Nielsen Crowns Classic Hits As Format of Summer

The annual race to crown the “format of the summer” is now in its fifth year, and for the first time, NielsenAudio has a repeat winner: Classic Hits takes home the title in 2015 and becomes the first format to win the race twice and the first to win in back-to-back years.

This year, Classic Hits faced some stiff competition from a number of other formats, including Hot Adult Contemporary (AC) and Country, both of which also had strong showings. But in the end, the audience share for Classic Hits jumped by nearly 10% (9.7%) this summer, the most of any major format.

Increase In Summer Listening Share By Format

Nielsen also analyzed four years’ worth of Nielsen BDS Radio airplay data to get a handle on how more than 30 major-market Classic Hits stations have updated their playlists.

Not only have the last two summers been the best summers on record for the format, they’ve brought in more listeners.

In fact, summer shares among 18-to-34 listeners have risen nearly 10% since 2012. This is a noteworthy trend for a format that is not generally associated with Millennials or younger audiences. The tables below also reveal a noticeable shift in the decade of music at the top of the playlist on Classic Hits radio since 2012.

Most Played Classic Hits - Summer of 2012

Most Played Classic Hits - Summer of 2015

This summer, more than half of the top 20 most-played songs by Classic Hits were from the 1980s. Three years ago, no songs in the top 20 came from that decade. And since then, the average release year among those songs has shifted by seven years from 1973 to 1980.