To no one’s surprise, football is popular. Programming and advertising sales firm Dial Global released the figures on a study tracking the listenership of this week’s NFL conference championship games, claiming an audience of 22.9 million.
The study was conducted by Edison Research, and was reportedly the first of its kind. The majority of listeners were shown to tune in through AM or FM radio, with other methods including Sirius XM and the Verizon NFL Mobile app.
The study was commissioned by Dial Global as a means to “accurately measure the number of people that tuned in to hear NFL conference championship broadcasts and make this information available within two days of the event’s conclusion.” Dial Global broadcasts NFL regular season and playoff games.
Surveys to gather the study’s data were conducted by phone on Jan. 23, 2012, the day after the broadcasts. It was then estimated that a total of 22.9 million people listened to one or both of the games.
Edison Research President Larry Rosen said the study reveals a popular misconception about the typical football audience. “People think of football as a television-only event. This survey shows that in addition, many millions of people are seeking out coverage of the games on the radio,” he said in a press release.
