A Young Audience

It’s not just the content that has some health experts concerned about commercials for alcoholic beverages. It’s where the commercials are placed.

Researchers Joel Grube and Patricia Madden suggest in a new study that ads for alcoholic beverages--particularly beer--reach even more kids when they are sandwiched during televised sporting events.

Grube and Madden reviewed 443 hours of televised sporting events (166 events) and found more ads for alcoholic beverages than for any other beverage: 685 alcohol commercials in 443 hours of events--that computes to just more than 1.5 alcohol commercials for each hour.

Only 25 messages or public service announcements on the potential dangers of alcohol aired during that time, according to the study, published in the February issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Commercials for beer, wine or wine coolers per hour of viewing:

Golf: .23

College football: .95

College basketball: 1.26

Pro football: 1.92

Pro baseball: 2.24

Pro basketball: 2.97