
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 18, 1995                   TAG: 9502230002
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

A SPORTING CHANCE

The Roanoke Valley spends more time watching football on television than any other team sport. Two-thirds of the men in the Roanoke Valley watch pro football on television often or very often; just over one-third of the women do.

What team sports do we watch on TV?

Football, baseball and basketball, in that order. Almost half of us watch pro football religiously in the fall.

Football widows

Men watch sports more often than women, no matter what the sport. But the gender gap is biggest when it comes to football. Here's what percentage say they watch each sport often or very often.

Men Women

National Football League 62% 38%

College Football 54% 25%

Major League Baseball 39% 26%

National Basketball Association 38% 21%

College basketball 42% 19%

National Hockey League 14% 3%

A racial divide

Blacks watch sports on television more often than whites, sometimes a lot more. The racial gap is biggest with pro basketball. Slightly more than half of all blacks watch the NBA, fewer than one in four whites do.

The sports that blacks and whites tend to watch at the same rate are Major League Baseball (when it's not on strike) and college basketball. The only team sport that whites watch more than blacks is hockey, but not many of either race tune in to that sport.

Whites Blacks

National Football League 45% 63%

College football 36% 38%

Major League Baseball 30% 35%

National Basketball Association 23% 51%

College basketball 27% 33%

National Hockey League 7% 2%

Baseball waning, basketball gaining

Younger adults watch sports more often than older adults, although some sports have different demographic patterns of support.

The NBA is on a fast-break to become the TV sport of the future. It's strongest among the young, where 41 percent of Generation Xers are tuning in often or very often. But among other age groups, only about 25 percent are watching pro hoops.

Major League Baseball is striking out, and we don't just mean with its labor dispute. Baseball scores low with young viewers, where only 19 percent are watching often or very often. But it's the favorite TV sport for seniors, with 37 percent watching.

AGE 18-29:

National Football League: 60%

National Basketball Association 41%

College football: 34%

College basketball: 31%

Major League Baseball 19% National Hockey League: 14%

AGE 30-49:

National Football League: 56%

College football: 41%

Major League Baseball: 32%

College basketball: 28%

National Basketball Association: 26%

National Hockey League: 6%

AGE 50-64:

National Football League: 42%

College football: 39%

Major League Baseball: 33%

College basketball: 30%

National Basketball Association: 25%

National Hockey League: 4%

AGE 65 and up:

Major League Baseball: 37%

National Football League: 36%

College football: 32%

College basketball: 25%

National Basketball Association: 24%

National Hockey League: 3%

The Roanoke Valley Poll was conducted by Roanoke College's Center for Community Research. The poll surveyed 400 Roanoke Valley residents and has a margin of error of 5 percentage points. Among demographic subgroups, the margin may be higher.

by CNB