The Steelers registered the largest share of radio listeners among a key demographic through the first half of the ‘12 NFL season, while the Bears had the league’s largest average audience, according to data from radio tracking firm Arbitron. In Pittsburgh, the Steelers’ simulcasts on Clear Channel-owned WDVE-FM and WBGG-AM averaged a league-leading 55.0 share among the male 25-54 demo. That means that 55% of all men ages 25 to 54 who were listening to the radio in Pittsburgh this fall when the team was playing were tuned to the games on the club’s flagship stations. This season is the 13th straight year that the sister stations have carried all the Steelers’ games. WTMJ-AM, which has been broadcasting the Packers’ games since ‘29, had the second largest average share per game, at 51.7%. In terms of raw audience size, CBS Radio claimed the top three spots as rights-holder of the Bears’, Giants’ and Eagles’ games.
| RK | TEAM | FLAGSHIP STATION | OWNER | MEN 25-54
SHARE |
| 1 | Steelers | WDVE-FM/WBGG-AM | Clear Channel | 55.0 |
| 2 | Packers | WTMJ-AM | Journal Broadcast Group | 51.7 |
| 3 | Browns | WMMS-FM/ WTAM-AM | Clear Channel | 43.1 |
| 4 | Chiefs | KCFX-FM | Cumulus | 42.5 |
| 5 | Vikings | KFAN-FM | Clear Channel | 41.4 |
| 6 | Colts | WLHK-FM | Emmis | 37.5 |
| 7 | Bengals | WEBN-FM/WCKY-AM | Clear Channel | 35.7 |
| 8 | Eagles | WIP-FM | CBS Radio | 34.8 |
| 9 | Lions | WXYT-FM | CBS Radio | 34.4 |
| 10 | Patriots | WBZ-FM | CBS Radio | 33.9 |
| | | | | |
| RK | TEAM | FLAGSHIP STATION | OWNER | AVG. GAME
AUDIENCE |
| 1 | Bears | WCFS-FM/WBBM-AM | CBS Radio | 626,900 |
| 2 | Giants | WFAN-FM/AM | CBS Radio | 402,000 |
| 3 | Eagles | WIP-FM | CBS Radio | 345,000 |
| 4 | Jets | WEPN-AM | ESPN | 322,600 |
| 5 | Vikings | KFAN-FM | Clear Channel | 284,600 |
| 6 | Lions | WXYT-FM | CBS Radio | 282,400 |
| 7t | Texans | KILT-FM/AM | CBS Radio | 276,800 |
| 7t | Patriots | WBZ-FM | CBS Radio | 276,800 |
| 9 | Steelers | WDVE-FM/WBGG-AM | Clear Channel | 229,000 |
| 10 | Seahawks | KIRO-FM/AM | Bonneville | 226,600 |
| | | | | |
NOTES: Data gathered via Arbitron’s PPM service device, which is worn like a pager. It detects encoded audio tones within a station’s audio stream, logging each time that it finds such a signal. The service was introduced in ‘07 as a way to eliminate the decades-old handwritten diary system. Unlike other major league team sports, the majority of NFL flagship stations are on the FM dial. Only five NFL franchises have an AM-only flagship in their market. Seven teams can be heard only on FM, while the other twenty have an AM/FM simulcast in their home city.
