Motorola: Football Fans Prefer Big-Screen to Bleachers

Survey: Respondents Would Rather Watch HDTV at Home than Attend Game

By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/14/2007 4:53:00 PM

American football fans would rather watch a college or National Football League game on an HDTV set in the comfort of their living room than attend the game in person, according to a recent study commissioned by cable-equipment giant Motorola.

The survey for Motorola -- which supplies HD set-tops to major cable operators and MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 compression gear to HD programmers -- found that 45% of adults prefer the HD football experience. Only 32% of respondents said they would rather watch the game in person.

“The survey results really speak to the popularity of high-definition programming,” Motorola corporate vice president Doug Means said in a statement. “The color, the clarity and the crispness of a sporting event delivered in high-definition is almost like being there, but from the comfort of your own home.”

The omnibus poll -- conducted by Opinion Research from Nov. 2-5 and consisting of interviews with some 1,009 consumers age 18 or over -- also found that more men than women would rather watch football on an HDTV than in person: 51% of men vs. 41% of women.

The poll, which queried 502 men and 507 women, found that 17% of respondents said they don’t watch football while 2% said they don’t watch TV and 4% said they didn’t know their preference.