• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 10, 2004

Radio Station Format Shapes Audience, But Not Media Buy Decision

Bob Jordan, president of International Demographics, previews a new report from The Media Audit with the conclusion that "(Station) Formats are the most critical element in success or failure in radio. A radio station's format is its content," says Jordan, "It is what draws and shapes its audience."

The new report from The Media Audit ranks radio formats in 81 metropolitan markets by average household income, total household income and total adult audiences in three age brackets.

Hot-Talk ranks number one in average household income ($82,045) but only has a collective adult (18 plus) audience of 297,760 in the 81 markets measured. Folk music ranks second with an average household income of $79,356 but has a collective audience of just 37,287 adults. Both formats have good average income numbers, but the audience levels are limited. However, in selected markets, the audience reached may be significant.

In contrast, News-Talk tops the total adult audience rankings and total household income rankings with more than 19 million listeners in the 81 markets with a collective household income of $1.3 trillion dollars. The total income of Hot-Talk, by comparison, is only $24.4 billion.

"Among 18-34 year olds," says Jordan, "the All News format has the highest average household income, $79,330 but a collective adult audience of just 1.4 million. In the same age group, Contemporary Hit Radio with an average income of only $59,366 reaches 10.6 million adults that collectively constitute a market of $626.8 million for the format."