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Soccer and boxing enjoy some of the highest fan bases among all U.S. Hispanics.
But the two sports see the most fan passion among unacculturated Latinos.
In contrast, English-dominant, highly acculturated Hispanics prefer pro football, pro basketball and Major League Baseball more than any other sports.
That's just one of the many findings in the newly released ESPN Deportes Poll, conducted by global research firm TNS.
Among the other key findings:
Nearly 50 percent of all Latinos are interested in a traditional U.S.-based sports league, such as Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association.
Hispanics of moderate acculturation do not leave "traditional" sports behind in favor of U.S.-based sports leagues, nor do they only follow traditional U.S.-based sports. These fans spread their passion for sport - creating a type of "super sports fan" who follows a wide breadth and great variety of sports not typically seen among the general market sports fan.
Until now, Hispanic sports preferences have only been seen in TNS' long-running ESPN Sports Poll, which is only conducted in English. TNS researchers concluded that to fully understand the composition of U.S. fan bases among Hispanics and their sports habits, "the Hispanic population as a whole must be examined, especially among those who predominantly speak Spanish at home.
TNS interviewed nearly 3,000 Hispanics between May and June 2008 and November and December 2008. Eighty-five percent of the surveys were offered in Spanish.
Here's a review of the study's overall findings:
Highly acculturated Hispanics were significantly more likely to attend sporting events in the past 12 months than less-acculturated groups. Major League Baseball games led in terms of attendance - a figure consistent across all levels of acculturation.
Univision is the top network for watching sporting events among all Hispanics, followed by both ESPN and Fox. The popularity of Univision is driven by the lesser acculturated Latino, while the highly acculturated Hispanic strongly prefers ESPN.
Among highly acculturated Hispanics, the highest interest in any sport is in the NFL - with 66 percent of respondents selecting pro football above anything else. Boxing, pro baseball and the NBA were rated highest among 60 percent of respondents, respectively.
Among the least acculturated Hispanics, World Cup soccer has the highest interest; given the survey was conducted in 2008, today's passion scores could likely be higher. With 57 percent of the group selecting the global soccer tournament above all sports, Mexican League soccer was the second most-popular sport, with 54 percent of respondents giving their vote to Fútbol Liga Mexicana.
The NFL was a top sport for just 27 percent of the least acculturated survey respondents - a sign that the league's Hispanic outreach could perhaps include more Spanish-language initiatives. Major League Baseball (37 percent) and the NBA (37 percent) were the second lowest sports by passion level among the least acculturated Latinos.
Soccer continues to be the top spectator sport among total Hispanics. Of those who attended a pro sporting event in the last 12 months, 19 percent of all Hispanics went to a Major League Soccer (MLS) game. And among the least acculturated Latinos, MLS games ranked No. 2 behind pro baseball when it came to an outing at a sports event.
Because of TNS survey methodology (described below), many Los Angeles-area teams saw the most fan passion when asked what their favorite teams were. The big No. 1 is MLS club Chivas USA - primarily due to a high response from low and medium acculturation groups.
Among highly acculturated Latinos, the most popular sports team is the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, with 8 percent of respondents singling out the team. The second most-popular team among respondents, with 3 percent responding, is the New York Yankees baseball club.
Lastly, survey respondents were queried on whether or not they would consider a brand for the first time because of its sponsorship of a sporting event or team.
The answers won't make Hispanic marketers too happy.
Of those polled, 38 percent of all Hispanics said they would not try a company's product due to a sponsorship. Among those least acculturated, 35 percent noted that they'd not try the product.
Among highly acculturated Latinos, it was even worse - with 45 percent saying they'd not give the brand a try because of its sponsorship.
Marketers who wish to learn more information about TNS's ESPN Deportes Poll may contact Robert Fox, senior vice president of the sport and sponsorship division, at robert.fox@tns-global.com.
How the ESPN Deportes Poll was conducted:
To best reflect the geographical distribution of Latinos across the U.S., 44 percent of the ESPN Deportes Poll participants reside on the West Coast. An additional 43 percent of those surveyed live in the South. Hispanics in the Northeast represent 29 percent of the total sample, while Latinos in the Midwest account for the remaining 14 percent of the sample.
The ESPN Deportes Poll, conducted by TNS on behalf of the Walt Disney Co.-owned sports network, contacted potential respondents by using a list of Hispanic surnames. Asked about the accuracy of such methodology, TNS said it is "widely used and accepted within the industry." Additionally, random-digit dialing - while "the gold standard" - is rarely employed when conducting Hispanic research because it is cost prohibitive. To ensure the validity of its research, TNS reviewed its Hispanic data across four sampling methods and gave the green light to using surname lists upon determining its overall accuracy.
The sample is divided into high, medium, and low acculturation groups. These groups were created from questions that measure behavioral and attitudinal elements of acculturation. Respondents were asked what language they spoke in the home, their Hispanic identity and to what extent they watched Spanish-language television.The average value for the three items is used to determine the respondent’s overall acculturation level.
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