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of Sports radio
Audience largely of affluent, big-spending males
By Gabriel Spitzer
Sports radio might be one of niche marketing’s great success stories.
With a relatively small share of the national audience, and a disproportionately high share of advertising revenue, the Sports format is one of the most efficient money-makers in radio.
Part of that is due to the added value advertisers feel they get from sponsoring sportscasts. But another factor is the makeup of the format’s coveted audience, as demonstrated by a recent profile released by radio rep firm Interep.
Over half of the format’s listeners are between 18 and 44, and a full 75 percent fall between the ages of 18 and 54. The audience is 82 percent male.
Sports listeners are also well-educated and affluent. Forty-five percent of Sports listeners are college graduates, nearly twice as many as the national average. A full 34.2 percent of Sports listeners make over $100,000, compared to just 14.6 percent of the general population.
Over 20 percent of Sports listeners are managers or administrators, more than twice the national average. Sports listeners are also more likely than the average American to be in technical or "professional" jobs, according to Interep’s report.
This audience profile has made Sports radio an ideal buy for many of radio’s heaviest-spending ad categories, like automotive, travel, technology and financial services.
According to Interep’s report, the Sports listener’s buying habits justify those ad dollars.
Sports listeners are more than twice as likely as the average American to be a "heavy" domestic air traveler, 73 percent more likely to spend at least $2,000 annually on domestic travel and 86 percent more likely to belong to a frequent flyer program.
This is not to say that the Sports audience has anything against cars—far from it. Interep reports that Sports listeners index significantly above the national average when it comes to owning sporty cars, sport utility vehicles, luxury cars and mini-vans.
Before the tech sector tanked, Sports radio was a prime destination for technology advertising dollars. It’s easy to see why: Sports listeners are significantly more likely than the average American to own a whole array of technological doohickeys, from DVD players to digital cameras to cell phones.
The format’s listeners are also computer and internet enthusiasts. For example, they are a third more likely than the average American to live in a home that has at least one personal computer.
They also participate in e-commerce at very high levels. Sports listeners are 98 percent more likely than the average American to do business shopping online, 99 percent more likely to make travel plans on the web, 125 percent more likely to listen to online radio, and 163 percent more likely to invest or trade online.
According to buyers, this desirable audience, combined with all the bells and whistles of sports marketing, puts Sports radio’s pricing at significantly higher levels than those of other formats. The difference is especially glaring in the rates for in-game spots and sports sponsorships.
"Normally it commands a 20 percent premium above the general market," says Karen Agresti, senior vice president and director of local broadcast at Hill, Holliday in Boston.
"There tends to be an incredible amount of promotional value and added value in sports packages. Most clients consider it premium programming, so they don’t have a problem paying premium prices for it."
That doesn’t necessarily go for the other sports-related programming that fills Sports stations’ schedules, such as nationally syndicated talk shows or local call-in programs. But stations often find a way to expand the value of their actual sportscasts into other parts of their programming.
"There are all these enhancements called ‘pre-game shows’ and ‘post-game shows.’ Those talk programs are a relatively inexpensive way to tie into the sports affiliations," says Mark Lefkowitz, executive vice president and media director at Furman Roth Advertising in New York.
"So an afternoon-drive spot which might have gone for $400 might go for twice that, because it’s a ‘baseball spot.’ That’s one common thing that radio stations are doing. They’re trying to milk out as much as they can in terms of those affiliations."
Like the rest of the medium, Sports radio is losing revenue as ad budgets shrivel. Among other things, the slowdown is changing the landscape of sports sponsorships, as advertisers reevaluate what are often large lump costs.
"A sponsorship has high out-of-pocket costs, because it’s a huge package," says Agresti.
"What clients are wrestling with, if their budgets are being cut, is whether they can afford to do sponsorships the way they’ve done them in the past. So maybe they cut the commitment back per game, or do fewer games. They might lose their exclusivity, but they’re trying to get the out-of-pocket down and keep their association with the sport."
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Sports radio’s audience makeup |
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| Age demo: | Percentage of total: |
| 18-24 | 4.9 |
| 25-34 | 23.1 |
| 35-44 | 30.7 |
| 45-54 | 21.2 |
| 55-64 | 10.9 |
| 65+ | 9.3 |
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Source: MRI Spring 2001, via
Interep’s "All Sports Radio Continues to Score." M-S, 6a-12m, Cume % |
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Sports radio’s income makeup |
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| Annual HH income range: |
General population (%): |
Sports
radio (%): |
Sports
radio’s index: |
| Less than $19,999 | 18.2 | 4.5 | 25 |
| $20,000 - $39,999 | 24.0 | 9.5 | 40 |
| $40,000 - $49,999 | 10.6 | 8.1 | 76 |
| $50,000 - $74,999 | 20.6 | 25.8 | 125 |
| $75,000+ | 12.1 | 18.0 | 149 |
| $100,000+ | 14.6 | 34.2 | 234 |
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Source: MRI Spring 2001, via
Interep’s "All Sports Radio Continues to Score." M-S, 6a-12m, Cume %;
index represents format’s percentage divided by general population’s
percentage, times 100. |
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Sports listeners’ lifestyle |
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| Activity: | Index: |
| Own stock | 165 |
| Own mutual funds | 182 |
| 3+ domestic air trips in past year | 206 |
| 3+ foreign air trips in past year | 182 |
| Belong to frequent flyer program | 184 |
| Own luxury car | 142 |
| Own sport utility vehicle | 140 |
| Own DVD player | 149 |
| Own digital camera | 164 |
| Own cellular phone | 134 |
| Live in HH with a PC | 134 |
| Live in HH with a handheld PC | 206 |
| Listen to radio online | 225 |
| Trade stocks, bonds or funds online | 263 |
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Source: MRI Spring 2001, via
Interep’s "All Sports Radio Continues to Score." Adults 18+ M-S, 6a-12m,
Cume %; index represents format’s percentage divided by general
population’s percentage, times 100. |
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January 18, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
-Gabriel Spitzer is a staff writer for Media Life.
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