When advertisers begin planning for football season, television is often the first medium that comes to mind. It delivers the action, the replays and the spectacle of game day.
But brands that invest only in television may be overlooking some of the most passionate, influential and commercially valuable fans in sports: radio listeners.
That creates a powerful opportunity for advertisers partnering with Max Media and River Radio stations carrying live sports, play-by-play, sports talk and analysis.
Radio Reaches Fans Who Are More Emotionally Invested
Research analyzed by the Cumulus Media/Westwood One Audio Active Group found that radio listeners following the 2025 NFL season rated their passion at an average of 8.5 on a 10-point scale. Video viewers averaged 7.9.
The difference was even more pronounced among the most engaged fans. Sixty percent of the audio audience rated its engagement a nine or 10, compared with 46% of the video audience.
These aren’t casual fans who happen to have a game playing in the background. They are the people who follow the story before kickoff, stay with the game wherever their day takes them and continue the conversation after the final whistle.
In fact, 39% of Westwood One listeners said they had muted a television broadcast so they could hear the radio call instead.
Television may show the play. Radio supplies the voice, emotion and imagination that can make the moment unforgettable.
An Audience That Listens—and Acts
The value of sports radio extends beyond enthusiasm for the game.
According to 2026 Winter MRI-Simmons USA data cited in the analysis, AM/FM radio listeners were 92% more likely than television viewers to qualify as “super influential” consumers across categories including automobiles, coffee and financial services.
Radio listeners were also more receptive to advertising. Twenty-seven percent said radio advertising provides useful bargain information, compared with 8% of television viewers who said the same about TV commercials.
For local businesses, that distinction matters. Sports coverage creates an environment filled with loyal consumers who listen closely, share recommendations and influence purchasing decisions within their families, workplaces and social circles.
Sports betting activity provides another indication of the audience’s intensity. AM/FM listeners to Sunday, Monday and Thursday Night Football indexed at 360 on a sports-betting scale where 100 represents the population average. Television viewers of those same games indexed at 213.
From automobile dealers, restaurants and financial institutions to healthcare providers, home-service companies and entertainment venues, sports radio gives advertisers access to an active audience whose interests and buying power extend well beyond the game.
Sports Audio Moves With the Fan
Today’s sports listening is not confined to a radio on a desk or inside a vehicle.
Fans follow coverage through over-the-air AM/FM radio, station streams, mobile apps, smart speakers and connected devices. The research found that 59% of NFL fans heard at least some NFL radio broadcast audio during the 2025 season.
The numbers were even stronger among younger fans. Seventy-four percent of listeners ages 18–34 heard NFL audio during the season and were more than twice as likely as the overall audience to listen through the NFL App.
That portability is one of audio’s greatest strengths. Sports programming can stay with fans while they drive, work, exercise, tailgate or take care of everything else that does not stop simply because a game has started.
Across Max Media and River Radio, our sports coverage allows advertisers to travel with that audience and remain part of the game-day experience.
Radio Adds Reach Television May Miss
Sports radio does not merely duplicate the television audience.
Among adults ages 25–54 who followed the 2025 NFL season, 24% listened to Westwood One’s NFL audio coverage without watching any television coverage. According to the analysis, that represents approximately 32% incremental audio-only reach compared with the audience television could reach.
In practical terms, an advertiser using television without radio may leave a meaningful portion of the sports audience untouched.
Postseason listeners were even more engaged. AM/FM postseason listeners scored 52% higher than postseason television viewers across 11 measures of sports passion and engagement. They were also 43% more likely to influence other consumers’ purchases.
That makes sports audio more than a frequency tool. It can introduce an advertiser to valuable consumers a television-only plan may never reach.
Turn Sports Passion Into Local Business
The research is national, but the opportunity is distinctly local.
Max Media and River Radio stations connect advertisers with the games, teams, personalities and conversations fans care about in their communities. That connection can extend beyond traditional commercials through play-by-play sponsorships, pregame and postgame features, score updates, sports reports, streaming audio, digital campaigns and customized promotions.
The most effective football-season strategy does not have to choose between television and radio. It uses radio to add passion, mobility, frequency and incremental reach to the media plan.
Television reaches people watching the game.
Sports radio reaches people living it.
Ready to put your business in the middle of the action? Contact your Max Media or River Radio representative to build a sports marketing campaign around the fans your business wants to reach.