Fan Demographics Among Major North American Sports Leagues

Fan Demographics Among Major North American Sports Leagues

Published June 9, 2010

The NFL and MLB boast the highest levels of female fans among major pro sports leagues in the U.S., according to data from Scarborough Sports Marketing. The data, gathered during a year-long period ending in September '09, also shows that MLS is the only major league with fans ages 18-34 as the largest portion of its base (37.8%). NHL fans spend more time on the Internet than fans of other major leagues, with 14.9% spending 20+ hours on the Web per week. Below are select demographics for fans of MLB, MLS, NASCAR, the NFL, NHL and NBA (Scarborough Sports Marketing).

DEMOGRAPHIC	MLB	MLS	NASCAR	NBA	NFL	NHL
GENDER
Men	58.8%	60.5%	63.1%	60.2%	58.7%	63.6%
Women	41.2%	39.5%	36.9%	39.8%	41.3%	36.4%
AGE
Age 18-34	28.0%	37.8%	29.4%	31.9%	29.6%	33.4%
Age 35-49	28.8%	31.8%	30.0%	28.9%	29.1%	32.1%
Age 50+	43.1%	30.4%	40.6%	39.2%	41.3%	34.4%
RACE/ETHNICITY
White	84.5%	81.9%	85.7%	77.6%	83.0%	86.0%
Black/African-American	10.2%	11.2%	9.6%	16.4%	11.7%	8.5%
Other	5.3%	6.9%	4.7%	6.0%	5.3%	5.5%
Spanish/Hispanic origin	11.5%	23.2%	9.4%	13.9%	10.9%	9.1%
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
<$25K	10.7%	11.3%	12.6%	11.5%	11.0%	8.7%
$25-35K	10.6%	11.2%	12.4%	11.4%	11.1%	8.9%
$35-50K	18.0%	16.9%	19.8%	18.2%	18.3%	16.5%
$50-75K	18.2%	16.7%	19.3%	17.7%	18.4%	18.6%
TIME SPENT ON INTERNET PER WEEK
<1 hour	4.9%	4.7%	5.3%	4.8%	5.4%	4.6%
1-4 hours	22.4%	21.6%	22.4%	22.1%	22.3%	22.1%
5-9 hours	19.9%	20.4%	18.8%	19.7%	19.9%	21.6%
10-19 hours	14.3%	15.8%	12.9%	14.3%	13.6%	16.7%
20+ hours	12.7%	13.8%	12.2%	13.1%	12.8%	14.9%
INTERNET USE PAST 30 DAYS
Cable TV network site	6.4%	8.2%	5.5%	6.6%	6.3%	8.1%
Download/listen to audio clips	9.4%	13.0%	8.9%	10.4%	9.2%	11.3%
Download/watch TV programs	8.9%	13.5%	7.4%	9.8%	9.0%	10.9%
Download/watch/listen to podcasts	3.9%	5.4%	3.0%	4.3%	3.8%	4.6%
Fantasy sports	5.2%	6.0%	4.8%	5.9%	4.8%	7.5%
Listen to radio	11.1%	15.1%	10.6%	11.8%	10.9%	13.4%
Sports scores/updates	26.4%	32.0%	24.1%	28.6%	24.5%	33.5%