The New York Knicks are your NBA champions. The NBA Finals delivered the best television viewership since The Last Dance, when Michael Jordan left Bulls fans for good. Lord Stanley’s Cup has been raised to the heavens in Raleigh, North Carolina, for the second time in just over two decades. That, too, followed impressive viewership numbers not seen in years. Baseball is in full swing, and the NFL is on hiatus. Welcome to June, where sports radio discussions often stray away from games on the field and into the evergreen territory of Mount Rushmore discussions and G.O.A.T. debates.
It’s a dangerous landscape to navigate, especially this summer. For the next five weeks, sports radio talent will likely settle into that familiar summer rhythm. Stations will lean on additional syndication. Plus, if you’re not in an MLB market, there’s likely a shortage of local, day-to-day headlines that command the collective attention of your audience.
However, this summer provides an opportunity. One that only arrives every few years, and this year it’s taking place on American soil.
It’s a decision that isn’t easy to make. Should sports radio be more embracing of the World Cup in casual conversation? Each market is different, and so is its talent. Not every host could name a single player on the USMNT, and some may not even know what the acronym means.
What’s fascinating, however, is how the approach is judged.
The Audience Leads Your Content
Most sports radio stations were glued to the NBA Finals. The series involved the largest market in the United States. The presentation was full of celebrity. Every game was micro-analyzed from pregame through postgame. NBA basketball is familiar to most Americans. It draws a broader audience than most sports because of its history in the country.
That’s why the NBA Finals are always must-see television and frequently become topics of discussion on sports radio across the country.
The Stanley Cup Final didn’t feature major U.S. markets. In fact, two of the league’s youngest franchises battled for the Stanley Cup. However, viewership surged to unexpected levels. The Stanley Cup Final will likely go down as the most-watched Cup Final in more than a decade despite the lack of familiarity and star power.
Viewers showed interest, yet most sports radio stations chose the NBA over the Stanley Cup Final when it came to topics, discussion, and social engagement.
For both events, viewership was strong. However, they competed against one another for airtime among sports radio brands across the country. The World Cup doesn’t have that competition, but will sports radio make it a day-to-day topic over the next five weeks?
If viewership is your guide, Americans are watching.
Ball Don’t Lie
The United States’ win over Paraguay was the most-watched USMNT FIFA World Cup telecast in English-language U.S. history. Nearly 16 million people watched the U.S. dismantle Paraguay while scoring a record four goals in a single World Cup match.
For comparison, the Stanley Cup Final will likely average just over 4.5 million viewers. The NBA Finals finished with an average audience over 20 million.
If viewership is your guide, doesn’t the World Cup make sense for sports radio to embrace? If the goal is to follow what your audience is watching, shouldn’t content selection reflect that same approach?
We always talk about lost opportunities when it comes to sports radio’s ability to connect with audiences in different ways. Sure, the NFL drives the bus when it comes to cume and TSL. However, when there’s no NFL and limited NBA, NHL, and, in many markets, MLB storylines to discuss, you need to get creative with the opportunities in front of you.
The World Cup is exactly that opportunity. It’s not just a soccer event. It’s a cultural one.
Content Angles Are There
There is plenty of star power and no shortage of discussion points involving sponsorships, commercials, commentators, and social media reactions. Every United States match resonates with people differently as the country celebrates its 250th birthday leading into July 4.
Have you seen how visitors from other countries are sharing their American experiences online? That’s content in itself. Connect with those people online, book them as guests, and reveal the uniqueness of their journeys to your audience.
The World Cup provides numerous ways to lean into the entertainment value that sports radio delivers. If you don’t know much about the game, be curious. Be ‘Ted Lasso’ for your audience and ask questions. You may learn something along the way while connecting with listeners on a level you haven’t experienced before.
Yes, there will be NBA free agency. Of course, the NHL will generate headlines as well. And the Midsummer Classic will always be a focal point for sports radio. However, America is telling sports radio what it cares about right now. The question is whether sports radio is listening.
Embrace, Not Evade
Sports radio has always been at its best when it meets audiences where their passions already exist. It doesn’t require every host to become a soccer expert overnight, nor does it mean abandoning the sports that traditionally drive ratings.
It simply means recognizing what is unfolding right in front of us.
The numbers suggest Americans are watching. The crowds suggest they’re engaged. The social media conversation suggests they’re invested. When millions of people are tuning in to the biggest sporting event on the planet, hosted in your own backyard, sports radio doesn’t have the luxury of pretending it isn’t happening.
Five weeks from now, the World Cup will be gone. The opportunity to be part of the conversation will disappear with it. Sports radio can either treat it as a niche event and watch from the sidelines, or embrace the curiosity, energy, and cultural relevance it has created across the country.
The audience has already made its choice.
If every indication points to the World Cup being the defining sports story of the summer, sports radio shouldn’t ignore it. It should embrace it.
The biggest sporting event of the summer is already commanding attention, generating conversation, and attracting millions of viewers. Sports radio doesn’t need to become soccer radio. It simply needs to recognize where the audience is spending its time and meet listeners there. When every sign points to the World Cup becoming the story of the summer, the smartest move isn’t to avoid it. It’s to embrace it.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
