CLASSIC UPSET IN THE RACE FOR THE RADIO FORMAT OF THE SUMMER
Now that Labor Day is in the rearview mirror, many things about the summer of 2016 are moving to the past tense, and Americans are gearing up for fall. This seasonal shift plays into audio tune-in and means it’s time to crown this year’s “format of the summer” on the radio airwaves. As we’ve done for the past five years, we judge which national format saw the most uplift in audience between June and August compared to the first five months of the year (January through May).
A month ago it looked like Classic Hits was going to win the summer for the third straight year after seeing the largest increase in audience share each of the past two summers. However, the format faded slightly in August, bucking expectations, allowing Classic Rock to take the lead and emerge as the winner. While Classic Rock’s winning number (up 5.1% this summer) was a smaller uplift than previous winners, it was enough to snatch the crown of “format of the summer” away from Classic Hits.
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