Insights: Artificial Fan Noise Is A Good Thing

In an unprecedented year, the sports industry has had to take creative steps to generate all of the excitement of a live game while battling the reality of empty stadiums due to COVID-19 restrictions. The solutions varied, from cardboard cutouts of fans to digital audiences and artificial fan noise. To learn what sports fans thought about fan noise, as well as to ask about their other sports opinions in a year unlike any other, CUMULUS MEDIA | Westwood One and Horizon Media commissioned MARU/Matchbox to execute a study conducted in two waves. 

The key findings are covered in today’sWestwood One blog.

• COVID-19 has not diminished the spirit of sports fans, especially those who listen on AM/FM radio
• Ads tested in a fanless scenario, without supplemental fan or crowd noise, resulted in video ads feeling less informative than those within the supplemental fan noise environment
• Audio ads performed better in a broadcast with fan noise versus a fanless environment
• While supplemental fan noise may restore some of the feelings and sounds of normalcy, fans want a more participatory experience even if they can’t attend in person
• 40% of fans say a big part of the game experience is the fans themselves – the chants, songs, and reactions
• Despite scheduling changes, most sports fans continued tuning in to their usual sports, and younger fans were more likely to tap into new ones
• Versus heavy TV viewers, heavy AM/FM radio listeners were three times as likely to try new sports this fall
• When asked why sports audiences were somewhat lower this Fall, fans theorized that it was due to COVID-19, fanless games, sports season changes, politics and social justice in sports, and a lower priority for sports overall