Score a Win-Win with Sports, Spirits, and Streaming Audio

When game day rolls around, streaming audio and spirits are the two necessities in any routine. From turning on motivational music to get the group hyped for the game to clinking bottles after the final touchdown, alcohol and streaming audio go hand in hand—or rather, glass in glass.

Our recent Pandora study dives into the unique connection between streaming audio listeners, sports fans, and alcohol consumers. With major sporting events like the World Cup, Winter Olympics, and Big Game on the horizon, here’s why you should be saying “Cheers!” to adding streaming audio to your campaigns. 

Alcohol Remains Resilient in a Down Economy

Across the nation, from industries to individual households, budgets are tightening. But despite this year’s economic shifts and consumer pull-back on spending, alcohol purchases and consumption remain strong. Almost six in 10 (59%) of consumers report the economy has had no or minimal impact on their alcohol spending, and 72% of adults 21 and up have purchased alcohol in the past six months. And when we look ahead to the next few years, the alcohol industry is predicted to stay steady with a +12% projected growth rate for ecommerce alcohol sales between 2025 and 2030.  

Celebrating Sports Wins, Sip by Sip

There’s nothing quite like pouring a cold one and rooting for your team on the big screen, and consumers agree. Half of our listeners 21 and up drink alcohol while watching games for major sporting events (like the Big Game). Meanwhile, nearly half of them do so while watching games for any sports or leagues (like NFL football). And when it comes to sports-related activities, our listeners are even more likely to imbibe.  

More than half (52%) of our listeners ages 21 and up drink alcohol during game-viewing parties or pre- / post-game tailgating. We’ve found that drinking alcohol during sports activities has increased considerably year-over-year, whether our audience is feeling more celebratory, attending more sporting events, or on the edge of their seat during a tight game. As for what our listeners are specifically drinking? While watching sports, 73% of them drink beer and 58% consume spirits.  

Alcohol Consumers Turn up the Volume on Streaming Audio

As much as alcohol complements any sports occasion, so does streaming audio. While doing sports activities, 62% of sports fans 18 and up are listening to music. Whether listeners are on the way to a live game, tailgating, or setting up their fantasy team lineup, they’re hitting play on their favorite tunes to get them in the gameday mood or get a pick-me-up after a team loss. 

As you target streaming audio listeners and sports fans, reach them on Pandora—which has seen an influx of activity during and after major sports moments:

• Kendrick Lamar: +5.5M spins on Pandora after his halftime performance for the 2025 Big Game 

• Bad Bunny: +159% increase in station adds the week after he was announced as the halftime show performer for the 2026 Big Game

• Beyoncé: +44% lift in station adds the week of the 2024 NFL Christmas Halftime Show

The X-Factor: Listeners and Sports Fans Are Ad-Receptive

Our listeners aren’t just plugged in to audio, they’re ad-receptive, too. Almost half (48%) of listeners 21 and up would consider trying a specific alcoholic beverage brand/product if they heard it in a streaming audio ad. Now that you know the “where” (streaming audio), here’s a tip for the “how” for your campaigns. Almost half (46%) of sports fans 18 and up are especially receptive to ads that are themed around big sports events, from the Big Game, to the Olympics, to the World Cup. And multicultural sports fans enjoy seeing or hearing their favorite athletes in advertisements.

By including major sports events and fan-favorite athletes in your messaging and creative, you can promote action among both the general market and multicultural fans.

Score Bonus Points with Multicultural Audiences

Diverse consumers are not only ad receptive, but they're also more likely to discover alcohol brands through audio. Multicultural listeners 21 and up are more likely to hear about new alcohol products from streaming audio and podcast ads, including 37% of African American listeners, 36% of Hispanic American listeners, and 30% of Asian listeners. So, don’t forget to reach diverse audiences, too—their consumer power isn’t to be underestimated.

A Cross-Platform Campaign Drives Lifts for a Hard Alcohol Advertiser

A hard alcohol advertiser came to us to generate awareness and drive purchase intent among streaming audio and podcast listeners ages 21 and up. The brand used a diverse media mix across Pandora, SoundCloud, and the SiriusXM Podcast Network, including mobile video, Sponsored Stations, and podcast placements. To motivate listeners to take action, the campaign included banner ads, contextually relevant themes, and host reads. The campaign leveraged advanced audience targeting to connect with African Americans, alcohol shoppers, arts and culture enthusiasts, and more across the SiriusXM Streaming and Podcast Networks. 

The cross-platform results were more than worthy of a celebratory toast:

• +11pts lift in brand attribute “is a brand that stands for something” driven by SiriusXM Media campaign

• +8pts lift in aided brand awareness 

• +8pts lift in brand attribute “is a sophisticated choice” 

• +6pts lift in purchase intent 

Bring Home the Win with Streaming Audio

Whether a sports fan’s favorite drink is beer or spirits, or they’re rooting for the Cowboys or Eagles, the one thing they can agree on is that alcohol and sports is the ultimate pairing. Add in streaming audio, and you get a game-winning campaign. For alcohol and non-alcohol retailers alike, the message on the scoreboard is this: Our listeners are streaming audio-obsessed, ad-receptive, and sports-loving—and they’re waiting to hear from you.

Don’t wait for the halftime, let’s chat. 

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