In your city/state, does sports drive readership?

Just a question that I have rattling around now.
This has been touched on in at least one other thread, and with the newly created "worst company" thread I figure I'll throw it out there.

Here in Texas - or throughout most of the state, anyway - I think we've established that sports drives circulation/readership. Where are you, and does this hold true for your area as well?

 

Not only does it drive readership, but it also picks it up when it falls, and it hangs it up when it calls.

It listens to the readership's dreams. It plugs the readership's ears when it screams.

 

What's DP's trying to say: At most papers (with the exception of the NY Times and WashPost, perhaps), the daily sports report is a big part of the reason for most of the circulation.

 

Well I had thought the same, but the naysayers seemed to appear quickly when the same thing was said before -- in a DMN thread, I believe.

 

Somebody wrote this in another thread, and it's something I've said for a long time: Anytime you're out in public, and a newspaper is laying around, what section is ALWAYS missing?

Sports.

Always, always, always.

I guarantee you sports drives readership more than the A section.

 

Problem is that some of your tired, wrinkly old white newspaper owners don't recognize this, and when newspapers have to trim off/hatchet pages, what gets cut worst?

Sports.

 

Agreed.

Here, it's driven by the A section, but for the most part, I'd say sports does.

 

The readership can't go on thinking nothing's wrong.

If not for sports, who's going to drive it home? Tonight?

 

You know you can't go wrong, thinking nothing's wrong...


;D

(Nothing like some 'Cars' to liven things up)

 

At my last paper they hung the last two weeks' papers on a glass partitian in the office with the off-the-rack sales. You could count on big sporting events doubling the sales whether it be a local school winning a state championship, another local school ending a team's record-breaking win streak or race weekend at the local track.

The only other time of year that saw that kind of jump was election day.

 

since dye swallowed a sarcasm pill and won't explain it, i will.

countless, and i mean countless polls show sports is way down the list in terms of reader interest, yes, even below obits in most polls. but, what sports sections do have is a high number of passionate readers who'll lose their minds -- both good or bad -- because of the product.

why you see circulation increasing in coorelation to big sporting events is simple: non sports readers become semi-passionate and plunk 50 cents into a rack to read sports ... but that is rare.

 

And even more rare to see something non sports related draw the same response.