According to the latest data released from Nielsen, Classic Hits and Classic Rock stations are battling to become the top format of the summer. From June to July, Classic Hits, benefited from an increase in share of audience across all three major demographics Nielsen monitors. And you may be surprised where the big gains came from…
The real gains came with from Millennials (18-to-34 year-olds) and listeners 25-to-54: The audience share among Millennials grew from 3.8% to a record-tying 4.0%, and the share among listeners 25-to-54 increased from 4.9% to 5.1% to tie another record for audience share in PPM measurement. Classic Rock’s June and July audience share increased 9% from the beginning of the year, with Classic Hits just behind, up 6% over that same time.
Meanwhile, for Country radio, the days of setting new records in the summer are now in the rearview mirror; despite the slowed growth, however, the format has seen an uptick in tune-in this summer, with the share among listeners 6 and older up from last July.
Summertime is the annual peak for Country listening. In 2013 and 2014, the format surged to new heights, setting records along the way. As Nielsen prepares to crown the format of the summer next month with the August survey release, the ratings firm will also be returning to examine Country’s long-term trend, with 2017 playing out (so far) to be a resilient year for the format.
