Why The Big Ratings Gaps Between Urban AC and Youthful Urban/Rhythmic?

[Gregg.]

I was looking at the May Nielsen ratings for Washington. Two Urban AC stations are the top music stations. WHUR finished #3 overall (behind NPR WAMU and All-News WTOP). And WMMJ, with only 3,000 watts, is #4. (Is WMMJ the most successful Class A FM station in the U.S.?)

Meanwhile, among the youthful Urban/Rhythmic stations, WPGC was #15 and WKYS was #16.

In NYC, one Urban AC, WBLS, is #2. Meanwhile Urban/Rhythmic WQHT is #13 and WWPR is #15. In Philadelphia, Urban AC WDAS-FM is the big #1. You have to go down to #16 to find Urban WUSL.

In almost every market, Urban AC stations do so much better than the youthful Urban/Rhythmic stations.

 

[davideduardo]

In almost every market, Urban AC stations do so much better than the youthful Urban/Rhythmic stations.

These are generalized comments:

1. 18-24 and 18-34 listeners are sharing much more time with streaming / new media. Older members of ethnic groups such as Hispanics and Blacks are lesser users of streaming.
2. Hip hop has been harder to program on radio in the last year or two on commercial radio due to the lyric profanity content and the politicization of some songs; listeners find these online, increasing my first point's impact.
3. In markets where there were "lots of" Hispanics listening to Urban and where there is a Reggaetón based Hispanic station, Latinx listeners have found greater cultural identity with the Reggaetón station.
4. Current hits stations in general have suffered during the pandemic because the quality and quantity of releases is considered "not as good as before".

 

[TheBigA]

[*]Hip hop has been harder to program on radio in the last year or two on commercial radio due to the lyric profanity content and the politicization of some songs; listeners find these online, increasing my first point's impact.

Wow I have an experience with that just about every day while waiting at a traffic signal. Listeners to rhythmic/hip hop tend to listen to their music loudly, and with their windows open. People like me are treated to some incredibly profane and obscene music that could NEVER air on broadcast radio. There is no way to clean it up. It's very popular. And the people who listen don't always fit the stereotype.

 

[Gregg.]

At first, I was thinking about the new technology aspect. Are younger people getting their music from devices and not listening to the radio? How about AC vs. Top 40?

NYC: Lite-FM #1....Z100 #6
LA: KOST #2....Kiss-FM #8
Chicago: WLIT #3....WKSC #11 and WBBM-FM #18
San Francisco: KOIT #4 and KISQ #5....KMVQ #7 and KYLD #12
Washington: WASH #5....WIHT #13

But in Boston, for some reason, Top 40 Kiss-FM shot up to #1 while AC WMJX is #6.

 

[TheBigA]

There were studies done that familiar music provides comfort during the pandemic:

Classic Rock Gives Comfort to Music Fans During Coronavirus Lockdown

With millions stuck at home due to coronavirus shelter-in-place orders and searching for entertainment, data suggest that new releases by major pop artists are drawing fewer listeners than normal.

www.wsj.com

So that mean formats built around older songs did better than those that emphasize currents. Even country music, which is a currents-based format, saw percentages of old vs. new shift, and current playlists slowed down. Things are starting to shift now, so we should see that reflected in radio by the fall.