Nielsen: Sounds Like A Country Summer

June's Top 5 Formats By Demo

With the June portable people meter (PPM) radio listener shares now in, Nielsen  reports that it looks like it’s going to be the summer of Country.   Country radio is pulling away from the pack—and setting new highs along the way. Hot Adult Contemporary (AC) and Pop Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR), which saw the most lift during the summer in 2011 and 2012, aren’t far behind this year, either.

For many, regular routines shift in the summertime, as kids stay home from school and weekends go longer, which has an effect on consumer entertainment habits. But even though the June PPM data illustrate some consistent stories along those lines, Nielsen sees other more subtle changes that are also influencing listening trends in PPM markets. For example,  Classic Rock is making moves in ways that it hasn’t in the past, while listening for Rhythmic CHR and AC recorded historic lows for their core audiences in June.

Below are some highlights from Nielsen’s June PPM data across 45 markets* using the full-week (Monday-Sunday 6 a.m.-midnight) daypart audience shares:

• Country radio in June established new all-time highs for listening share among audiences 6+ (8.6%), 18-34 (10.6%) and 25-54 (8.4%). The trend among 18-34 year-old listeners is particularly noteworthy, since Country has only claimed more than a 10 share in this demographic twice in PPM markets—May and June 2014. Compared with a year ago, the format is a full share point ahead among 18-34 listeners (9.6% vs. 10.6%).
• The only format ahead of Country among 18-34 and 25-54 listeners in June was Pop CHR, which after a soft May put forth a strong showing in the June survey. The format finished second (to Country) among listeners 6+ (8.4%), and first among 18-34 (12.1%) and 25-54 (9.1%) listeners. More importantly, Pop CHR nudged its shares ahead of or equal to where it was this time last summer.
• Hot AC has also been consistently setting new records in nearly every month this year, and it continued to do so in June, posting a record 6.3 share for 6+ (up from a 6.1% in May), a record 7.2 share for 18-34 (up from 6.9% in May) and an-almost record 6.8 share for 25-54 (up from 6.7% in May but just below the record 6.9% in April). In fact, Hot AC is so hot right now that the success is crossing over into Spanish. The format’s Spanish-language variation (Spanish Hot AC) saw shares jump by more than 50 percent this month across all three of the age groups we examined.
• Classic Rock also gets a gold star for breaking records in June, as the format posted new highs among listeners 6+ (4.8%) and 25-54 (5.4%) and tied its high-water mark with 18-34 year-olds (3.9%), which was set back in March and April.
• Lastly, Rhythmic CHR slumped in June, particularly among its core audience of 18-34 year-olds, dipping below winter holiday levels and actually hitting the lowest 18-34 share (6.5%) seen yet in PPM measurement. While Rhythmic CHR normally enjoys a summertime bump similar to its larger cousin, listenership for this format was almost a full share point higher (7.4%) last June.