Would National Radio do better with more sports coverage?

A reader writes in:

National Radio doesn’t run enough sports bulletins with their news. Most other stations have a short news and sports broadcast on the hour and half-hour during the prime morning and drivetime periods. National Radio has sports (I think, in the morning when I listen) at 7am, 8am and then not until 12 noon.

 A large number of musicians are big fans of sport, especially the English Premier League. Many of the musos in Auckland play football both 11 a side and indoors. Apparently Anika Moa nearly ended up playing for the Black Ferns, something I have never heard in any newspaper article on her.

So my theory is that National Radio would hold and increase its audience if it brought in regular sports segments with all of their news broadcasts. They could do a particular angle in features that would suit their audience on the intersection of music and sport. Or politicians and sport. Or environmentalists and sport.

It’s an interesting point. New Zealand does love its sports, and National Radio could increase its coverage of sports in a way that would complement its brand. I wonder what research Radio NZ has done around this – both of current listeners and former listeners?