Now that the Los Angeles Kings have won their first Stanley Cup, this seems like a great time to look at who the sports fans are in LA and where they live. Of course, each major sport has a slightly different type of fan – though some are quite similar. This analysis looks at consumers who watch hockey, basketball, baseball, and football on television in the Los Angeles CBSA (Core Based Statistical Area).
Hockey
Of course LA Kings fans area all over the LA area – especially during a winning season. The LA Kings aren’t the only team in the LA CBSA. Anaheim Ducks are also in the CBSA. About 10% of US consumers watch hockey on television. In LA just 8% of consumers watch hockey on TV. Who are the consumers most likely to watch and where do they live?
There are several areas in the LA CBSA with likely hockey fans. There are a lot of likely fans located just east of Anaheim. These are likely Anaheim Ducks fans. Closer to LA the neighborhoods with the highest likelihood of hockey fans are places like Edwards AFB, Lake Hughes, Santa Clarita, Acton, and Pacific Palisades. The area around the University of Southern California has a lot of fans as well.
Index of Watching Ice Hockey on TV – Los Angeles
To better understand sports fans, we can use a tapestry segmentation to classify consumers. Esri, a geographic information systems company which also does data analysis, developed a tapestry segmentation that classifies US residential neighborhoods into 65 unique market segments based on socioeconomic and demographic characteristics.
The most avid hockey fans are Dorms to Diplomas. The neighborhoods where this segment is dominant have a likelihood of watching hockey on television of 150 or above. This means that someone who lives in that neighborhood is 1.5 times more likely than the average American to watch hockey on TV.
Several tapestry segments have a higher than average index for watching hockey on television. They are Boomburbs, Cozy and Comfortable, In Style, Laptops and Lattes, Main Street USA, Retirement Communities, Sophisticated Squires, Suburban Splendor, Top Rung, and Wealthy Seaboard Suburbs. The neighborhoods where each of these segments is dominant have an index of 125 or higher for watching hockey on television. This means that residents of these neighborhoods are 1.25 times more likely to watch hockey than the average American. Boomburbs neighborhoods, for example, are home to busy, affluent young families. The median age is 36.1 years old. This population is primarily white.
A few segments have very low indexes for watching hockey on TV. Neighborhoods of, Las Casas, Rural Bypass Southern Satellites, and Urban Villages have an index of 50 or less.
Baseball
The Dodgers and Angels are a big part of the culture here in southern California with fans very divided, often, on who they root for. Fans can be extremely passionate. While neither LA team has won a World Series title in a while – that doesn’t stop the passionate fans. In the US, 23% of the population watches baseball on television. In LA, that number is 22% – so we are just below the national average. Where do those passionate fans live?
Baseball fans are really all over the city – at least the ones that watch it on television. There are few areas with low indexes – below 75. There is likelihood in most neighborhoods that people do watch baseball on television. The highest index in the LA CBSA is just 146. These zip codes are 92617 (Irvine) and 90089 (USC). Other top zip codes are 92055 and 93524, which are both locations of military bases (Camp Pendleton and Edwards AFB).
Index of Watching Baseball on TV – Los Angeles
While it doesn’t seem that any particular group is significantly more passionate about baseball than others, there are a few that are a bit more likely to watch it on television. They are Boomburbs, Dorms to Diplomas, Military Proximity, Pleasant-Ville, Prosperous Empty Nesters, Sophisticated Squires, and Wealthy Seaboard Suburbs. Each of these neighborhoods has an index of 125 or higher for watching baseball on television. No neighborhood has an index higher than 147.
Residents of Military Proximity neighborhoods, which have some of the highest indexes, are young, married, and just beginning parenthood. More than three-fourths of the labor force are on active duty or have civilian jobs on military bases. The median household income is $41,240.
Southwestern Families are not big consumers of baseball on television. The index for those neighborhoods is 50 or less. These families live in the southwest and about 83% of them are Hispanic.
Football
NFL Football is certainly described as the all-American sport. About 30% of the US population watches it on television each weekend during the season. This is higher than any of the other sports discussed in the blog. This could be due to the fanaticism, the culture around the sport, or the fact that it is a much shorter season so there is more hype in a shorter amount of time. Or it is just more fun to watch – at least according to the fans. In Los Angeles, just 25% of the population watches football on television. This may be due, of course, to the fact that we don’t have a local team to root for. The closest team is the San Diego Chargers, but that’s still 120 miles away and just too far for us to root for. Hopefully with the potential of Farmers Field (fingers crossed) to bring a team to LA that will change. In the meantime, there are still fans here.
Football fans live all around the LA CBSA. A couple of zip codes have a very high likelihood of people watching football on television over the weekend. Similar to the other sports discussed here, the top zip codes are 92055 and 93524, which are Camp Pendleton and Edwards AFB. Where aren’t people watching? Well, in the middle of the Los Angeles area. The lowest index is in the 91210 zip code. The index there is 41 meaning people there are less than half as likely as the average American to watch football on TV on a weekend.
Index of Watching Football on TV – Los Angeles
Residents of Dorms to Diplomas and Military Proximity neighborhoods are most likely to watch football on television. The indexes for these neighborhoods are 150 or higher meaning they are 1.5 times more likely to watch football on television than the average American. Both of these tapestry segments are very young. Additionally, they are part of the same LifeMode and Urbanization groups. LifeMode groups are based on lifestyle and lifestage. Urbanization groups are based on geographic and physical features along with income. The Dorms to Diplomas and Military Proximity are part of the Scholars & Patriots LifeMode group and the Metro Cities II Urbanization group. Boomburbs neighborhoods also have a high index for those who watch football on television. Those neighborhoods have an index of 125 or higher.
Who doesn’t watch? Residents of Urban Melting Pot. The index for those very diverse neighborhoods is 50 or less. This means they are less than half as likely to watch football on television as the average American.
Basketball
Basketball in LA was very exciting this last season with both of our teams make the NBA playoffs (and of course losing in the same around unfortunately). It certainly made residents much more involved in the playoffs than in years where just one team has made it. In the US, 19% of the population watches pro basketball on television. In LA, it’s, well, the same – 19%. We, as a city, are on average.
The most avid basketball viewers live the zip codes 90089 (near USC) and 92617 (Irvine). The indexes for these neighborhoods are 161 and 160, respectively. The zip codes in LA with the lowest indexes are 90001, 90003, 90023, 90201, 90270, and 93040. Each of these have an index of 78 meaning that residents in those zip codes are about 25% less likely than the average American to watch basketball on TV.
Index of Watching Pro Basketball on TV – Los Angeles
The tapestry segment, like in the case of many other sports that watches basketball the most on television is Dorms to Diplomas. The residents of this segment have an index of 150 or higher. Many of these residents are students, so they have a lot of time on their hands. Residents of Boomburbs, City Strivers, Enterprising Professionals, Family Foundations, Metro City Edge, Modest Income Homes, and Silver and Gold are also likely viewers of basketball on TV. The index in these neighborhoods is 125 or higher meaning residents living there are 1.25 times more likely than the average American to watch basketball on television.
Southwestern Families is the segment that is least likely to watch basketball on television. The index in those neighborhoods is 50 or less. There are very few neighborhoods in LA though that is part of that segment.
Biggest Sports Fans
The biggest sports fans in the US come from the Dorms to Diplomas segment. This group has an index of 150 or above for the likelihood of watching basketball, football, and hockey on television. Only residents of Military Proximity of an index of 150 or higher for any sport viewing on television – football. The Boomburbs tapestry segment is interesting. In those neighborhoods, they have an index of 125 or higher for the likelihood of watching baseball, basketball, football, and hockey on television. Clearly these are just sports lovers across the board, as a whole.
More information about Esri’s data can be found at www.esri.com/data or to learn more about Esri in general, go to www.esri.com.