Early radio network programming laid the groundwork for television’s format, with a variety of programs that appealed to different audiences broadcast at various times of the day. As television’s popularity grew, however, radio could not compete and so it turned to fresh programming techniques. A new format-driven station type became the norm. Propelled by the development of new kinds of music, such as psychedelic rock and smooth jazz, the evolution of radio station formats occurred. Since the beginning of this shift, different stations have tended to focus on the music preferred by specific demographics. For example, many people raised on Top 40 radio of the 1950s and 1960s did not necessarily want to hear modern pop hits, so stations playing older popular songs emerged to meet their needs.

Modern formats cater to aging generations, with certain stations playing the pop hits of the 1950s and early 1960s, while others focus on the pop hits of the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. These formats have developed to target narrow, defined audiences with predictable tastes and habits. Ratings services, such as Nielsen Audio, can identify the 10-year age demographic, education level, and even the political leanings of listeners who prefer a particular format. Because advertisers want their commercials to reach an audience likely to purchase their products, this kind of audience targeting remains crucial for attracting advertising revenue.

Top Radio Formats

A 2025 Nielsen Audio report inspired the determinations for the following top radio formats and their respective statistics.  The most popular formats and subformats encompass a diverse range of demographics, underscoring the broad appeal of radio.

News/Talk/Information

The news/talk/information format encompasses AM talk radio, public radio stations featuring talk programming, network news radio, and personality-driven talk radio. This format had a share of 11.3% of all radio listeners aged 18 years or older (“share” represents the percentage of those listening to radio who are listening to a particular genre), though audiences tended to skew older; the genre had a share of 3.9% among the 18-34 age range and 12.7% for those aged 35 and older (Nielsen and Edison Research, 2025).

Adult Contemporary

Generally targeted toward individuals over 30, the adult contemporary (AC) format favors pop music from the last 15 to 20 years as opposed to current hits. Different subformats, such as hot AC (ranked #9), target younger audiences by playing more current songs. In 2024, the AC audience earned a 8.1% share of the audience for people aged 18 years and older, earning the largest share (9.8%) among audience members aged 18-34 (Nielsen and Edison Research, 2025).

Country

Country music, as a genre, encompasses stations that cater to both older and newer country music. Favored in rural regions of the country, the country music format—featuring artists such as Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll, and Luke Combs—appeals to both male and female listeners from a variety of income levels. In 2024, country music stations had a 5.7% shared of the audience for people aged 18 and older (Nielsen and Edison Research, 2025).

Classic Hits

Nielsen defines the “classic hits” radio format as one that primarily features popular music from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, with a focus on softer-tempo, melodic hits compared to classic rock. These stations often incorporate hits from popular artists in the 1980s but may also include newer songs from those same artists or from artists who emerged between then and the 2000s. This format had a 5.6% share of audiences aged 18 and over in 2024 (Nielsen and Edison Research, 2025).

Classic Rock

Classic rock stations typically play rock singles from the 1970s and 1980s, such as “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin and “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC. The distinct yet similar format of album-oriented rock (AOR) focuses on songs that were not released as singles, also known as album cuts (Radio Station World).  In 2024, classic rock stations had a 5.5% share of audiences 18 and over (Nielsen and Edison Research, 2025).

Urban Adult Contemporary

The urban contemporary format features modern hits from primarily Black artists—such as Chris Brown, Summer Walker, and SZA—featuring a blend of soul, hip-hop, and R&B. Urban contemporary focuses on listeners in the 18– 34 age range, and it had a 5.5% share of audiences over the age of 18 in 2024 (Nielsen and Edison Research, 2025).

All Sports

Nielsen uses the label “All Sports” to encompass radio offerings primarily dedicated to live sports coverage, sports commentary/analysis, sports news/updates, and related sports programming. In 2024, sports had a market share of 5.2% for audiences older than 18, though it had a 5.5% share of audiences older than 35 (Nielsen and Edison Research, 2025).

Pop Contemporary Hit Radio

Pop contemporary hit radio, or pop CHR, represents a subformat of contemporary hit radio (CHR). Other subformats of CHR include dance CHR and rhythmic CHR. Branded in the 1980s, this format encompasses stations that have a Top 40 orientation but draw on a diverse range of formats, including country, rock, and urban (Ford, 2008). This music, including popular artists like Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter,  Billie Eilish, and Teddy Swims, is played in the car more often than at home or work, and sees its largest listening times in the evenings. The format had a 4.4% share in 2024 for ages 18 and older, though was much more popular with younger audiences, scoring a 6.9% share of audiences aged 18-34 (Nielsen and Edison Research, 2025).

Mexican Regional

The Mexican regional format features Spanish-language music, primarily from Mexico and South America. In 2024, it ranked eleventh in the nation. Mexican regional’s listener base was over 96 percent Hispanic, and the format draws large audiences in the Western and Southwestern regions of the country. The rise of the Mexican regional format illustrates how radio can change rapidly to meet new demographic trends.

An increasingly Spanish–language–speaking population in the United States has also resulted in several distinct Spanish-language radio formats. These include Spanish oldies, Spanish adult hits, Spanish religious music, Spanish tropical music, and Spanish talk among others. Tejano, a type of music developed in Hispanic Texan communities, has also gained a significant enough audience to become a dedicated format. Mexican Regional radio channels had a 2.8% share of audiences aged 18 and over in 2024 (Nielsen and Edison Research, 2025).

Other Popular Formats

Radio formats have become so specialized that ratings group Arbitron includes more than 50 designations. Popular genres like rock have given rise to subgenres, including alternative and modern rock. Alternative rock originated as a format played on college stations during the 1980s. It evolved into a mainstream genre during the following decade, mainly due to the popularity of grunge music of that era. As this music developed, stations began using the term “modern rock” to describe a format dedicated to new rock music. This format has also given rise to the active rock format, which plays modern rock hits alongside older rock hits (Radio Station World).

Nostalgia formats have also evolved into several distinct formats. Oldies stations now generally focus on hits from the 1950s and 1960s, while the classic hits format typically selects hits from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Urban oldies, which focuses on R&B, soul, and other urban music hits from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, has also become a popular radio format. Formats such as adult hits mix older songs from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s with a small selection of popular music, while formats like ’80s hits picks mainly draw from the 1980s (Radio Station World).

Radio station formats offer an interesting perspective on popular culture in the United States. The evolution of nostalgia formats to include nods to new decades reflects the size and tastes of the nation’s aging listeners. Hits of the 1980s remain popular enough with their demographic to have entire stations dedicated to the era, while other generations prefer stations with a mix of decades. The rise of the country format and the continued popularity of the classic rock format demonstrate potential indicators of cultural trends.