American sports fans are doing a lot more than sitting back and watching the big game on TV: They're connecting with others and engaging with advertising, according to the results of a study by Solutions Research Group (SRG), reports MarketingCharts.

The company interviewed nearly 1,000 sports fans who watched one of the finals of three recent major sporting events between April and June 2007: the NCAA final championship game, the final round of the Masters Golf Tournament and the 4th and final NBA championship game.

Among the key findings of the study:

• Among viewers of the NBA final, 58 percent were instant messaging, emailing, texting or talking on the phone as they watched the game.
• Among viewers 12-34, 72 percent were engaged in one of those activities.
• The results were similar for the NCAA final game—66 percent of 12-34 viewers were connecting with someone via the internet or a phone—texting or talking—as they were watching.
• 36 percent of all viewers said they discussed or mentioned at least one of the commercials aired during the game as they were texting or messaging.
• Among those who connected with others via instant messaging, texting or cellular phone during the game, 60 percent were able to name at least one specific ad, compared with 46 percent among those who were not engaged in these activities.
• Among viewers under 35 who were instant messaging or texting, a remarkable 78 percent were able to mention (on an unaided basis) at least one ad they had seen.

MarketingCharts has more, here.