Radio Attracts the LGBT Audience, Especially Millennials and Sports Fans

Data culled from Reddit NFL online forums from September 2020 to September 2021 found fans of only six NFL teams posted positive comments for members of the local LGBTQ community. Cincinnati Bengals fans were first at 60.0% and Los Angeles fans were last at 29.4%.

In-depth analysis of data from five representative 2021 consumer/market surveys conducted by Local Sports Insights reveals an average of 25.2% of Gen Zers and 40.3% of Millennials identify as LGBT. There is also a significant percentage of Gen Xers at 20.2% while Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation are 9.1% and 1.4%, respectively.

According to the Local Sports Insights data in the table below, Millennials who identify as LGBT are the only generation that over-indexes for heavy exposure to radio (180+ minutes during an average day), compared to the total market average. Gen Xers are also heavily exposed to radio and a substantial average of Gen Zers over-index too when eliminating the very low index in the Portland, OR market.

“The buying power of the LGBTQ community in the US is approximately $1 trillion, which is substantial considering its member represent just 5.6% of the total US population, according to a February 2021 Gallup poll,” said Tony Ott, Vice President/General Manager, Local Sports Insights. “Our data from the five consumer/market surveys in the tables shows an average of almost a third (32.1%) of all adults 18+ who identify as LGBT have household incomes of $75,000 or more.”

Adults 18+ in the five Local Sports Insights surveys who are professional sports fans and identify as LGBT don’t seem to care that so few Reddit NFL posts included positive comments about themselves and their community. LGBT Gen Zers over-indexed an average of 215 and Millennials an average of 152 as professional sports fans.

Correlating these LGBT fans of the five major professional sports leagues found they over-indexed even more for heavy exposure to radio than the table above.

This additional reach increases the opportunity for advertisers to engage with an audience segment that is young, affluent and active sports fans. These LGBT fans are not only spending more time listening to radio than the market average, but also are attracted to audio programming related to their favorite local teams, from sports talk to podcasts to the broadcasted games.