Sports Media, 2nd Edition

5 The Internet

By the Numbers

There's no doubt that the Internet has had an incredible impact on sports media, especially in terms of the way content is created, distributed, and consumed. And its influence is growing. According to a Harris Poll, more than 137 million American adults are now online, which is 66% of the adult population. In 1995, only 9% of all adults were online. Today's average user spends more than 3 hours per week on the Internet.

Much of that time spent is with some form of sports media. When people are asked what they use the Internet for, the two most common responses are looking up information (92%) and communicating or interacting with others (85%). These are exactly the reasons why Internet sports media are so popular ...