News/Talk radio continues to be the number one format for the eight year in a row across Nielsen PPM markets, ages 6+, followed by AC and Country. It was one of four formats that increased its share over last year.
News/Talk was up 10% from 9.9% in 2017 due to the interest in news and politics remains exceptionally strong several years removed from the last U.S. presidential election. In 2018, midterms, Supreme Court nominations, natural disasters, social media scrutiny and widening cultural debates (among other stories) continued to drive listeners to the News/Talk format.
News/talk wasn’t the only format to gather ratings steam in 2018. According to InsideRadio, AC, radio’s No. 2 format and most popular music genre, posted an even bigger year-over-year gain, climbing 7.7-8.0 during the January-November period. Like news/talk, AC has four consecutive years of audience gains. Country, which reversed a two-year ratings decline in 2017, slipped 7.7-7.3 to rank third. CHR, which has been losing share for four years now, took its biggest tumble yet (7.6-6.9) to rank fourth. Prior to 2017, CHR was consistently radio’s No. 2 format behind news/talk.Classic hits, meanwhile, trended from a 5.3 share in 2017 to a 5.6 in 2018 to rank fifth, while also having another big summer. Hot AC ranked sixth, shedding nearly a full share during the past two years (6.4-5.9-5.5). It was followed by classic rock, which slipped below the five share level for the first time since 2014 (5.4-4.9). Urban AC turned in another steady performance (4.8-4.8); it has notched a 4.8 or 4.9 every year since 2014. Sports was another of 2018’s gainers, rising 4.3-4.4. Urban contemporary rounded out the top 10 with a 3.6, down from 2017’s 3.8. Summing up the ratings ebb and flow, Nielsen said, “With another year nearly in the books, American radio preferences continue to evolve to meet the cultural, entertainment and news realities of today.”
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