If you listen to sports content via radio or podcast, there’s a good chance that some of that programming is from ESPN Audio.
According to the 2021 Share of Ear study from Edison Research (via Inside Radio), ESPN Audio makes up more than half of all sports listening. To be exact, 53 percent of all sports listening checks out ESPN’s audio product. That’s a nine percent increase from 2020. More than one in five Americans listens to ESPN Audio each day.
The ESPN brand certainly appears to matter with Edison Research’s survey also indicating that 63 percent of the digital sports listening space is accounted for by ESPN Audio. On radio, it accounts for 47 percent of the broadcast audio space. In both categories, that’s an eight percent increase from 2020.
Put in a different context by Edison Research, listeners consume ESPN Audio content for an average of three hours and 24 minutes per week. That’s a higher average than the three-hour, 22-minute average ESPN registered for its previous peak in 2019 and 2014.
“These results further emphasize the importance of being available for fans across platforms and on-demand,” said ESPN vice president of content strategy and audio Amanda Gifford in an official release.
“We continue to strive to super-serve the terrestrial audience while always evolving with countless digital options and expanding the reach of our shows and hosts for a more customized and easily accessible experience for listeners.”
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
