• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, April 10, 2012

According to the new Scarborough Sports Marketing study, nearly half of all American adults are MLB Fans and 15% are Avid Fans. The study also reveals that there is ample opportunity to turn young fans into lifelong MLB enthusiasts as 44% of Generation Y is MLB Fans and 13% is Avid Fans.

Scarborough Sports Marketing defines “Fans” as American adults who say they are “very, somewhat or a little bit” interested in a given sport., while “Avid Fans” are American adults who say they are “very” interested in a given sport.

Generation Y MLB Fans (vs. all MLB fans) Are:

• 37% more likely than all MLB fans to have bought MLB apparel with team logo
• 30% more willing to spend $25-49 on a single MLB ticket
• 12% more interested in buying season tickets
• 84% more likely to listen to Internet radio
• 54% more likely to use mobile device to read newspaper
• 22% more likely to watch reality television

Bill Nielsen, Vice President of Sales for Scarborough Sports Marketing, says “Generation Y makes up 20% of the American adult population; 46 million people... MLB teams and advertisers understand how critical it is to continue to reach out to this younger demographic... to build long-term affinity for the sport...”

Generation Y, Echo Boomers or Millenniums
Born: 1977-1994
Coming of Age: 1998-2006

The largest cohort since the Baby Boomers, their high numbers reflect their births as that of their parent generation... the last of the Boomer I s and most of the Boomer II s. Gen Y kids are known as incredibly sophisticated, technology wise, immune to most traditional marketing and sales pitches...as they not only grew up with it all, they’ve seen it all and been exposed to it all since early childhood.

30% of Gen Y MLB Fans are willing to spend $25-$49 on a single game MLB ticket, and 12% are interested in purchasing season tickets. Gen Y MLB Fans are also 37% more likely than all MLB Fans to have bought MLB apparel with a team logo in the past 12 months. Retail spaces also offer an opportunity for fan outreach as more than half of Gen Y MLB Fans shopped at a sporting goods store in the past three months. 

54% of Gen Y MLB Fans more likely than all MLB Fans to have used a mobile device to read a newspaper in the past 30 days, 84% more likely to have listened to internet radio in the past 30 days and 22% more likely than all MLB Fans to typically watch reality TV. Gen Y MLB Fans are more than twice as likely as all MLB Fans to have visited Twitter in the past 30 days, 59% more likely to have read or contributed to a blog in the past 30 days and 68% more likely to have watched video clips online in the same time period. Gen Y MLB Fans are 131% more likely than all MLB Fans to have visited Hulu.com in the past 30 days and 65% more likely to have visited YouTube.com in the same time frame.

Nielsen continues “... Generation Y is so active on Twitter and Facebook that any modern marketing campaign is incomplete without a social component...”

Gen Y MLB Fans are twice as likely as all MLB Fans to have played soccer, football or basketball in the past 12 months and 66% more likely to have played softball or baseball in the same time frame. They are also twice as likely to have attended an R&B/Rap/Hip-Hop concert and 49% more likely to have visited a comedy club in the past year. 

Gen Y MLB Fans are 23% more likely than all MLB Fans to be Black/African American and 83% more likely to be Hispanic.

For more information from Scarborough, or to view the Infographic, please visit here.