New Data From Leading VPN Provider Reveals That 1 in 10 Fans Would Miss the Birth of a Child to Keep Up With the Games

Tortola, British Virgin Islands—March 13, 2018—ExpressVPN, a leading VPN provider, today announced the results of its 2018 March Madness Survey. The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults age 18+, conducted online by Google Consumer Surveys on behalf of ExpressVPN in February 2018, found that as many as 64 million American adults will be participating in March Madness this year, and many will go to great lengths to follow the games:

·        1 in 5 would miss a work meeting to watch a game

·        65 percent of those who plan to watch at work will do so even if explicitly warned not to

·        7 percent would miss a funeral, 6 percent would miss a wedding—and 1 in 10 say they would miss the birth of their child to watch a game

President Trump got into hot water last year when he “respectfully declined” to continue President Obama’s tradition of participating in March Madness. Over a third (38 percent) of Americans feel it is important that he fill out a bracket this year. Top reasons include:

·        Keep Trump away from the nuclear button—16 percent

·        Carry on the tradition—13 percent

·        Lightening the mood in Washington—8 percent


When it comes to which cities will do the best job hosting March Madness, fans say San Antonio tops the list (18 percent), followed by:

·        Atlanta — 14 percent

·        Boston — 9 percent

·        Omaha — 8 percent

·        Los Angeles — 8 percent

Of those who plan to watch March Madness games at work, 35 percent will watch on their phones, 27 percent will watch in the background of their computer screens, and another 14 percent will use a VPN to bypass their work firewall. A lucky 18 percent work in offices that show the games openly.

"Devoted March Madness fans will do whatever it takes to watch the game, and we definitely see that reflected in spikes in VPN interest and usage,” said Harold Li, Vice President of ExpressVPN. “While most know VPNs as privacy and security tools, they’re also invaluable for accessing the content you want from wherever you want. In the case of March Madness, fans across the country often use VPNs to get around blocks at work or school, and fans traveling or living abroad use VPNs to connect to the U.S. to follow the game”



About ExpressVPN

One of the world’s largest providers of VPN services, ExpressVPN enables users worldwide to protect their privacy and security online with just a few clicks. The company's award-winning apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, routers, and browsers secure user information and identities with best-in-class encryption and leak-proofing. With 2,000+ servers across 94 countries and new servers added each week, ExpressVPN provides a fast connection wherever you are and offers uncensored access to sites and services from across the globe. Based in the British Virgin Islands, ExpressVPN has been operating since 2009.



A vocal advocate for internet freedom and privacy, ExpressVPN is a proud financial supporter of non-profit organizations fighting to protect our digital rights, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Defense League and OpenMedia.


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