With the football season in full swing we thought it would be useful to provide some media stats related to the gridiron, which seems to have fully eclipsed Major League
Baseball as the national pastime. But football ratings on TV and the radio can be deceiving as to which are the best markets to bet on with a PR campaign, sponsorship et al.
"When are the 'top ten' markets not the top ten markets? When 'top ten' refers to college and professional football television and radio exposure, that's when," says Mark Weiner,
CEO of media research and analysis firm Delahaye Medialink Worldwide.
While the top three population markets (N.Y., Chicago, L.A.) reach millions and millions of households via TV and radio, "when we look at newspaper readership, markets such as
Knoxville, Tenn.; Columbus, Ohio; and Oklahoma City, Okla., reach almost 50% of the entire populations of these cities." (The top ten traditional markets reach roughly one-third
that of the smaller but more football-ravenous markets mentioned here.) Weiner adds that the PR challenge is to find ways to insert publicity placements within the semi-controlled
environment of a football game broadcast. "But if you know who you're targeting and the media that they read, watch and listen to, the creative public relations professional is
more than half way there."
| The TOP 10 MARKETS FOR NEWSPAPERS READ BY AUDIENCES WHO FOLLOW FOOTBALL ON TV AND RADIO | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Top Markets | Top Newspaper | Total Adult Readership | Total Target Readership |
| MADISON, WI | Journal Times | 268,700 | 226,700 |
| OKLAHOMA CITY, OK | Daily Oklahoman | 417,200 | 344,000 |
| NEW ORLEANS, LA | Times Picayune | 634,700 | 508,900 |
| DES MOINES, IA | Des Moines Regter | 273,800 | 215,900 |
| KANSAS CITY, MO/KS | Kansas City Star | 707,900 | 556,100 |
| OMAHA-COUNCIL BLUFFS, NE/IA | Omaha World-Herald | 328,200 | 253,500 |
| COLUMBUS, OH | Columbus Dpatch | 665,400 | 543,700 |
| NASHVILLE, TN | Tennessean | 494,600 | 410,400 |
| JACKSONVILLE, FL | Times Union | 461,100 | 352,400 |
| MILWAUKEE-RACINE, WI | Milwaukee Journal | 683,000 | 580,20 |
| Source: Survey Research, Delahaye Medialink | |||
| THE TOP METRO AREAS WHERE PEOPLE LISTEN TO FOOTBALL ON RADIO | ||
|---|---|---|
| RANKED BY TARGET POP |
TARGET POP WHO LISTENS TO FOOTBALL | |
|
1
|
LOS ANGELES METRO AREA |
699,095
|
|
2
|
NEW YORK METRO AREA |
689,760
|
|
3
|
CHICAGO METRO AREA |
509,090
|
|
4
|
SEATTLE/TACOMA METRO AREA |
499,230
|
|
5
|
SAN FRANCISCO METRO AREA |
404,405
|
|
6
|
MINNEAPOL/ST.PAUL METRO AREA |
396,055
|
|
7
|
ATLANTA METRO AREA |
384,980
|
|
8
|
DALLAS/FORT WORTH METRO AREA |
356,065
|
|
9
|
PHILADELPHIA METRO AREA |
346,585
|
|
10
|
DETROIT METRO AREA |
337,350
|
| SOURCE: MEDIALINK DEMOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE/SCARBOROUGH RESEARCH, SCARBOROUGH USA | ||
| The Top Metro Areas where people watch football on TV (broadcast and cable) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Target pop who watch football | ||
|
1
|
New York Metro Area |
6,248,545
|
|
2
|
Los Angeles Metro Area |
4,371,025
|
|
3
|
Chicago Metro Area(excl.Kenosha) |
3,693,290
|
|
4
|
San Francisco Metro Area (excl.Solano) |
2,880,150
|
|
5
|
Philadelphia Metro Area |
2,455,430
|
|
6
|
Dallas/Fort Worth Metro Area |
2,324,890
|
|
7
|
Washington, D.C. Metro Area |
2,312,640
|
|
8
|
Boston Metro Area |
2,137,940
|
|
9
|
Atlanta Metro Area |
1,979,670
|
|
10
|
Detroit Metro Area |
1,979,485
|
| Source: Medialink Demographic Intelligence/Scarborough Research, Scarborough USA | ||