Author: Nick Arias, Research & Insights Assistant, RAB
And just like that, we are just a few weeks away from one of the biggest American football games of the year, Super Bowl LVII. Teams have fought hard all year to get to this point, and this year’s playoffs have had some of the most competitive games of the season.
Continue reading “Touchdown with Radio”Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Businesses. Retailers. Restaurants. Community. There has been incredible focus on everything local as consumers looked around and realized the role and impact local has in their lives. After all, it is great to travel, but “there’s no place like home.”
Continue reading “2022 – The Year of Local”Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Labor Day is right around the corner. For many, the holiday signifies the end of summer. For others, it is a reminder that school is back – from grade school to college. As students return, so do sports.
Continue reading “Score Big with Radio”Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
If you have traveled anywhere lately, you may have noticed that hotels and airports are booming with activity. Streets and parks are abuzz with runners, joggers and cyclists. Everyone is back to their old lifestyle – or are they?
Continue reading “Radio Listeners are Ready to Move and Groove”Author: Victor Texcucano, Content Coordinator, RAB
We’re leaving the dreaded winter behind. The weather is warming, and the days are getting longer. In other words, cherished springtime is here. This is creating a common desire among people in the U.S. – they want to be outside.
Continue reading “Radio Reaches Sports Enthusiasts”Author: Annette Malave, SVP-Insights, RAB
Time just continues to fly by. It’s hard to believe that we are already in the second month of 2022. And the big day is quickly approaching. Which big day? Super Bowl!
Continue reading “Radio and The Big Day”Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
With lockdowns in place during 2020, Americans hungered for the thrill of the game and the luck of the draw as sporting events and casinos shuttered. People turned to gaming and event alternatives, all online – prompting a surge in participation well into 2021.
Continue reading “Radio – A Safe Bet for Gaming”
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
The role that sports plays in the lives of Americans became magnified during 2020. Whether it was the dribbling of a basketball on a court, the crack of a bat or the sounds from a huddle – people needed to watch and experience sports.
Sports fans are passionate, and they are engaged in the team or player they are following. They are emotionally connected – just like they are with radio.
Author: Annette Malave, SVP/Insights, RAB
Over the past year, shifts in consumer behaviors have impacted every industry, and some have created seismic changes, as noted in healthcare and retail. What is more interesting, is that consumers also found new methods of entertainment and recreation. Namely, many discovered the great outdoors.
The practice of listening to the home town team on the radio and watching the game on TV is as alive and well today as it ever was. The connection formed between the radio broadcaster and the listener is extraordinary! This is a trusting relationship only radio can provide. This connection can drive sales and help to build your brand.
The big game is a big deal for radio stations and it is here next weekend! And you can bet everyone across the country will be tuning in to hear the Pats and Eagles play-by-play. Westwood One will cover the game nationally. Listeners coast-to-coast can hear the game called by their favorite announcers including Kevin Harlan and Boomer Esiason, and this year also includes Hall of Fame reporter Ed Werder. Local announcers in Boston and Philadelphia include WBZ’s Bob Socci and Scott Zolak, and WIP’s Merrill Reese and Mike Quick.
Sports fans are amazing! They will go to an event to watch “their” team play – whether it is 102 degrees or 2 degrees – they are there. They identify with their teams and according to research on the subject, one professor of psychological and brain sciences was quoted as saying: “A huge part of who they are, where they derive a lot of their positive and negative affect, is from what their team is doing.”
Sports fans are very similar to radio listeners. Both groups have strong emotional connections with the person or persons they are tuned in to. So when you combine a sports fan that is also an avid radio listener, it’s a powerful combination.
“I’m a purple person.” “I prefer basic black.” “I like to wear bold colors.” People have distinctive tastes and preferences when it comes to clothing or accessories. These preferences are personal, similar to that of radio listening, and similarly, music choice.
A researcher at Heriot-Watt University in the U.K. studied over 36,000 participants’ ratings of 104 music styles and found a direct correlation to their personalities. The study showed that heavy metal music fans are normally calm and comfortable around others, while classical music lovers are often shy and creative. Hard-working and outgoing would be words to describe pop and country music listeners. The relationship between radio and the listener has always been an emotional one but what they listen to is not just personal, it is an extension of who they are.
“There’s nothing like listening to my Red Sox on the radio outdoors or in the car.”
“I listen to play- by-play more than watch games on TV since I do not have cable anymore.”
“I enjoy the freedom of listening to the radio for sports programs as it allows me the freedom to be outside working on various projects.”
“Announcers are funny. Commercials seem less intrusive and I don’t mind the interruption as much.”
These are just a few of the quotes we grabbed from an informal online survey regarding Sports Radio listening habits — sports radio simply works and works hard for those that are passionate about sports. It’s not just the “big” games, it’s every game. It’s the conversation, it’s the debate, it’s the voices, it’s the surprise, delight, defeat, and it’s simply the passion for sports that fuels the beast.
Continue reading “Sports Radio Knocks It Out
of the Park for Fans”
According to Statista, there will be well over 220 million smartphone users by the end of 2017. These users will engage with radio in various ways – texting, downloading or just listening in.
Over 247 million people tune in to radio every week. Their reason for tune-in varies; it may be to find out about the weather or to get traffic and transit updates. Whatever the reason, they all have one thing in common – they listen because of the connection they have with the radio station and the personalities on that station. During Advertising Week, radio’s ability to “provide a personal connection with listeners that no one else does” and “color a blank canvas” for sports fans was discussed during two separate sessions: “Let Us Entertain You” and “Huddle Up – Radio Sets the Score,” each moderated by RAB president and CEO Erica Farber.
