Pop Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) is the long-standing king of radio genres for the 18-34 demographic (11.9% share of listening in March), preferred over any other radio genre for several years, per Nielsen data. However, it seems to have had a slight dip in popularity in recent years, as Urban Contemporary enjoys a small uptick.
Nielsen’s analysis looks at longitudinal trends using March of each year as its basis, but the results are broadly in line with 2016’s overall top genres for this demographic. Worth noting is that news/talk/information was the top genre for the population at-large last year, while not even registering in the top 10 for Millennials.
Beyond CHR, country is also favored by members of the 18-34 bracket, and gained in popularity throughout Q1. Despite this, its share of listenership in March was the lowest in that month since 2012.
In terms of other trends, Nielsen’s report shows that:
- Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio (5.1% share) and Mexican Regional (2.8%) have both seen steady declines in share of Millennial listening since 2011; while
- Urban Contemporary – a slight dip this year notwithstanding – has risen in appeal and is now tied with Hot Adult Contemporary for the third-most listened to genre among 18-34-year-olds.