Urban Radio Heats Up

Story by Inside Radio

To say the urban format is on a ratings roll would be an understatement. For a second consecutive month, the format shattered its PPM record in May. Urban’s latest share of audiences aged 6+ (3.6), 18-34 (6.6) and 25-54 (4.1) were all new records under PPM measurement.

“Simply put, the last year-and-a-half has been the best stretch we’ve seen yet for urban contemporary,” Nielsen says its monthly format trends report.

Programmers say it’s more than just mega-hits from core acts like from Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar and Trey Songz driving the growth. “Urban programmers have continued to learn how to effectively program their station to deliver compelling content to their station’s P1 consumers,” consultant Tony Gray says. Stronger contesting and marketing are helping help drive more listening occasions. Gray also points to a number of urban station operators that have added the Telos Voltair audio processor to their audio chain, thereby increasing the likelihood of their station’s encoded signals being detected by Nielsen ratings meters.

While it’s tough to peg the growth to any one factor, urban’s ratings trajectory is undisputable. Cox Media Group’s “99 Jamz” WEDR, Miami charged 3.7-4.4-5.0 in May, despite the presence of a well-oiled competitor. Radio One’s “92-Q”WERQ, ranked second in Baltimore with a 7.2, up from a 5.4 in January. In St. Louis, Radio One’s “Hot 104” WHHL has trended 3.8-5.4 during the past year. New competitors, meanwhile, are expanding the format’s market share. The February arrival of a second urban station in Los Angeles has grown the format’s 6+ share by more than 50% since January.