Sports Radio Connects

The Sports format is a lesson in interactive radio. The audience is growing and vocal, taking part in talk shows, the Internet and social media ... and bringing buying power to sales teams for those stations. It's second only to the all-News format in the Miller Kaplan power ratios with a 1.67. We call it the "Put me in, coach" mentality. The Sports radio audience seems ready to play, and it goes well beyond live game broadcasts.

Sports radio talk shows are a lesson in interactive involvement unlike News/Talk shows, which often get bogged down in hard political lines. That may be why Sports radio has strong listener loyalty and high listening occasions.

All-Sports radio is over 80% male, and nearly 70% of the audience is between 35-54 years of age. It requires strong hosts ... and that's one reason why network radio provides the lion's share of the programming. However, a strong local show is still a required part of the mix to deal with market, regional and statewide sports that the national hosts miss. Also important: play-by-play rights to the big area teams.

Sports listeners are active and produce results for advertisers. Revenue potential is enhanced by the ability to sell live games and major shows to large advertisers and special advertiser packages that get smaller budgets in the system.

Getting the most from your Sports station is the right mix of programming, marketing and sales options.