Canadians see Blue Jays World Series Victory as
Most Likely Outcome for Surging Team
One half (48%) of Canadians say they have no idea how far the Jays will make it this year, mirroring the 53% who say they're not baseball fans. But when looking at Canadians who have an opinion, 45% think they'll win the World Series (up from 14% who thought the same just after the trade deadline), while 23% think the Jays will win the American League Pennant, but lose in the World Series (up from 18%). Others believe they'll be eliminated in the American League Championship (9%, down from 13%), or in the Division Series (11%, down from 20%). Six percent (6%) believe the Jays will lose in the wildcard playoff (down from 17%) - while not mathematically impossible, it's highly improbable that they would even appear in the wildcard game given their trajectory to clinch the division. Six percent (6%) believe the Jays won't make the postseason this year (down from 18%), which is mathematically impossible having clinched a berth this past weekend while the poll was in field.
The poll also gauged the extent to which Canadians would describe themselves as a Blue Jays fan. A slim majority (53%) of Canadians says they are not a fan of baseball at all (although there may be some converts in the coming month!). One in ten (12%) Canadians claim that they're `a die-hard Blue Jays fan - win or lose'. One in ten (10%) admit that `given the success of the Blue Jays this year, I'm on the bandwagon'. Two in ten (21%) say they'll `watch a Jays game now and then' but that they're a casual fan at most. Four percent (4%) of Canadians say they're a fan of another baseball team, not the Blue Jays.
Postseason tickets have been hard to come by at the Rogers Centre, with demand easily surpassing supply as tickets have been selling out in short order. Jays fans and bandwagon riders were asked what they'd hypothetically be willing to pay per ticket to be in attendance at the Rogers Centre for some key postseason games:
- For the wildcard playoff (which is looking increasingly unlikely for the Blue Jays), fans willing to pay would spend an average of $101 to be in attendance.
- For game 5 (final game) of the Division Series, Blue Jays fans willing to pay would spend an average of $124 to be in attendance.
- For game 7 (final game) of the American League Championship Series, Blue Jays fans willing to pay would spend an average of $168 to be in attendance.
- For game 7 (final game) of the World Series, Blue Jays fans willing to pay would spend an average of $249 to be in attendance. In fact, 15% of fans would be willing to spend more than $400 to be at the game!
What do Blue Jays Fans Look Like?
Aside from being draped in Blue and making a lot of noise, Blue Jays fans are found across the country. However, the poll showed that some Canadians are more likely than others to be a die-hard fan:
- Those from Atlantic Canada (20%) and Ontario (19%) are most likely to call themselves die-hard fans, followed by those in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (12%), British Columbia (10%), Alberta (10%) and Quebec (3%).
- Two in ten (17%) men in Canada are die-hard fans, while 8% of women describe themselves this way.
- The Jays transcend generation: those aged 18 to 34 (12%) are just as likely as those aged 35 to 54 (12%) and 55+ (13%) to be a die-hard Blue Jays Fan.
- Interestingly, equal proportions of NDP (16%), Liberal (15%) and Conservatives (15%) voters are die-hard Blue Jays fans, suggesting that even though political lines are being drawn ahead of the General Election, they have no place in the ballpark!
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between September 25 to 28, 2015 on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,364 adults from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]
About Ipsos in Canada
Ipsos is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos' marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.
To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.
About Ipsos
Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry.
With offices in 86 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.
Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.
Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,669.5 ($2,218.4 million) in 2014.
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