New figures suggest that a love of watching the big game can drive consumers into becoming early technology adopters.
A new report suggests that in the US, the biggest sports fans are also early technology adopters.
Released to coincide with the ‘March Madness' college basketball tournament that has been a fixture on US TV screens for many years, the report, complied by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) shows a correlation between US consumers who describe themselves as "super sports fans" and those that admit to being early technology adopters. The organization's research shows that 65 percent of super sports fans are also the first wave of consumers to buy the latest high-tech gadget. And conversely, of those least excited by sports, only 36 percent described themselves as early technology adopters
In an earlier study released to coinside with the Superbowl, the CEA found that watching the culmination of the NFL season was the biggest single motivating factor in buying a large screen high definition TV.
In the latest study, the CEA found that when it comes to technology preferences for sports fans, the newer the better. Basketball fans in particular display a high level of interest (66 percent) in 3D sports compared to sports fans in general (35 percent), and other adults (30 percent). Mobile TV is also a popular development among the sports fan fraternity: almost half (49%) of all sports fans are interested specifically in watching March Madness on their mobile devices, while among those obsessed with basketball 68 percent expressed an interest in watching sports on their mobile devices (30% for the larger sporting community). Therefore it should come as no surprise that those that describe themselves as Super Fans are some of the most likely to be investing in technology over the next two years. Nearly three quarters (73%) will be buying a smartphone, 60 percent are buying a tablet and 42 percent are interested in an HDTV that supports 3D.
"Passionate sports fans want to see every detail, every play. 3DTV provides sports fans with interactive and immersive experiences, while mobile devices allow fans to process sports data in more ways than ever," said Kevin Tillmann, senior research analyst, CEA. "Fans can now stream live videos, catch up on highlights and even get real-time statistics right from their mobile devices without having to feel tethered to their TV. With so many March Madness games on the horizon, mobile technology can really help fans keep up with all the action."