Sports radio AM/FM radio stations featuring play-by-play and sports talk are posting significant gains in revenue, station count and streaming consumption, according to new research released by Westwood One, with Nielsen and Edison data reinforcing the format’s accelerating momentum across multiple audience and advertiser metrics.
Over the past decade, the number of sports-formatted AM/FM stations has climbed 14%, while revenue shares, as measured by Miller Kaplan, have surged 38%, signaling both format expansion and stronger monetization at a time when many legacy media categories are fighting audience erosion.
The growth means sports radio now reaches roughly one in six American men, giving advertisers scale alongside a highly concentrated, male-skewing audience with measurable buying power.
Streaming performance is where the format’s dominance becomes even more pronounced. Nielsen’s PPM data shows sports ranks highest in streaming share among adults 18-34 and 25-54, outperforming every other AM/FM format in those demos.
Among persons 18-34, sports posts a 3.7 overall AM/FM share, including over-the-air and streaming, yet commands a 13.9% streaming share, nearly four times its total audience share.
Among adults 25-54, sports delivers a 5.1% total share, but its streaming share jumps to 14.2%, almost triple its overall performance. Even among persons 35+, the format’s 5.4% total share doubles to 11.4% in streaming.
While digital growth stands out, over-the-air listening remains foundational.
Edison Research’s Share of Ear study reports that 61% of all U.S. sports audio time spent occurs on AM/FM radio, followed by podcasts at 27% and SiriusXM at 12%. In-car listening accounts for 57% of over-the-air sports radio time spent, though when streaming is included, listening splits evenly between home and car at 47% each.
Midday leads all dayparts at 33% of listening, with morning drive at 29% and afternoon drive at 24%, underscoring the format’s all-day relevance.
Westwood One’s national play-by-play portfolio has mirrored the broader format surge. Nielsen reports audiences for Westwood One’s NFL prime-time broadcasts have grown 26% over the past decade, while its NCAA March Madness coverage reaches 20 million Americans annually, according to Nielsen studies.
Advertisers are also taking notice, particularly as research from MRI-Simmons shows sports AM/FM radio listeners demonstrate higher levels of sports engagement than comparable television audiences for both the NFL and college basketball.
That engagement translates into commercial impact. Ranked third in household income among 24 AM/FM formats, the sports audience has seen income levels rise 17% since 2020 and over-indexes across major purchase categories, from automotive to financial services and quick-service restaurants.
A new Quantilope study adds another dimension, finding sports AM/FM listeners are more interested in artificial intelligence and more willing to pay for AI services than the total U.S. population.
Taken together, the data paints a clear picture: sports AM/FM radio is not only expanding its audience footprint, it is delivering attentive, purchase-ready consumers across broadcast and streaming platforms, reinforcing its position as one of audio’s most durable and commercially potent formats.
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Sports radio will continue to thrive, propelled by sports betting and sports betting advertisers. It’s the only area of growth in live radio. As long as fans can bet using their phones, sports radio will gain listeners and revenue. And it will be virtually immune from encroachment by podcasters. Sports fans with skin in the game will seek live radio and it’s immediacy, which podcasting lacks. Is anyone surprised by this?