Blog

What Radio Can Learn from the Super Bowl

By David Kidd, BPR

The Super Bowl isn’t just the biggest game in American sport; it’s a masterclass in how media can turn a moment into a movement. And there are some sharp lessons in it for the radio industry.

First: make the event bigger than the event.
In the U.S., the Super Bowl is a week-long content festival. Build-up, analysis, personalities, stories, predictions and controversy. The game itself is almost the finale, not the whole show. Radio is very good at calling the big moment but often underplays the theatre beforehand. Radio needs to be better at the narrative…. telling the story.

Second: personality beats production.
The Super Bowl coverage that cuts through isn’t about flashy audio tricks. Although I was impressed by some of the visuals in this year’s game. It’s really about voices listeners trust: informed, opinionated and human. Radio wins when it leans into strong points of view and lived experience, not safe summaries or “I saw this in this morning’s paper”. Radio should remember: audiences don’t tune in for information they can Google; they tune in for interpretation.

Third: make listeners part of it.
The Super Bowl thrives on shared conversation. Radio is built for this, yet often forgets to invite listeners fully into the moment.

Finally: relevance creates revenue.
Super Bowl advertisers don’t just buy airtime, they buy cultural relevance. For radio, the lesson is simple: when your content matters to the audience you can monetise it. When it doesn’t, price becomes the only lever…. and that’s a race to the bottom.

The Super Bowl reminds us that radio’s real power isn’t transmission — it’s storytelling, personality and shared experience.