Media Jumping On Classic Hip-Hop Bandwagon

Boom Or Bust?

When RADIO ONE KROI/HOUSTON flipped to Classic Hip-Hop "BOOM 92," playing OG rappers such as LL COOL J, TUPAC SHAKUR and the NOTORIOUS B.I.G., the THE NEW YORK TIMES reported that it "kicked off a broadcasting frenzy," as major radio chains iHEARTMEDIA and CUMULUS responded with their own takes on the format. And sure enough, the format has attracted a lot of new listener sampling.

NIELSEN PPM cases-in-point: KROI’s audience more than tripled, going from 245,000 to 802,000, and its share from 1.0 to 3.2. WPHI (BOOM PHILLY)/PHILADELPHI grew from 534,000 to 736,000 after. KSOC/DALLAS went from 524,000 to 724,000. Thus, no one would be surprised to see  more classic hip-hop stations plopping up around the country in the new year.

Yet the TIMES proceeded to undercut its own story by noting that KROI’s audience declined 2.6% in the following ratings period, its share dropping from 3.2 to 2.9. "That suggests after a media-fueled ratings uptick, listeners moved on," the story concluded.

But as some of the radio executives could've told the reporter, it may be too soon to draw that conclusion as well.

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