Report: Classic Hits Is Biggest Growth Format

Sports, Country, CHR and Hot AC are often cited among radio’s fastest growing formats.  But in reality, no format has experienced a larger percentage increase in station count during the past decade than classic hits.  

The number of classic hits outlets mushroomed from 235-670 from 2003-2012, according to the Inside Radio database.    Some formats also came and went  — or aged out of relevance.

Part of its staggering 185% growth has been the evolution (and subsequent reclassification) of many oldies stations as classic hits, a trend that escalated in 2006.  But classic hits added more than twice as many stations as oldies lost in the past decade.

According to Inside Radio, the format’s big cume numbers make it a PPM winner while a solid 25-54 audience concentration puts it on numerous ad buys.  “Classic hits offers the biggest music variety on the FM dial,” CBS Radio VP of classic hits programming Brian Thomas says, making it a potent alternative to AC for at-work audiences.   It also provides companionship from personalities, many with decades of market longevity.

Three of the remaining biggest growth formats of the past 10 years target minority audiences, a testament to the nation’s changing demography.

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