Ahead of the NFL Draft (where they’re doing their own Radio Row), Audacy has rolled out an Audacy Sports subbrand. The new brand will cover their 40 owned-and-operated all-sports radio stations and affiliates, 160 sports streaming channels on the Audacy app, more than 600 titles and live events on their podcast network, and partnerships with more than 150 pro and collegiate teams.
Audacy Sports will also cover their two national multiplatform sports networks. That would be Infinity Sports Network (the former CBS Sports Radio) and BetQL Network (both distributed in partnership with Westwood One). And they’re the official audio and podcast partner of Major League Baseball, which lets them stream MLB play-by-play in English and Spanish, as well as distribute official MLB podcasts. Here’s more on the plans here from an Audacy release:
Audacy creates more live, local and original premium Audio sports content than any other media company. Aggregating its market-leading broadcast, digital and podcast inventory under Audacy Sports unleashes a market-differentiating opportunity for advertisers to connect with 43 million monthly listeners across the company’s sports portfolio while continuing to build equity in the Audacy brand. This announcement follows Audacy’s recent unveiling of Audacy Podcasts, a move to consolidate its podcast production and go-to-market monetization approach.
“We’re thrilled to bring together our unrivaled sports portfolio under Audacy Sports,” said Lee Davis, Senior Vice President of Sports Monetization, Audacy. “Consolidating our cross-platform sellable assets under one name creates a compelling opportunity for brands to connect with listeners at scale – through our digital and broadcast network platforms or locally, through our owned sports stations – wherever and whenever they tune into Audacy content.”
…Audacy Sports launches at the NFL Draft in Detroit as the Company gears up to provide unparalleled Draft analysis, expert opinion and exclusive, behind-the-scenes access for fans. Throughout the week, Audacy Sports will host its own Radio Row in Detroit with several of its leading brands, publish a multitude of podcast episodes previewing the Draft and analyzing each round and team results, deliver betting analysis from BetQL Network and host a private intimate concert with Jelly Roll at The Fillmore.
While this is more of a branding change than anything particularly new on the content side right now, this is notable to see from Audacy. They definitely have a solid portfolio of sports content in a lot of dimensions, and it’s significant to see them bringing that together under one subbrand. And this can help raise awareness for both listeners and advertisers of all the sports content Audacy has, and perhaps provide opportunities for advertisers in particular to buy slots across a variety of Audacy Sports platforms.
It’s also interesting to see Audacy do this around a big event like the NFL Draft. Incorporating their various sports platforms to cover that adds to the synergy here, and to the focus on how much content Audacy Sports has. And while sports has always been important for Audacy, this may signify it becoming even a larger focus for the overall company.
[Audacy]
