News

London 2nd July

12 million TV viewers may have tuned in to watch Andy Murray’s five set epic win over Stanislas Wawrinka but research conducted by Sponsorship Intelligence through Lightspeed Research’s online panel shows that the true figure may be far higher. According to the survey, around a third of Wimbledon watchers are not tuning in from the living room.

15 – 30 – Wimbledon vs. work: Wimbledon fever has gripped workplaces up and down the country with people taking in the tennis while at work, both online and on TV. However bosses should not be too concerned as on average they are only watching 36 minutes a day.

Deuce – Old vs. new media: When it comes to staying in touch with the tennis, it seems like a perfect doubles partnership has been created between old and new technologies. Many viewers (around a quarter) are going online to stay up to date with the action through their PC, complementing their traditional television coverage with the extra options available through the BBC iPlayer and website. TV viewers are also embracing the choice that technology brings with one in four exercising their ability to pick their match by using red button interactive TV services.

In a sign that new technology will become increasingly important to consumption patterns in the years to come, ten percent of tech savvy 18-34 year olds use their mobile phone to keep up to date with results throughout the day. In spite of these trends towards new media, traditional media such as TV and newspapers are still the most common information sources for fans – over two thirds (68%) tune in to matches and highlights programmes on TV and more than a third (37%) stay up to date by reading newspapers. Word of mouth is an important information source with close to 4 in 10 relying on family, friends and colleagues to tell them the score. In a throwback to the eighties, 16% of respondents still use teletext to get tennis news and results – a statistic that recalls John McEnroe’s famous refrain of “you cannot be serious”.

Advantage Wimbledon: According to the survey, Wimbledon fever piques interest in tennis in general. 45% of respondents admitted that they became more interested in tennis during Wimbledon fortnight and a patriotic 42% said they watched more coverage when a British player is doing well. The Championship has also had a positive effect on people’s willingness to don their whites, with 14% of people saying that watching Wimbledon inspires them to play tennis. ENDS.

For press enquiries please contact: Ralph Risk, Marketing Director Europe – Lightspeed Research, Tel office +44 (0)20 7896 1950 mobile +44 (0)787 650 7689; rrisk@lightspeedresearch.com or Andy Kowalczyk, Managing Director, Sponsorship Intelligence, Tel +44 (0)20 7864 2630 andy.kowalczyk@sponsorshipintelligence.com

Note to editors The survey was carried out online in the UK with 1001 respondents between the 25th and 29th June 2009.

About Lightspeed Research: Through proprietary global panels and research products and services, Lightspeed Research delivers valuable research to help businesses make informed decisions. From recruitment, to activity level, to ongoing profiling, Lightspeed Research’s panels are actively managed to provide engaged survey respondents and support studies that range in scope and complexity across industry sectors. Deeply profiled specialty panels including automotive, B2B, beverage, family and household, finance, health and wellness, media consumption, mobile phone, beauty and personal care, sports and hobbies, and travel and leisure, provide quick access to target audiences. As a leader in quality, Lightspeed Research has implemented extensive measures to prevent fraudulent panel registrations and poor survey data.

Lightspeed Research is part of Kantar, the information, insight and consultancy division of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY), one of the world's leading communications services companies. For more information, please visit www.lightspeedresearch.com

About Sponsorship Intelligence: Sponsorship Intelligence (SI) is a consultancy specialising in sports marketing and sponsorship evaluation and insights. Having been in business for over 25 years, SI has a wealth of data, knowledge and experience that it is able to share with clients to help generate real insight that truly facilitates decision making.

London, 19 June 2008


Sponsorship Intelligence has been appointed by the IOC to act as a research consultancy, it was announced today.

The IOC's research needs have been broad in the past and continue to expand with each edition of the Olympic Games. However, making the research more coordinated and integrated was central to this year's project. SI's research programme is therefore one of the most cohesive and comprehensive studies conducted by the IOC on the Olympic brand, the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement to date. SI is offering a truly holistic and progressive research solution to the IOC, comprising both consumer research and media research.

The consumer studies will cover 16 territories and comprise a variety of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, employing the latest online and spectator interviewing techniques.
SI are also analysing the media output (media research) in every market that is broadcasting Olympic content (via TV, online and mobile) and recognise the importance of correlating this with all elements of the consumer research so as to deliver a greater level of insight than ever before.

Andy Kowalczyk, MD of Sponsorship Intelligence comments:

"We are delighted to be working with the IOC to provide this key resource. The research will address the objectives of all IOC stakeholders but importantly it will also feed into the IOC's overall strategy beyond Beijing 2008.”

From ZenithOptimedia Insights, US

As expected, this year’s SUPER BOWL- XLII was a spectacular event and has been labeled by Nielsen Media as the most watched Super Bowl ever with 97.5 million viewers tuning in. Viewing levels peaked to 107.5 million during the last 30 minutes of the game. Last night’s game surpassed the previous record set in 1996 of 94.1 million viewers, which featured Dallas defeating Pittsburgh. Although there were past Super Bowls with higher ratings, because the population has increased over time, the actual number of people this year was higher.

Approximately 81% of all TV sets in the Boston area on Sunday were tuned to the game, with 67% tuning-in in New York.

The only event in history that beat’s Sunday’s game was the MASH finale (1983), which was seen by 106 million viewers.

The average cost of a 30 second ad was $2.7 million.

TiVo reports that when counting DVR usage, more people watched the commercials than the actual game.

House posted sizable gains with its post game episode vs. its traditional season-to-date delivery.