Classic Hip-Hop goes ‘Boom’ in early ratings.

Story by Inside Radio

If its first full week of ratings is a reliable barometer, Radio One’s “Boom” format is having an explosive impact with a broad coalition of listeners in Houston.

The classic hip-hop station, which replaced “News 92” KROI on October 13, debuted with a 4.1 share of listeners aged 12+, according to Nielsen data from Week 2 of the November survey provided to Inside Radio by Radio One. That’s a dramatic about-face for a station that consistently ranked near the bottom of the ratings with its money-losing all-news format. “Boom 92.1” ranked fourth among listeners aged 18-34 with a 6.8 share and sixth in adults 25-54 with a 5.2 in the weekly.

Bringing back Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, Geto Boys, Puff Daddy and other ‘80s and ‘90s rappers is drawing a diverse audience in its early days: 25% African American, 38% Hispanic and 38% Caucasian, according to Radio One.

The scorching out-of-the-chute ratings may explain why Radio One quickly duplicated the format in Philadelphia on WPHI, which dropped urban for “Throwback Hip-Hop” last week. “I’ve never seen anything explode like this in all my years doing radio,” regional VP Doug Abernethy says. “I’ve had more advertisers call in the past week than in the past year.”

Whether Boom has legs remains to be seen. Many of the songs haven’t been heard in the market for years and it’s unclear whether it’s the next hot new format or this year’s Jammin’ Oldies.

“There are classic country and classic rock stations,” Abernethy points out. “You have two and a half decades of music. I think it’s sustainable.”