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 2018-2019 season, the Broadway industry contributed $14.7 billion to the economy of New York City and supported 96,900 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 $14.7 billion.

Broadway's Economic Contribution to NYC: 2018-2019 Season 

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

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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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From the Executive Summary

• In the 2016–2017 season, 41 Touring Broadway shows traveled to 191 cities across the country.
• Producers and presenters spent $1 billion to launch and run these tours.
• Of this amount, $728.8 million was spent in the theatres’ communities and $279.8 million in the  New York City area.  The remaining $29.6 million was spent in other areas (e.g. vendors who were situated elsewhere or foreign royalty holders) beyond the scope of this impact analysis.
• Moreover, theatregoers who came to an area specifically to attend shows spent another $766.1 million on ancillary activities such as dining and transportation.
• Thus the total direct spending due to Touring Broadway amounted to $1.8 billion. 
• This money then generated another $2.0 billion in secondary rounds of spending, so that the full economic contribution of Touring Broadway totaled $3.8 billion to these 191 cities.
• Eighty-three percent of this money ($3.2 billion) supported the communities that presented Broadway tours.  Another $610.2 million impacted the New York City area.
• On average, Broadway tours contributed an economic impact of 3.27 times the gross ticket sales to the economy of the metropolitan areas in which they played.

   

The Economic Impact of Touring Broadway - 2016-2017 Season

31 pages, illustrated with color with charts, graphs, and photos.
Published June 2019, revised August 2020

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