In recent weeks, the radio industry has been buzzing about a wave of format flips that is bringing classic hip-hop (think Notorious B.I.G. and Snoop Dogg) to the airwaves in major markets. Branded the ‘Boom’ format in several places, this new style of radio is taking off at a time when Urban Contemporary stations—which have traditionally been modern hip-hop’s main outlet—are hitting all-time highs for audience numbers in Nielsen’s portable people meter (PPM) markets.
This nationwide trend stretches back several years, long before the recent wave of station launches that have been in the headlines. In fact, Nielsen notes, all but one of the new classic hip-hop stations flipped before the November survey. Across all three of the listener groups monitored each month, Urban Contemporary radio has seen sustained growth. 2014 will close as the best year the format has ever had in PPM measurement.
In November, Urban Contemporary established new historic highs for share of audience in PPM markets with listeners aged 6 and up (3.3%), 18-34 (6.3%) and 25-54 (3.7%). These are not only the best numbers the format has achieved, but in the core group of listeners aged 18 to 34, the November results mark the first time the format has had ever above a 6-share (6.0% of the listening audience). Its previous best was a 5.9-share back in March of this year.
Below is a four year trend of the November results for 18-34 year-old Urban Contemporary audiences:
But while Urban Contemporary has been growing, Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) has drifted in the opposite direction, hitting new all-time lows this month. The format’s 6+ (3.1%), 18-34 (6.1%) and 25-54 (3.4%) listener shares all marked the lowest we have seen in PPM measurement. This follows a four-year trend of November results for 18-34 year-old Rhythmic CHR audiences that's opposite of the one seen for Urban Contemporary.
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