survey of senior-level executives and owners which probes the hottest issues inside sports. The results of the poll appear weekly in the SportsBusiness Journal.

March 2009
MLB, "elite" sports, new stadiums, and current consumer trends.

In a recent interview, Scott Boras said that the driving force of ticket prices is demand for the tickets, not player salaries.  Do you agree?

  • No - Another element (player salaries, desire for higher profits, etc.) is the main driver of ticket prices - 56.20%
  • Yes - Demand is the main driver for ticket prices - 40.50%

No response/Not sure - 3.31%

Will you follow this year's World Baseball Classic?

  • No - 58.68%
  • Yes - All games - 16.12%
  • Yes - Only the US team's games - 11.57%
  • Yes - Only the finals - 11.16%

No response/Not sure - 2.48%

If you were CMO of a luxury brand looking for a niche sport to reach high-end demos, which of the following sports would you look to first?

  • Sailing - 29.05%
  • Horse jumping/equestrian - 13.69%
  • Polo - 11.62%
  • Le Mans road racing - 8.30%
  • Rowing - 2.49%
  • Cricket - 2.49%
  • Squash - 1.24%
  • Bocce - 0.41%
  • Fencing - 0.41%
  • Croquet - 0.00%
  • Other (Please specify) - 13.69%

No response/Not sure - 16.60%

Which stadium will finalize a naming rights deal first?

  • Cowboys - 50.62%
  • Giants/Jets - 36.93%

No response/Not sure - 12.45%

Which stadium will get the biggest naming rights deal (in terms of average dollar amount per year)?

  • Giants/Jets - 58.92%
  • Cowboys - 35.27%

No response/Not sure - 5.81%

Six months after the fact, which of the following brands got the biggest lift from their activation at the 2008 Beijing Olympics?

  • Coca-Cola - 24.27%
  • McDonald's - 15.48%
  • Visa - 18.41%
  • Lenovo - 3.77%
  • Samsung - 2.93%
  • GE - 2.51%
  • Omega - 0.84%
  • Kodak - 0.42%
  • Manulife/John Hancock - 0.42%
  • Johnson & Johnson - 0.00%
  • Panasonic - 0.00%

No response/Not sure - 30.96%

What sport/league does the best job marketing to Latinos?

  • MLS - 41.84%
  • MLB - 35.98%
  • NFL - 4.60%
  • NBA - 2.93%
  • NASCAR - 1.26%
  • NHRA - 0.84%
  • PGA - 0.42%
  • ATP - 0.00%
  • AVP - 0.00%
  • IRL - 0.00%
  • LPGA - 0.00%
  • NHL - 0.00%
  • WNBA - 0.00%
  • WTA - 0.00%
  • Other (Please specify) - 1.26%

No response/Not sure - 10.88%

Questions 8-14 were also asked to the Greenfield Omnibus, a representative sample of the US population.

(Some questions were slightly modified to ask Greenfield respondents about their opinions vs. asking the Turnkey Sports Poll respondents what they thought fans felt.  Questions in Black were the same for both types of respondents.  Questions in GREEN were asked to the Greenfield respondents.  Questions in RED were asked to the Turnkey Sports Poll.)

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement:

Banks, financial institutions, auto manufacturers and other companies that receive federal bailout money should NOT be spending money on sports marketing (for example, naming rights, sponsorships, suites, etc.).

 

General Population

Turnkey Sports Poll

Agree

81.55%

26.38%

Disagree

8.80%

73.20%

No response/Not sure

9.66%

0.43%

Does a sports sponsorship of their favorite team/athlete make FANS more likely to buy that sponsor's products?

If a company sponsors your favorite sports team/athlete, does that sponsorship make YOU more likely to buy that company’s products?

 

General Population

Turnkey Sports Poll

Yes

12.24%

85.53%

No

70.36%

12.77%

No response/Not sure

17.40%

1.70%

Do FANS know which companies sponsor their favorite sports team/event/athlete?

Do YOU know which companies sponsor your favorite sports team/event/athlete?

 

General Population

Turnkey Sports Poll

Yes

19.89%

83.83%

No

63.96%

15.32%

No response/Not sure

16.16%

0.85%

To grow its audience in the United States, what does professional tennis need MOST?

 

General Population

Turnkey Sports Poll

A dominant U.S. player (like Tiger Woods in golf)

22.66%

53.19%

More U.S.-based tournaments

11.85%

2.55%

More U.S. players winning

11.47%

19.57%

A rivalry between U.S. players

6.79%

22.55%

No response/Not sure

47.23%

2.13%

In the last year, how often do you think FANS have:

In the last year, how often have YOU:

Watched a live sporting event streamed to a computer.

 

General Population

 

Turnkey Sports Poll

Frequently

6.69%

 

13.19%

Occasionally

18.74%

 

74.47%

Never

68.26%

 

9.36%

No response/Not sure

6.31%

 

2.98%

Watched a live sporting event streamed to a mobile device.

 

General Population

 

Turnkey Sports Poll

Frequently

3.25%

 

0.85%

Occasionally

7.55%

 

39.15%

Never

83.17%

 

54.04%

No response/Not sure

6.02%

 

5.96%

When FANS watch sports on TV, how important do you think the on-air broadcasters/commentators are to THEM in deciding what to watch?

When YOU watch sports on TV, how important are the on-air broadcasters/commentators in deciding what you watch?

 

General Population

Turnkey Sports Poll

Extremely important

10.23%

8.51%

Somewhat important

31.84%

45.96%

Not important at all

46.46%

45.11%

No response/Not sure

11.47%

0.43%

In watching live sports events on TV, have you ever been so unhappy with the on-air play-by-play and color commentators that you: (check all that apply)

 

General Population

Turnkey Sports Poll

Muted the sound?

30.21%

56.17%

Changed the channel?

31.84%

49.36%

No response/Not sure

48.18%

22.55%

1.     Thinking about your own particular business, what best describes your confidence level regarding the next 12 months for your own business?

 

March 08

 

Jan 09

Feb 09

March 09

Optimistic (5, 6, or 7)

84.90%

 

54.37%

55.32%

55.75%

Neutral (4)

5.73%

 

12.82%

12.77%

11.06%

Pessimistic (1, 2, or 3)

8.33%

 

31.79%

31.49%

31.49%

No response/Not sure 

1.04%

 

1.03%

0.43%

1.70%

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