Click here to view a 12-minute video of the key takeaways.

Click here to view or download the 2022 NFL Listening Report for advertisers.

Click here to view or download the 2022 NFL Listening Report for affiliates.

Three new major NFL streaming platforms will debut this fall for NFL fans.

NFL+ new all access video subscription service

The NFL’s new video subscription offering provides live regular season and postseason games as well as full and condensed game replays.

NFL Thursday Night Football exclusively on Amazon Prime Video

Thursday night games will no longer be on a broadcast TV or cable network. While Al Michaels will call the games on the main Amazon Prime Video stream, Amazon will also offer different simultaneous feeds to reach viewers who might not be typical NFL fans.

Local AM/FM radio stations will debut audio streaming of Westwood One’s national broadcast

After a decade behind a paywall, the audio stream of Westwood One’s national broadcast will now be available for local radio station affiliates. The Westwood One national audio stream will also be available on the free NFL app.

For years WFAN listeners in the New York market could hear the game over the air but not on WFAN’s audio stream. Now listeners will have the option to listen to Westwood One’s Monday night, Thursday night, and Sunday night broadcasts on their smart speakers, smartphones, and laptops.

How many people are aware that the only place to watch NFL Thursday Night Football will be on Amazon Prime Video?

To determine the degree of awareness that Amazon Prime Video will be the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football, the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® commissioned a national study from MARU/Matchbox of 1,000 Americans over the age of 18 from July 22 to August 4, 2022.

Half of frequent NFL viewers and only 30% of occasional NFL viewers are aware that Thursday Night Football will only be available on Amazon Prime Video

With 31 days to go, the MARU/Matchbox study reveals there are still large numbers of NFL fans that will need to learn about where they can watch Thursday Night Football.

Nielsen Scarborough: Half of NFL Thursday Night Football viewers are not Amazon Prime members

Of the 68 million Americans who have watched NFL Thursday Night Football in the last year, 31.7 million are Amazon Prime members and 36.7 million are not. The exclusive availability of Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video might convince NFL fans to sign on to Amazon Prime.

The majority of football fans with Amazon Prime say they’ll watch NFL Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video

The MARU/Matchbox study reveals 89% of frequent NFL viewers with Amazon Prime say they are very likely or somewhat likely to watch NFL Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video. 66% of occasional NFL viewers with Amazon Prime are very/somewhat likely to watch.

Opportunity to watch: 42 million Americans have Amazon Prime but have not watched NFL Thursday Night Football in the last year, per Nielsen Scarborough

The availability of NFL Thursday Night Football and its many different Amazon Prime Video feeds could generate new audiences for the NFL.

Westwood One’s massive season-long audience of 56 million people can be utilized to explain how to watch games on Amazon Prime Video and reach those who cannot catch games on TV

According to a season-long Nielsen analysis of Portable People Meter tuning, a total of 56 million people listen to the NFL on Westwood One.

The NFL on AM/FM radio is a reach machine: Each week, new/different listeners tune in

NFL AM/FM radio broadcasts fit into the busy lives of Americans. Some have to go to the mall to pick up their children. Others are running errands or returning from a trip to visit relatives. In Mountain and Pacific time zones, prime time games air during the drive home from work.

The NFL on Westwood One is a massive reach machine, adding new and different listeners each and every week. In the first week of the season, 7 million unique consumers tune in. Over the course of September, the unique audience expands to 18 million.

Over the entire regular season, Westwood One’s NFL play-by-play reaches 46 million different Americans. What happens in the postseason? Westwood One’s NFL coverage adds an additional 10 million listeners who were not reached during the regular season, lifting the season-long reach to 56 million.

Adding Westwood One’s NFL audio platform to a NFL video plan generates incremental reach

An NFL game day audience study found adding Westwood One’s audio broadcast to NFL TV plans increases reach among high income men by +14%. Among young men 18-34, Westwood One’s audio platform adds +18% reach to the TV plan.

Audio play-by-play listeners are far more engaged and passionate versus TV viewers

While most play-by-play sports are available both on TV and AM/FM radio, each broadcast has a very different audience profile. The TV audience consists of casual sports fans. The AM/FM radio play-by-play audience is far more passionate and engaged. This distinction has a significant impact on advertising effectiveness.

Consider these five dimensions of sports engagement:

• Attend sports events
• Seek sports information on a phone
• Friends/family ask my advice on sports
• Considered a sports category influential consumer
• Play fantasy sports

On each measure, MRI Simmons reports the AM/FM radio play-by-play audience is more engaged with and passionate about sports than those who watch sports on TV.

Sports betting is more prevalent among AM/FM radio sports listeners versus the TV sports audience

Another key measure of passion and engagement is online sports betting. Regardless of the broadcast audience for each sport, AM/FM radio listeners are more likely to be sports bettors, according to Nielsen Scarborough.

In the car, the AM/FM radio NFL play-by-play broadcast is the “best available screen” for employed and upscale sports fans

According to GfK MRI, the profile of the AM/FM radio NFL audience is much more upscale. Compared to average Americans, NFL AM/FM radio audiences spend 16% more and are:

• 20% more likely to be college graduates
• 27% more likely to be employed full time
• 32% more likely to have a $75,000+ household income

The Westwood One NFL Listening Report key takeaways:

• More engaged: The sports listener is more passionate, giving audio commercials greater impact
• Mass reach: Buy deep in a game and long in the season to capture the massive 56 million reached by Westwood One’s NFL coverage
• Closest to the point of purchase: Reach busy on-the-go people whose “best screen” is likely their car AM/FM radio
• Desirable consumers: Reach a younger, employed, and upscale audience with greater spending power
• Make your TV better: The NFL on Westwood One is an effective way to amplify reach and frequency of an NFL TV campaign

Click here to view a 12-minute video of the key takeaways.

View or download the 2022 NFL Listening Report for advertisers:

View or download the 2022 NFL Listening Report for affiliates:

Pierre Bouvard is Chief Insights Officer of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group®.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.