SAN FRANCISCO-Audience demographics vary drastically among U.S. mobile sports Web sites, according to a study from research firm Telephia.
Figures from the company’s monthly report indicate wireless users who visited CNN-Sports Illustrated on their handsets were twice as likely to be black as visitors to all sports sites. Those who visited CBS Sportsline’s site were 2.4 times more likely to be Hispanic, and Yahoo’s sports audience drew largely from both minorities.
ESPN, which was the most visited site in the study, drew heavily from every tracked demographic group-Asians, Caucasians, and Hispanics-except for blacks.
Telephia credits brand recognition and sports content coverage with building strong demographic followings, and said such sites have developed “unique ethnic readership profiles.”
But carriers also play a large role in determining traffic to mobile Web sites with placement on their decks. Verizon Wireless, for instance, grants ESPN prime placement, essentially leading wireless Web surfers looking for sports information to the broadcaster’s site.
