Media Audit ranks top college football towns

[Scoop]

Some interesting stuff, the B10 loves it some football. Kind of surprised no Des Moines. It looks at top 80 markets and DM is somewhere in the 70's on most lists I've seen.

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Study Ranks Top Markets for College Football Fans

According to a new national report issued by The Media Audit, the most devoted fans of college football reside in Birmingham, Alabama. The study shows that 77.1% of adults in Birmingham regularly follow college football on TV or radio, ranking the city as the country's top metro market among college gridiron fans.

Madison, Wisconsin, ranks second in the national poll, with 74.1% of the metro area's adults who regularly follow college football, followed by Columbus, Ohio (73.5%), Little Rock, Arkansas (71.9%), and Ann Arbor, Michigan (71.5%). Among all U.S. adults, 47.4% regularly follow college football, a figure that represents more than 68 million fans across The Media Audit's 80 measured markets.

Collegiate football fans make ideal targets for many advertisers, including automotive, home improvement, and travel and leisure. According to the same study, 22.3% of college football fans are homeowners earning more than $100,000 in annual household income, and 26.5% have liquid assets in excess of $100,000. As a result, these fans can afford luxury automobiles and frequently travel.

Among these same fans, they are 35% more likely than the general population to be planning the purchase of an automobile priced over $30,000 and 16% more likely to already own a luxury vehicle such as a BMW, Mercedes Benz, Lexus, Infiniti, Jaguar, or Porsche. Furthermore, college football fans are 18% more likely to be planning a cruise in the next two years, and 42% more likely to be frequent domestic air travelers.

Rounding out the top ten college football markets are Toledo, Ohio (71.3% regularly follow college football on TV or radio), followed by Omaha, Nebraska (70.7%), Jacksonville, Florida (68.9%), Boise, Idaho (68.8%), and Columbia-Jefferson City, Missouri (68.1%).

In compiling the report, studies were conducted in 80 metro markets between January 2010 and March 2011 among more than 104,000 respondents.

(Source: The Media Audit, 08/23/11)

 

[thejumper5]

I think that as of the 2010 census, Des Moines may have fallen below #80 in market-size. They are certainly not in the top 80 for city-proper population, but some of the ones ahead of them combine with others as one media market (like Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth).

 

[DuffMan]

I think that as of the 2010 census, Des Moines may have fallen below #80 in market-size. They are certainly not in the top 80 for city-proper population, but some of the ones ahead of them combine with others as one media market (like Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth).

It depends on how you view the market. Many include Ames in the Des Moines DMA, just like many consider CF/Waterloo, CR, and IC to be one market as well.

 

[thejumper5]

I think that as of the 2010 census, Des Moines may have fallen below #80 in market-size. They are certainly not in the top 80 for city-proper population, but some of the ones ahead of them combine with others as one media market (like Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth).

And my guess was wrong. Des Moines ranked #72 in 2010 and #73 in 2011.

Nielsen Media Research Television Markets listed numerically courtesy of the Master Station Index at TVJobs.com

 

[thejumper5]

Another theory. It says they conducted the study in "80 metro markets." That doesn't necessarily mean they studied the Top 80. Boise, according to my link, is #113. Madison is #85. Columbia-Jefferson City is #137. Des Moines may not be ranked because it may not have been researched.