Young College Basketball Fans Clamor for Even More Enhancements to the Game Experience

New York, NY - A new poll conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs on behalf of Coke Zero shows that 75% of 530 college basketball fans aged 18-24 surveyed say that, in light of the various enhancements to the college basketball fan experience in the last decade, there could be even more advancements in the future.

When asked about the greatest enhancements to college basketball in the past ten years, those most often selected by fans surveyed relate to media advances allowing fans to better follow their favorite team and the sport in general:

• "It is now easier to follow my team, find stats and information online" (74%);
• "More college sports networks" (58%); and
• "Live streaming video of games" (53%).

The survey also shows that many young fans would be willing to travel a long distance to support their favorite college basketball team, and that having their favorite team beat a rival or win the national championship is more important than many things in their life:

• Over seven in ten college basketball fans (71%) report they would travel 100 miles or more to see their favorite team play; over one third (35%) say they would travel 300 miles or more.
• Half of college basketball fans (49%) would rather get the flu than have their team lose to its main rival (51%).
• Half would rather have their team beat their main rival (52%) than winning $100.
• Half would rather have their team win a national championship (53%) than get an `A' in a class as their final grade.
• Over half (53%) agree - including 27% who strongly agree - that they have missed class, work or other events to watch an important college basketball game.
• Over one in ten (14%) would rather lose their wallet than have their team lose to its main rival.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted December 9-10, 2009. For the full report of the survey, visit: http://www.ipsosna.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=4670. For this survey, a national sample of 530 college basketball fans aged 18-24 from Ipsos' partner online panel, e-Rewards, were interviewed online. Quotas were set to ensure that 70% of respondents were male and 30% female. College basketball fans are defined as respondents who report doing any of the following activities at least once a week:

• Watch at least part of a college basketball game on television;
• Listen to at least part of a college basketball game on the radio;
• Follow at least part of a college basketball game online; and/or
• Attend a college basketball game in person

A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 4.3 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire population of college basketball fans aged 18-24 (as defined in the study) in the United States had been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

Below is a summary of the other findings of the survey that are addressed in more detail in the full report:

• TV is the main channel by which college basketball fans follow the sport - 100% of interviewed fans follow at least one game a week on TV, 71% watch at least 3 games -; Internet follows, with 79% of fans following at least one game by online `play-by-play', and 73% via video streaming.
• When it comes to behaviors while watching a college basketball game, close to eight in ten fans (79%) report they send text messages to friends; close to three quarters (74%) report they check the scores of college basketball games other than the one they are watching, and half (50%) report to check their e-mail.
• College basketball fans not only follow the games of their favorite team (95%), but a large proportion also follow `good match-ups', regardless of the teams or the conference (85%), whatever game is on TV (61%), games involving rivals of their favorite team (58%), and games that impact the standings or rankings of their favorite team (56%).
• Four in ten college basketball fans (41%) consider to be `die-hard fans', or those who `love their team and live and die for it'; the remaining six in ten (59%) report to be "casual fans" or those who `like their team but would not cry if they lose'.
• Other than the Super Bowl (35%), college basketball fans would chose to attend the NCAA174 Final Four174 (24%) over the NBA Finals (16%), the World Series (12%), a BCS National Championship (9%) or the Stanley Cup finals (4%).
• Close to nine in ten fans (88%) report to have booed the referees after a bad call; half (50%) to have brought a sign or prop to a game; and four in ten to have used face or body paint for a game (41%) or stormed the court after a win (40%).
• One quarter (24%) of college basketball fans report to have camped out to get tickets for a college basketball game, including 43% of `"die-hard fans".
• When it comes to the most exciting type of player in college basketball; around one third of fans report 3-point specialists (39%) and high-fliers (33%) are the most exciting; followed by hustle players (21%) and shot blockers (7%).
• Close to nine in ten (87%) college basketball fans agree - including 69% who strongly agree - that the school campus of their favorite team would be the best place to be if their team won a national championship.
• Over half (53%) agree - including 27% who strongly agree - that they have missed class, work or other events to watch an important college basketball game.
• One third (33%) agree that if they are unable to watch a game either in person or on TV they feel it is more likely their team will lose.

For more information on this press release, please contact: Julio Franco Senior Research Manager Ipsos Public Affairs 646.313.6117 [email protected]

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