From the Executive Summary

• In the 2017–2018 season, there were 17 million attendances to Broadway tours across the United States and Canada.
• Seventy-two percent of attendees were female.
• The average age of the Touring Broadway theatregoer was 53.7 years.
• The vast majority of Touring Broadway theatregoers were Caucasian.
• Of those age 25 or older, 81% of the audience held a college degree and 38% held a graduate degree.
• Fifty-five percent of national theatregoers reported an annual household income of more than $100,000, compared to only 25% of Americans overall.
• Thirty-nine percent of respondents subscribed to the “Broadway Series” at their local venues.
• On average, Touring Broadway attendees saw 5 shows per year.
• Women continued to be more likely than men to make the decision to purchase theatre tickets.
• The most commonly cited sources for show selection were personal recommendation; the inclusion in the subscription; emails about the show; and critics’ reviews.
• The theatres’ websites were, by far, the most important reported source for show information.
• Sixty-three percent of the audience said that some kind of incentive would encourage them to attend theatre more frequently, such as discounts or special perks.
• Three quarters of respondents said they used Facebook.
• Sixty-three percent of non-subscribers said they purchased tickets through the show’s or theatre’s official website.
• Most Touring Broadway theatregoers attended in small groups of family or friends.
• More than one-half of the audience said that they were somehow involved or interested in theatre as a child.
• The vast majority of Touring Broadway theatregoers arrived at the venue by personal car.
• Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they would prefer to receive theatre information electronically, rather than via postal mail.
• Thirty-five percent of respondents said they made a visit to New York City in the past year.  Of those, 83% attended a Broadway show while in town.
• Nine percent of respondents said they spoke a language other than English in their homes.

The Audience For Touring Broadway 2017-2018

62 pages, illustrated with color charts and graphs, published February 2019.

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This biennial report analyzes the economic impact of money spent in New York specifically because of Broadway - including dollars spent on mounting and running Broadway productions and maintenance of theatres; as well as monies spent by visitors to New York on Broadway related ancillary spending.

During the 2016-2017 season, the Broadway industry contributed $12.63 billion to the economy of New York City and supported 87,100 jobs.

This amount consisted of direct spending in three areas: spending by producers to produce and run shows; spending by theatre owners to maintain and renovate venues; and ancillary purchases by "Broadway Tourists" (defined as non-NYC residents who said that Broadway was a very important reason for their coming to New York City). The money that was directly spent in these areas was then re-spent in multiple subsequent rounds, until the original sums left New York City. The sum of the subsequent rounds and the original spending total the full contribution of $12.63 billion.

Broadway's Economic Contribution to NYC: 2016-2017 Season 

45 pages, illustrated with color with charts, graphs, and photos.

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Introduction

Touring Broadway venues are not only  critical to their cities as cultural institutions, but also have a huge economic impact on their wider metropolitan areas.  Specifically, producers, venue owners, and presenters spend money in the local economy to present shows and maintain venues.  Moreover, the shows attract audiences whose ancillary spending supports other related businesses such as restaurants, parking, and transportation.   The goal of this analysis is to quantify the annual impact of Broadway Tours to those areas and overall.

From the Executive Summary

• In the 2012–2013 season, there were approximately 45 Broadway touring shows traveling across the country. 
• Producers and presenters spent $752.7 million to launch and run these tours ($581.3 million in presenting communities and $171.4 million in the New York City area.)  Another $17 million was spent in other localities or internationally that is beyond the scope of this analysis.
• Moreover, theatregoers who came to an area specifically to attend shows spent another $674.8 million on ancillary activities such as dining and transportation.
• Thus the total direct spending due to Touring Broadway amounted to $1.43 billion. 
• This money then generated another $1.79 billion in secondary rounds of spending, so that the full economic contribution of Touring Broadway totaled $3.2 billion.
• Eighty-eight percent of this money ($2.8 billion) supported the communities that presented Broadway tours.  Another $397.4 million impacted the New York City area.
• On average, Broadway tours contributed an economic impact of 3.4 times the gross ticket sales to the economy of the metropolitan areas in which they played.

The Economic Impact of Touring Broadway - 2012-2013 Season

27 pages, illustrated with color with charts, graphs, and photos.
Published May 2015

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