Radio Format

A radio format, or
programming format, or
programming genre
refers to the overall content
broadcasting over a radio station.

Some stations broadcast multiple

genres on set schedule.

News - talk - sports

formats

News / Talk
Stations with news/talk programming
feature a heavy concentration of news
- local, regional and global news, as
well as sports, weather and traffic.

Along with the news, stations will

feature talk programming, including
the presentations of views and listener
participation call-in segments and
shows.

It is also common that many news/talk

stations also carry live local sports
coverage.

News / Information
Similar to the news/talk formats, this
format has little listener participation
and call-ins.

Sports
This format features programming
related to the sporting world.

Most stations with a sports format

include sports news, sports talk shows
and of course live coverage of both
local and national sporting events.

A large majority of sports formatted

stations are found on the AM dial.

Talk
Stations with this format concentrate on a
variety of talk programming.

Many of these stations will carry popular

syndicated talk show hosts, as well of
segments of local call-in periods.

Varieties of this format include a hot talk

format and a gay/lesbian issues talk format.

Most stations are found on the AM dial, but it

is also common on the FM dial in larger
markets.

News/Talk-business
Also known as news-talk-financial, this
format is the most popular offspring on
the news/talk format.

Stations with this format concentration

their news, information and talk
segments to the business world.

Farm/agriculture
This is another offspring on the
news/talk format. Stations with this
format concentration their information
to the agricultural world.

During weekday business hours, you

can receive updates on financial
livestock and crop prices.

Political
The aim of these stations is to
provide you with news and
information, promote the
organizations beliefs, and to stir up
intellectual conversation over the
airwaves for the betterment of
listeners.

Country music formats

Country
As one of the more popular, there are
more stations with some type of country
format than any other type of format.

Country music origins date back to the

1920's, but has progressed over the
decades to include such styles as western
swing, bluegrass, honky tonk, urban
cowboy, and today's new county.

Hit country
Classic country

Contemporary hit
music radio

CHR-pop
Also is referred to as top 40 or pop.
Playlists include new cutting edge
music, current hits and popular hits of
the last 6 to 12 months.

The target audience is young adult

and adults ages 15 to 30.

CHR-rhythmic
Playlists include a lean toward more
hip-hop, rap and dance songs, (rather
than rock and alternative).

Play lists consist of new cutting edge

music, current hits and popular hits of
the last 6 to 12 months.

The target audience is also people 15

to 30 years of age.

CHR-dance
Sometime referred to simply a dance,
playlists include a slant toward dance
hits and dance remixes of popular songs.

Play lists consist of new cutting edge

music, current hits and popular hits of
the last couple of years.

The target audience is also people 15 to

30 years of age.

Adult contemporary
music formats

Adult contemporary
Simply referred to as 'AC', adult
contemporary music stations are
aimed at people age 30 years and
older.

These stations offer lively

contemporary music of the past
decade or two without cutting edge
music, rock or rap music.

Hot AC
Stations with this format have a
slightly younger target audience than
the ac format.

More upbeat music and more cutting

edge music is prevalent.

Hot AC is a hybrid between pop and

AC music with an almost exclusive
concentration on current hits and
music of the past 12 months.

Modern AC
Modern AC is a hybrid between hot
ac and modern rock music with an
almost exclusive concentration on
current hits and music of the past
12 months.

Soft AC
Also known as easy listening or
beautiful music, this format is targeted
to people 35 years and older.

In comparison to the ac format, music

can span from the past 4 decades and
consists of a large majority of love
ballads from popular artists, and less
upbeat type music.

AC - oldies
This format is a blend of AC music and
country music.

The format is aimed at people 30

years and older and is usually found in
smaller markets or rural populated
areas.

Music offered on these stations ranges

from the 1960's to the 1990's.

Rock and Alternative music

formats

Urban music formats (R&B)

Jazz and Classical music
formats

Religious formats

Religious
Religious formatted stations vary in
tone, presentation and
denomination, but the basics are
preaching and instructional
programming and may include some
music.

Public, Government
and Community radio
formats

Public
Public radio depends on funding through
local contributions from listeners.

Programming varies on public radio but

usually contain news and information as
well as a musical format, such as
classical or jazz music.

It is also common for public radio to be

affiliated with a college or university.

Community
Community radio is similar public
radio except community radio is
partially funded through local
government and listener
contributions, and depends on
volunteers to help run the station.

Community radio is popular

throughout the world, and for many
smaller, rural towns (20,000 people or
less) serve as the only radio
broadcaster.

It is also common for community

stations to broadcast in a native
language.

TIS
The acronym stands for 'Traffic
Information Systems'.

These stations provide real time

traffic updates in metropolitan
areas.

College and School

radio formats

College
These stations are owned by a
university, college or community
college and usually operated by a
student organization through volunteer
time.

The programming includes a variety of

local news and school information but
also includes some type of music
format such as free-form, progressive,
alternative, classical, jazz.