March Madness Goes Digital: Number Watching on Phone/Laptop Nearly Doubles; Half Who Watch Will Engage with Social Media, More Than a Third Will Bet  

South Orange, NJ, March 14, 2023 – With the NCAA College Basketball Championships (“March Madness”) upon us, sports fans across the country are migrating in greater numbers towards non-TV devices to catch the action. While a year ago only 7 percent of sports fans said they would be watching on smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc., this year the number is up to 13 percent, and up from 8 to 14 percent among self-described avid fans. Among the general population the number jumped from 5 to 9 percent. 

These were among the findings of a Seton Hall Sports Poll conducted last week among 1,553 adults across the country. The poll featured a national representative sample from YouGov weighted on U.S. Census Bureau figures for gender, age, ethnicity, education, income and geography and has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percent.

TV Viewing Up Too
The number who will watch on traditional TV also rose, from 37 to 39 percent among sports fans, and 38 to 43 percent among avid fans. Among the general population, 49 percent they would not be watching, but that was a big decline from 63 percent who said the same in 2022.

Best of Both Worlds? 
Last year 10 percent of the general population said they would watch the men’s tournament on both TV and non-TV devices; among sports fans that number rose to 17 percent. In 2023, 16 percent of the general population said they would view on both (+6 in 2023) and 23 percent of sports fans said the same (+6 in 2023). 

[2023] - On which devices, if at all, will you be watching any part of the NCAA Men’s 2023 March Madness college basketball tournament this year?

[2022] - On which devices, if at all, will you be watching any part of the NCAA 2022 March Madness college basketball tournaments (i.e. men’s and/or women’s) this year?

Data from the March 2022 Seton Hall Sports Poll

Women’s Tournament
The numbers also showed that the women’s tournament will be viewed by 12 percent of both sports fans and avid fans on non-TV devices, while 27 percent of sports fans and 34 percent of avid fans will stay with traditional TV coverage. 

On which devices, if at all, will you be watching any part of the NCAA Women’s 2023 March Madness college basketball tournament this year? 

“This is the biggest sporting event of any sport in the month of March," said Professor Charles Grantham, Director of the Center for Sport Management within Seton Hall’s Stillman School of Business, which sponsors the Poll. “These are big numbers and the NCAA, the schools and the networks should be pleased – especially as they pertain to the women’s tournament.” He added, "For a better understanding of the growing popularity of women’s sports, this year we isolated viewership for the men’s and women’s tournament. The number of people planning to watch the women’s tournament this year are equivalent to those who said they would watch the World Cup. That’s phenomenal growth for women’s sports.” 

Follow/Engage on Social Media?
There was a sizeable jump on the question that asked of those who would be watching whether they would be engaging in social media during the tournament. Forty-nine percent of the general public (51 percent of sports fans and 64 percent of avid fans) said they will be doing just that. This was up from 2022's numbers, which weighed in at 38 percent of the general population (+11 in 2023), 38 percent for sports fans (+13 in 2023) and 52 percent of avid fans (+12 in 2023).

“Half of viewers now say they will engage with social media during the tournament,” said Seton Hall Marketing Professor Daniel Ladik, who is chief methodologist for the poll. “The money for advertisers is where the eyeballs are. And marketing campaigns that disregard social media are blinding themselves to an undeniably large segment of the population.” 

[2023] - In addition to watching the NCAA Tournaments, are you likely to follow and/or engage on social media during the event?

More than One Third Who Watch Will Bet
The tournament is not immune to the increased popularity of sports gambling in America. More than a third of those watching say they will place a bet. Among the general population that number was 35 percent. Among sports fans that number rose to 37 percent, and for avid fans more than half (51 percent) said they would be wagering on the tournament.

Thinking about your plans for the NCAA 2023 Men’s and Women’s March Madness college basketball tournaments, will you be placing a bet or wager? (e.g. betting on any of the games)

Questions, breakdowns and additional charts may be found below; an online version of this release may be found here. 

ABOUT THE POLL
The Seton Hall Sports Poll, conducted regularly since 2006, is performed by the Sharkey Institute within the Stillman School of Business. This poll was conducted online by YouGov Plc. using a national representative sample weighted according to gender, age, ethnicity, education, income and geography, based on U.S. Census Bureau figures. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S residents. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. The Seton Hall Sports Poll has been chosen for inclusion in iPoll by Cornell’s Roper Center for Public Opinion Research and its findings have been published everywhere from USA Today, ESPN, The New York Times, Washington Post, AP, and Reuters to CNBC, NPR, Yahoo Finance, Fox News and many points in between. 

Media:  Michael Ricciardelli, Associate Director of Media Relations, Seton Hall University michael.ricciardelli@shu.edu, 908-447-3034; Marty Appel, AppelPR@gmail.com.

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