An analysis of more than 50 locally and nationally advertised brands in seven major U.S. sports markets shows sports-formatted radio stations not only attract listeners who are active fans, but those who are aware of — and are more likely to interact with — advertisers on those stations.
“Skipping sports talk is like leaving runners stranded on base — you’re missing out on a vast, engaged, passionate fan base,” Audacy Chief Marketing Officer Paul Suchman says in a guest column for AdAge. “Sports talk radio is a game-changer for brands, consistently drawing in a loyal audience of die-hard fans hungry for nonstop analysis, opinions and conversations, creating a one-of-a-kind environment where advertisers — from local businesses to national giants like insurance, quick-service restaurants and telecom — can thrive.”
Participants in Audacy’s study — conducted by Vision Insights in July among nearly 2,300 sports fans age 18+ in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York and San Francisco — give sports audio an advantage over other electronic media. The survey finds that while nine in 10 sports fans listen equally to sports talk and live game broadcasts, sports radio listeners are four times more likely to catch a brand’s message there than on TV, while 73% of fans spend more time following their favorite teams on sports audio than sports-related digital media.
“Sports fans welcome ads as part of the experience,” Suchman says. “There’s a halo effect at play — ads on sports radio are more noticeable, stand out better, and are more trustworthy than TV ads.” The reason, he says, is that “it’s not just a broadcast, it’s a community, connecting fans in a way that live games can’t always match. These listeners consider sports talk a natural fit for ads and even welcome them.”
Backing that up are the results of a larger-scale Vision Insights survey of more than 100,000 respondents age 13+ conducted between June 2023 and May 2024, showing that fans are four times more likely to trust brands that support their teams, and that brands doing do receive three times more positive feedback. In addition, fans are twice as enthusiastic about brands that align with their teams.
From Audacy’s standpoint, Suchman notes, the research shows “that connection translates to action,” with advertisers on Audacy’s sports stations seeing an average 18% lift in familiarity, affinity, and usage. Additionally, listeners to those stations are four times more likely to purchase from the brand advertiser, three times more likely to go to that brand’s website, and six times more likely to download that brand’s app.
As a result of this strong connection between fans and brands, categories such as insurance and quick-service restaurants have seen brand lift across these seven markets, with the former up an average of 51% and the latter 43%. “Audiences remember the marketing messages they hear on their favorite sports talk stations,” Suchman says. “By advertising on both sports talk and play-by-play broadcasts, [Allstate] outperformed its competitors in brand affinity and consideration.”
According to Audacy’s research, those lifts from sports radio extend to categories such as telecom, retailers, and automotive, as well as local and regional advertisers like auto dealers and window installers.
The studies not only show that brands advertising on Audacy’s sports stations see lifts of 37%, 20% and 40% in familiarity, consideration and usage, respectively, but 59% of sports radio listeners say that when a brand advertises on sports talk it positively impacts their view of that advertiser, while 60% are influenced when their favorite hosts endorse a brand in an ad or live read.
“Advertisers aren’t just background noise for sports listeners, they’re part of the action,” Suchman says. “Sports talk listeners pay attention to ads, unlike many TV viewers who scroll TikTok or go for snacks during ad breaks. This boosts awareness for both national and local brands, with fans finding sports talk ads more relevant, trustworthy, and memorable than TV ads.”
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