The Athletic recently revealed data showing that its new NFL podcast Scoop City was pulling in twice as many women as a typical podcast on the network, and now host Dianna Russini has shared why she thinks her show has been so successful in finding what she calls an “untapped market.”
To Russini, it’s a combination of three factors: the tone of Scoop City, recent hype around football for young women thanks to Taylor Swift’s presence around the league, and her own transparency as a woman in the industry.
“I don’t know if people are tuning in because I’m on the show. I just think there’s more female football fans. I think women are learning the sport at a faster rate,” Russini said Tuesday on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. “I think it’s an untapped market, and it’s going to be a market that’s going to continue to grow.”
“Women are listening and I think that’s really cool for the sport…I think it’s an untapped market and it’s going to continue to grow.” – @DMRussini on reports that her new NFL podcast, Scoop City, brings double the amount of women listeners than the average Athletic podcast.… pic.twitter.com/FxzB9mtEN8
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) October 1, 2024
The Athletic’s advertising VP Lauren Funke recently revealed to Alyssa Meyers of Marketing Brew just how well Scoop City was doing with women.
On the show, Russini and Chase Daniel have a chemistry that feels real. They also often share stories about their family and personal lives that make them more accessible than the typical podcasting duo who might just be worried about grinding tape and breaking news.
Russini believes that might make them more accessible to a new, more casual fan, or someone who isn’t just occupied with the nitty-gritty on the field.
“Women are listening, and I think that’s really cool to the sport,” she said. “We definitely talk about real football. This isn’t a light football show. But I think we approach with a lightness, and I hope that that’s some of what the people who are tuning in like about what we’re doing.”
At the same time, Swift dating Travis Kelce for the past year certainly has brought more women into the fold of NFL fandom and led to more genuine outreach to those fans.
“Maybe Taylor Swift had a big influence on this. Maybe she sort of got a lot of the female audience to pay attention to it and while watching her, they were like, ‘Wait this is actually really fun. This is a great sport,'” Russini added.
Russini is also not shy about sharing details of motherhood, marriage, and more — especially how they intersect with the madness of being an NFL insider. Those insights make her more entertaining and relatable, and may also provide an entry point to a woman who is tuning in.
“Being married and having kids and having a life outside of my actual job, I hope that’s some of the reason why women feel like they can relate,” Russini said.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.