With the NFL postseason approaching, Westwood One is giving an updated look into how football’s radio coverage remains a premier advertising platform for brands aiming to reach the sport’s most engaged fans, stacking on previous findings from the 2023-2024 season.
Starting January 11, Westwood One coverage will span the entire NFL postseason, reaching a diverse audience of approximately 30 million, according to a new Nielsen analysis. These fans skew younger, more affluent, and more likely to make purchases across various categories, providing a valuable target for advertisers.
The study highlights that NFL radio listeners are influential consumers. They are 50% more likely than TV viewers to be category “influencers,” especially in products like vehicles, financial services, and electronics. Additionally, postseason radio listeners are 25% more likely to make a purchase across 23 categories, further enhancing their appeal to advertisers.
Westwood One’s NFL radio audience is notably more sports-engaged compared to NFL TV viewers. MRI-Simmons data shows postseason radio listeners are 46% more passionate about sports than their television counterparts. The radio audience, tuned in while on the move, offers advertisers a highly engaged demographic who rely on radio as their “best available screen” in transit.
Adding audio broadcasts to a brand’s NFL TV strategy has been found to boost audience reach by 16% among high-income men aged 18-49, and by 19% for younger men aged 18-34. Westwood One also notes that its broadcasts add new listeners each week, creating an expanding reach throughout the postseason.
The full data is available via Cumulus Media/Westwood One’s Audio Active Group.
