What is ESPN Fan Zone? Read their FAQ. It's basically a way for ESPN to do some online research on the behaviors of their fans. I signed up a few years ago, and once a month or so they send out emails inviting you to participate in online surveys. Yesterday they sent me one on soccer for the first time in a couple years. It's very interesting to see type of questions that they were asking, as well to have the chance to express my opinion. If you get their emails, be sure to fill it out. Here were the questions they asked: 1) I didn't copy the first question, so I'll explain it. It had a list of 10 sports/leagues, and asked on a 1-5 scale whether or not the ESPN coverage of each had improved or gotten worse. I can't remember if they phrased it in terms of quality or quantity, but both "MLS" and "international soccer" were among the options. 2) "How interested are you in the following professional soccer properties? Would you say you are...?" Very interested, Somewhat interested, A little bit interested, Not at all interested Latin American Soccer European Soccer World Cup Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) 3) "In general, how would you describe the current state of each of these soccer properties? Please choose one spot on the following curve that best describes where each property is today." It was a bell curve with 5 at the top, and the following words listed: 1-rookie 2- 3-rising star 4- 5-top of its game 6- 7-downside of career 8- 9-time to retire Latin American Soccer European Soccer World Cup Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) 4) "In the past 12 months, have you seen any soccer games aired on any of the ESPN networks?" Yes No 5) "How well does each of the following words describe ESPN's coverage of soccer games? Please use a 10-point scale where 10 means "Describes perfectly," and 1 means "Does not describe at all."" Entertaining Unique Boring Superficial High-tech Inferior Authentic Credible Innovative Exciting Predictable Top-quality Passionate Committed 6) "Did you watch any of the 2006 World Cup Soccer Tournament in Germany?" Yes No 7) "On which TV network(s) did you watch any of the 2006 World Cup Soccer Tournament held in Germany?" ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC Univision Both ESPN networks and Univision Don't remember 8) "Why did you choose to watch the 2006 World Cup on..." you could type in your answer 9) "At which of the following places did you watch the 2006 World Cup Soccer Tournament? Please select all that apply." At the home of a friend At home At an airport At a bar At the home of a family member Other (please specify) 10) "How likely are you to follow the upcoming 2010 World Cup Soccer Tournament hosted in South Africa?" Definitely will follow Probably will follow Might or might not follow Probably will not follow Definitely will not follow 11) "Compared to the 2006 World Cup Soccer Tournament, would you say you are more interested in the 2010 tournament, less interested in the 2010 tournament, or is your interest in the 2010 tournament about the same?" Much more interested Somewhat more interested About the same interest Somewhat less interested Much less interested 12) "Why did you say ...?" Again, you could type in an answer. 13) "How likely are you to follow the World Cup Soccer Tournament if the U.S. team is not in the competition? Will you...?" Definitely will follow Probably will follow Might or might not follow Probably will not follow Definitely will not follow 14) "Which of the following media are you likely to use to follow the 2010 World Cup Soccer Tournament? Please select all that apply." Television Friends/family Magazines Radio Internet Mobile device Newspapers 15) "Thinking again about the 2010 World Cup Soccer games, if you had to pick only one language to watch the games in, what language would you prefer?" In English In Spanish In another language (please specify): 16) "On which of the following TV network(s) are you likely to watch the 2010 World Cup Soccer Tournament?" ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC Univision Both ESPN networks and Univision 17) "Now, please rate how important each of the following is in your overall decision to watch World Cup tournaments. Please use a 10-point scale where 10 means it is "Extremely important" and 1 means it is "Not at all important."" Other sports events being shown at the same time The presence of a international team from a country my family is originally from The country that is hosting the event TV coverage of the tournament in high-definition (HD) The presence of the U.S. national team The hype surrounding the event Favorite players in the tournament The competitiveness of the games The time of day the matches are aired The language the game is broadcast in The networks covering the tournament The popularity of the countries competing 18) "How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about World Cup Soccer tournaments? Please use a 10-point scale where 10 means you "Completely agree," and 1 means you "Do not agree at all."" I only watch the World Cup if my friends or family are watching The World Cup is a “must see” event on my sports calendar For me, the World Cup is more of a social event than a sports event The World Cup would be more exciting if I knew more about the game of soccer I consider the World Cup to be a bigger event than the Olympics The World Cup is more exciting when it is broadcast in Spanish than in English Recognizing the international players makes the World Cup more enjoyable Having the World Cup in South Africa makes the event more meaningful I feel the World Cup is gaining popularity in the U.S. Recognizing the U.S. players makes the World Cup more enjoyable The World Cup features the best athletes in the world The World Cup is not as special as it used to be 19) "Which one of the following best describes your personal soccer participation?" I currently play soccer on an organized team I currently play soccer casually I used to play soccer in the past I rarely or have never played soccer 20) "Do you or someone in your household currently own an HD or High-Definition television?" Yes No 21) They then asked about my race, age, and sex. Finally, they asked if I had anything else to say about the World Cup broadcasts.
More importantly it shows that ESPN is very interested in soccer, including MLS. I've always said that people take the talking heads' comments on ESPN as the sentiment for the network, but its not.
Really? Looks to me like they're gauging interest in World Cup Soccer and what they can do to make people tune in to espn rather than univison to me. The vast majority of questions were all to do about World Cup Soccer, a very little about Soccer in general and just about zero for MLS. Which fits considering the crap Drew Carey had to deal with when he was on their network.