Radio has faced myriad challenges as a century-old medium, but a new report from Westwood One makes the case for its potency with the NFL, saying it reached nearly 64 million unique listeners last season.
That broad reach was one element of the research, which was released as the 2024-25 season gets set for kickoff on Thursday. Citing data from Nielsen’s Personal People Meter collected during the 2023-24 regular season and playoffs, the radio firm outlined key findings Tuesday in a blog post. The radio audience built from 8 million in Week 1 to 53.5 million by the final week of the regular season, with the postseason adding an additional 10.1 million listeners for a total of 63.6 million.
For advertisers, that large radio audience provides a key supplement to TV, according to the study. Adding Westwood One to TV ad buys increased reach by 16% among high-income, employed men between the ages of 18 and 49 and also boosted the available audience of men 18 to 34 by 19%.
Research on the 80,000-person Portable People Meter panel indicated that the radio audience is more affluent and family-oriented than the general media audience for the league. Those tuning into Westwood One NFL broadcasts across terrestrial and satellite radio are 28% more likely to have kids under 18 at home and are 25% more likely to be earning more than $75,000 a year, the study found.
One recent indication of Westwood One’s continued role in the NFL media ecosystem was its exclusive weekly interviews with Tom Brady when the future Hall of Fame quarterback was still an active player. Brady, who has made a number of savvy media moves both during and after his playing career, is about to make his debut as a member of the Fox broadcast team. His Westwood One segments regularly yielded sports-oriented headlines and Gray avidly avoided probing the QB about any off-the-field controversies.
By definition, the radio audience is almost entirely outside of the home, with more potential to take purchase actions based on ad messages, Westwood One said. About 86% of 2023-24 listeners 18 or over were tuning in outside of their home, and they engage more in fantasy sports and betting. “The TV audience consists of casual sports fans,” the blog post declared.
