Sorry, SportsCenter -- Consumers now consider the Web to be their primary source for

sports news and information, according to new research from ad network Burst Media.

For both men and women -- 36.1% and 32.7%, respectively -- the Web is the go-to for
sports news, which is followed by local TV programming -- 23.7% -- national TV networks
-- 15.1% -- local newspapers -- 6.7% -- national newspapers -- 3.6% -- and sports radio --
2.9%.

What's more, among the key age segments of 18-24 years and 25-34 years, the Internet
far outweighs both local and national TV coverage as the primary source of sports news
and information, according to a survey administered earlier this month to over 2,200
adults 18 years and older. Not surprisingly, adults 55 years and over still turn to local TV
news over the Internet.

Among all respondents, sports content is in demand regardless of which media is cited as
their primary source.

Nearly one-half -- 49.2% -- of respondents use the Internet to check sports scores, and
41.3% read sports-related news stories online.

"It's abundantly clear that men and women of all ages are active consumers of sports
content online," said Chuck Moran, chief marketing officer for Burst. "This provides
marketers an opportunity to expand the reach of their campaigns targeted to sports
enthusiasts by adding an online component."

Notably, nearly as many women as men use the Internet to check sports scores -- 47.3%
vs. 50.5% -- read sports stories -- 39% vs. 42.8% -- and visit professional team sports sites
-- 25.2% vs. 26.2%.

Yet despite all of the hype over online video services, today over one-half -- 55% -- of all
respondents indicated that they have never watched live streaming game coverage on the
Internet.

Added Moran: "By utilizing a multichannel strategy of combining Internet and TV,
advertisers can surround their target audience with coordinated messaging for greater
impact."

Also of note for Web content providers, the survey found that while the Internet is the
most popular media source for sports content, it is not perceived as the best source.

Overall, national TV sports networks, such as ESPN, are viewed by respondents as the best
place to get sports information and news.

However, men believe national TV sports networks and Internet sports content sites
deliver equivalent sports content -- 30.1% and 28.7% of men, respectively.