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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wired Young Men Spend As Much Time Online As Watching Television, According
to A Landmark Study From Copernicus
Study Confirms Growth of Internet Usage Among Key Male
Demo
October
25, 2000,
Newton,
MA
According
to results of a landmark study conducted by Copernicus Marketing Consulting
and Research and commissioned by ESPN.com, wired young men actually spend
as much time online as they do watching television, and accessing sports
information is the most popular reason young men use the Internet, followed
by music and product research. These findings, and others from the survey,
provide perhaps the most telling sign yet of the significant growth of
Internet usage among the highly coveted young male demographic.
The study defined "wired young men" as those 18-34 year old
males who access the Internet for personal reasons several times a month
or more. ESPN.com is part of Walt Disney Internet Group (NYSE:DIG).
According to this study, 19.5 million men 18-34 now regularly turn to
the Internet as a medium for personal use. "SportsCentered"
young men, defined as those men who use sports sites several times a month
or more, represent approximately 11.7 million of this prime, young male
audience. The study revealed that these "SportsCentered" young
men consumed even more media than the average wire young male, and exhibited
striking patterns of Internet use and demographics compared to non-sports
site visitors.
"These findings confirm what has been assumed for quite some time:
Internet sports sites offer a viable platform by which marketers can reach
a very lucrative demographic, " said Robert Shulman, cofounder, Copernicus.
"This information should prove invaluable to media buyers seeking
new ways to reach young, active, affluent males."
Among the study's findings:
--Of the 32.2 million US men 18-34, 68 percent (almost 22 million) have
access to the Internet and over 60 percent (19.5 million) use the Internet
at least several times a month for personal reasons.
--Men 18-34 who regularly access the Internet spend 32 percent of their
total media consumption, or 12.2 hours per week, online, compared to 12.1
hours watching television, 9.9 hours listening to radio, 2.1 hours reading
magazines and 2.0 reading newspapers.
--Sports is the number one reason (57 percent) men 18-34 access the Internet,
outranking music (49 percent) and product research (47 percent).
--21 percent of young men 18-34 begin their Web sessions with a visit
to a sports site, compared to 12 percent of young men who log on to news
and search sites initially.
--"SportsCentereds" are affluent,a active, and more apt to purchase
online; their mean HH income is $64,000 and 78 percent have purchased
products online in the past six months, averaging one purchase per month.
--Although television was the preferred medium for sports, some 21 percent
of "SportsCentereds" would choose sports sites if they were
given only one medium to follow sports.
The study, conducted over the past three months, involved an online sample
of 4,612 males. A separate telephone incidence survey was conducted amongst
1,445 respondents to size the audience and allow for total online audience
projections of men 14-49 who regularly access the Internet, use the Internet
for personal use, and visit sports Web sites.
ESPN.com, the leading sports Web site, is part of the Walt Disney Internet
Group (NYSE:DIG). WDIG manages some of the Internet's most popular Web
sites, including ABC.com, ABCNews.com, ABCSports.com, Disney.com, Disneystore.com,
DisneyTravel.com, EXPN.com, Family.com, GO.com, Movies.com, Mr. Showbiz,
NASCAR Online, NBA.com, NFL.com, and Soccernet. The Internet Group also
includes The Walt Disney Company's direct marketing business. Steve Bornstein
is chairman of Walt Disney Group, which is headquartered in North Hollywood,
California, with operations in Sunnyvale, California; Seattle; New York;
Bristol, Connecticut; and London. For more information about WDIG, visit
www.dig.com
Copernicus provides marketing consulting and research services that improve
business performance. Led by marketing pioneer Dr. Kevin J. Clancy, the
firm has transformed the marketing programs of major corporations and
emerging businesses around the world. Copernicus works in consumer and
business markets and clients include Air Products, Allied-Domecq, Con
Agra, Exxon-Mobil, Green Mountain Energy, and Papa Gino's/D'Angelo. For
more information, visit
www.copernicusmarketing.com
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