August 17, 2000

Arizonans Speak Out On:

• New Television Shows

• The new mascot for the Arizona Diamondbacks (D. Baxter, the BOBcat)

• The Addition of Dennis Miller to The Monday Night Football Announcing Team (below)

The Addition of Dennis Miller to The Monday Night Football Announcing Team

Two questions were asked to better understand how Arizonans initially felt about the addition of Dennis Miller on ABC’s Monday Night Football (MNF). All interviews were conducted prior to Miller’s first broadcast on July 31st.

QUESTION:
During football season, how often do you watch Monday Night Football?

QUESTION:
ABC recently announced comedian Dennis Miller will join the announcing team of Monday Night Football. Do you think the choice of Dennis Miller as part of the Monday Night Football team of announcers is an excellent, good, fair, poor or very poor idea?

General Viewership of Monday Night Football

Overall, nearly one of five (18%) respondents said they watch Monday Night Football (MNF) every Monday during the season. Fifteen percent said they watched MNF most Mondays and the same proportions said they watched on some Mondays (15%) or rarely (15%). One third (34%) said they never watch the telecast. (Three percent did not reply to the question.)

Somewhat surprisingly, a significant portion of women (15%) said they watched the game every week (20% of men said they watched MNF every week). However, when viewership is analyzed by those who watch every Monday or most Mondays, a much greater proportion of men (42%) than women (24%) are included. Further, nearly half of all women (48%) said they never watch MNF; only one of five men reported they never watch the show.

Residents of the Phoenix area (37%) were more likely than those living in metro Tucson (24%) or other parts of Arizona (31%) to say they watch MNF each week or most Mondays.

Consistent viewership (those who watch every week or most every week) of MNF increases as respondent age decreases . Two of five (41%) respondents 29 or younger say they watch at least most of the games during the year. One of three (33%) respondents aged 30 to 49 said they watch MNF on a consistent basis, and about three of ten (31%) respondents who are 50 or older say they watch most of the time.

Interestingly, regular viewing of MNF is highest among respondents living in upper and lower income households. More than two of five (45%) who live in households with annual incomes of less than $25,000 and nearly two of five (39%) residing in households with incomes of $75,000 or more say they watch all or most of the MNF games. By contrast, only about one of four (27%) respondents living in households with incomes of $25,000 to 55,000 say they watch most or all of the games.

Perception of the Selection of Dennis Miller as a MNF Announcer

Overall, a plurality of respondents felt the selection of Dennis Miller for the MNF booth was a good (24%) or fair (18%) idea. Eighteen percent felt the choice was poor (9%) or very poor (9%), while 7% felt the inclusion of Miller on the announcing team was an excellent decision. A full third of the sample (33%) had no opinion on the matter.

Respondents ages 49 or younger (10%) were twice as likely as those 50 or older (5%) to feel Miller’s selection was an excellent idea. When the perceptions of those who feel the idea was good or excellent are examined, differences by age become even sharper. Nearly half (47%) of the respondents ages 29 or younger felt the choice of Miller was good or excellent, more than a third (37%) of those ages 30 to 49 felt this way, and only one of five (20%) respondents aged 50 or older saw the inclusion of Miller as good or excellent. Respondents ages 50 or older were twice as likely than younger respondents (46% to 23%) to not offer an opinion on the selection of Dennis Miller for MNF.

The reaction to the selection of Dennis Miller for MNF has been compared to the attitudes held toward Howard Cosell during his tenure on the program. Cosell elicited strong sentiments both for and against his place in the booth among regular viewers of the show. This may also occur with Miller. Among those respondents who say they watch all or most of the MNF telecasts, one of three (33%) felt that Miller was a good or excellent choice and nearly as great a proportion (29%) felt his addition was a poor or very poor idea. ABC’s attempt to draw viewers to watch MNF more often by hiring Miller may work, at least for the short term. More than two of five (43%) respondents who say they watch the show sometimes or rarely felt Miller’s hiring was a good or excellent idea. Only about one of eight (13%) of those who watch MNF sometimes or rarely thought the choice of Miller was a poor or very poor move.

One of six (16%) who stated they watch MNF at least some of the time or most often did not offer an opinion about Miller’s selection; by comparison, nearly half (48%) of those who rarely or never watch MNF declined to give an opinion.

More Press Releases

PHOENIX: Each month WestGroup Research of Phoenix conducts WestTrack, an omnibus poll, with Arizona residents. The following findings are results of non-proprietary questions posed in July. The research was designed by WestGroup analysts and conducted by WestGroup interviewers at the state-of-the-art phone bank in the firm’s Phoenix offices. The research was conducted from July 5th through July 28th.

(Note: If you did not receive this by email and would like to receive future releases in that format, send your email address to team@westgroupresearch.com.)

WestTrack Demographics
The WestTrack research for July 2000 was conducted with 400 adult residents of Arizona. Analyzed sub-groups include: