Contemporary Hit Radio
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Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a
radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when radio was compelle ...
that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
music charts A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...
. There are several subcategories, dominantly focusing on
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
, pop, or
urban music Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, Hip hop music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music ...
. Used alone, ''CHR'' most often refers to the CHR-pop format. The term ''contemporary hit radio'' was coined in the early 1980s by ''
Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
'' magazine to designate
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
stations which continued to play hits from all musical genres as pop music splintered into
Adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
,
Urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...
,
Contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
and other formats. The term "top 40" is also used to refer to the actual list of hit songs, and, by extension, to refer to
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...
in general. The term has also been modified to describe top 50; top 30; top 20; top 10; hot 100 (each with its number of songs) and hot hits radio formats, but carrying more or less the same meaning and having the same creative point of origin with
Todd Storz Robert Todd Storz (May 8, 1924 – April 13, 1964) headed a very successful chain of American radio broadcasting stations and is generally credited with being the foremost innovator of the Top 40 radio format in 1951. The selection of records t ...
as further refined by
Gordon McLendon Gordon Barton McLendon (June 8, 1921 – September 14, 1986Texas State Historical AssociationMcClendon, Gordon Barton/ref>) was a radio broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio", McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during the 1950s ...
as well as
Bill Drake Bill Drake (January 14, 1937 – November 29, 2008), born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault.Douglas, Susan, "Listening In: Radio and the ...
. The format became especially popular in the mid-sixties as radio stations constrained
disc jockeys A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
to numbered play lists in the wake of the
payola Payola, in the music industry, is the illegal practice of paying a commercial radio station to play a song without the station disclosing the payment. Under US law, a radio station must disclose songs they were paid to play on the air as spons ...
scandal.


Variations


Mainstream CHR

Also known as CHR/pop or teen CHR. Plays pop, and dance, and sometimes
urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
,
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
,
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
, and
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
crossover as well. Often referred as "
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
"; in terms of incorporating a variety of genres of music, CHR/pop is the successor to the original concept of top 40 radio which originated in the 1950s. Examples of CHR/pop stations in the United States, Canada, Brazil and the Philippines include
WHTZ WHTZ (100.3 FM) is a commercial top 40/CHR station licensed to Newark, New Jersey and broadcasting to the New York metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, WHTZ is the flagship station for '' Elvis Duran and the Morning Show''. The WHTZ studios ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
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KIIS-FM KIIS-FM (102.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a top 40 format. Owned by iHeartMedia, KIIS-FM is the origin of the conglome ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
KYLD KYLD (94.9 FM) is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area and owned by San Antonio–based iHeartMedia. The station airs a top 40 format on its analog primary signal. The station has studios ...
and
KMVQ-FM KMVQ-FM (99.7 MHz) is a radio station licensed to San Francisco, California. The station currently broadcasts a Top 40/CHR format branded as ''99.7 Now''. KMVQ's studios are at 2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard in Daly City, while its transmitter ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, CKFM-FM and
CKIS-FM CKIS-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 92.5 MHz in Toronto, Ontario. Owned by Rogers Sports & Media, the station broadcasts a Top 40/CHR format branded as ''KiSS 92.5''. The station was founded on January 26, 1993 as CISS-FM ...
in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
KXXM KXXM (96.1 FM, "96.1 NOW") is a Top 40 (CHR) station based in San Antonio, Texas, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its studios are located in the Stone Oak neighborhood in Far North San Antonio, and the transmitter site is in Frederich Wilderness Pa ...
and
KTFM KTFM (94.1 FM, "San Antonio's Sports Star: ESPN AM 1250 and 94.1 FM") is a radio station serving the San Antonio area. The Alpha Media outlet operates with an effective radiated power of 10.5 kw and its city of license is Floresville, Texas ...
in
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
,
WIOQ WIOQ (102.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The studios and offices are on Presidential Boulevard in Bala Cynwyd. The station c ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
WXKS-FM WXKS-FM (107.9 FM), branded as ''Kiss 108'', is a commercial top 40/CHR radio station licensed to serve Medford, Massachusetts, and covering Greater Boston. Owned by iHeartMedia, the WXKS-FM studios are in Medford and the transmitter sits at ...
in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
WKSC-FM WKSC-FM (103.5 MHz) – branded "103.5 Kiss FM" – is a commercial Top 40 (CHR) radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) format. Its studios are located at the Illinois Center complex o ...
and
WBBM-FM WBBM-FM (96.3 MHz) is a top 40 (CHR) radio station in Chicago, Illinois. It is known on the air as B96 and it is owned by Audacy, Inc. The station has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 3,300 watts, broadcasting from a transmitter atop t ...
in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
WFLZ WFLZ-FM (93.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Tampa, Florida. It airs a contemporary hit radio (CHR/Top 40) radio format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The station's studios and offices are located on Gandy Boulevard in South ...
and
WPOI WPOI (101.5 FM) - branded as Hot 101.5 - is an FM radio station in Tampa, Florida but is licensed to St. Petersburg. Owned by Cox Radio, the station airs a Top 40/CHR format. The studios are located in St. Petersburg, and the transmitter site is ...
in Tampa/
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
WHYI WHYI-FM (100.7 MHz) is a heritage contemporary hit radio station. The station is licensed to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and owned by iHeartMedia. Y100 broadcasts at an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts from its 1,007 foot transmitter, whi ...
and
WFLC WFLC (97.3 FM) is a radio station in Miami, Florida. Owned by Cox Media Group, WFLC's studios and offices are located on North 29th Avenue in Hollywood. The transmitter site is off NW 210 Street in Miami Gardens. WFLC broadcasts in the HD Rad ...
in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, KLUC in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
WNCI WNCI (97.9 FM) (branded 97.9 WNCI) is a commercial contemporary hit radio station licensed to Columbus, Ohio, serving the Columbus metro area. Owned by iHeartMedia, it serves as the flagship station for the syndicated "Dave & Jimmy" morni ...
in Columbus, Ohio,
WZPL WZPL (99.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to Greenfield, Indiana, and serving the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The station airs a Top 40 (CHR) format. WZPL is owned by Cumulus Media. Its studios are located on North Shadeland Avenue on the ...
in Indianapolis,
KDWB KDWB-FM (101.3 MHz) is an American commercial radio station broadcasting in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, licensed to suburban Richfield. KDWB's radio format is Top 40/CHR. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, while its studios ...
in
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
/
St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
,
Jovem Pan Jovem Pan is the main Brazilian radio station based in São Paulo, Brazil. It is also the largest network of radio stations of the southern hemisphere, of Latin Americaand one of the biggest radio stations in the world.The network has several bu ...
And Jovem Pan FM in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, and
DWFO DWFO (87.5 FM), broadcasting as 87.5 Republika FM1, is a radio station owned and operated by the Philippine Broadcasting Service, the broadcast arm of the Presidential Communications Group. Its studios and transmitter are located at the 4th Floo ...
,
DWTM DWTM (89.9 FM), on-air as Magic 89.9, is a radio station owned and operated by Quest Broadcasting Incorporated. It serves as the flagship station of Magic Nationwide and the flagship partner station of Tiger 22 Media. The station's studios a ...
,
DWRX DWRX (93.1 FM), broadcasting as Monster RX 93.1, is a radio station owned and operated by Audiovisual Communicators, Inc. It serves as the flagship station of Monster Radio. The station's studio and transmitter are located at the 17th floor, S ...
,
DWRT-FM DWRT (99.5 FM), on-air as 99.5 Play FM (stylized as ''PL>Y''), is a 24-hour radio station owned and operated by Real Radio Network Inc. It is one of the partner stations of Tiger 22 Media. Its studio is located at Unit 906-B, Paragon Plaza B ...
and
DWBM-FM DWBM (105.1 FM), on-air as Q Radio 105.1, is a radio station owned by Mareco Broadcasting Network and operated under an airtime lease agreement by Horizon of the Sun Communications. It serves as the flagship station of the Q Radio network. The ...
in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
,
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. The stations generally gain large popularity with this format.


Adult CHR

These stations typically are hybrids of the contemporary hit radio (CHR/pop) and
Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...
formats. This format contains a strong focus on current charts, contemporary and recurrent hits as well as placing a minority of older, classic hits from the 2000s and early to mid 2010s onto the playlist. Adult CHR stations play pop-friendly rhythmic, dance and hip hop titles from artists such as Rihanna,
Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...
,
Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname.
,
Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Texas with her family when she was 10 years old. After college she ...
, Black Eyed Peas,
The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and ...
,
Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song ...
and Blackbear alongside standard mainstream pop and pop rock fare. Examples in the U.S. include
KRBE KRBE (104.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Houston, Texas. It is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) radio format. The studios are located in Suite 700 of the Chase Building at 9801 Westheimer Road in the Westchase D ...
in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
WKRQ WKRQ (101.9 MHz, "Q102") is a radio station located in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. The station is licensed to Cincinnati and broadcasts from the WKRQ Tower. It airs an adult-leaning Top 40 (CHR) format and is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. It ...
in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
WWMX WWMX (106.5 FM), known on-air as Mix 106.5, is a commercial radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. It broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The studios and offices are on Clarkview Road off Jones Falls Exp ...
in
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
WTIC-FM WTIC-FM (96.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on Executive Drive in Farmington. WTIC-F ...
in
Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
,
WMXZ WMXZ (95.9 FM, "Mix 95.9") is a radio station licensed to Isle of Palms, South Carolina, United States, serving the South Carolina Lowcountry. The station is owned by the Charleston Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications. WMXZ airs an a ...
in Charleston, and
KZZO KZZO (100.5 MHz "Now 100.5") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Sacramento, California. It broadcasts an Adult Top 40 radio format and is owned by Salt Lake City–based Bonneville International, a profit-making subsidiary of the Churc ...
in
Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
. United Kingdom (UK) media regulator Ofcom states: "where a format requires a contemporary and chart music service, the main diet must be of modern music, reflecting the charts of today and recent months. Older, classic tracks would not be out of place, but only as spice to the main offering."Ofcom, About radio formats
/ref> The adult CHR format is sometimes utilized by stations which are heritage Top 40/CHR outlets in their respective markets which have been in the format since the 1970s or 1980s or FM successors to former AM top 40s, with examples in the UK including the
Hits Radio Network Hits Radio is a network of 25 contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK. As of October 2022, the network has a combined reach of 6.6 million weekly listeners according to RAJAR. Overvie ...
compiled of heritage radio stations including
Clyde 1 Clyde 1 is an Independent Local Radio station based in Glasgow, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Glasgow and West Central Scotland. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audi ...
in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and Radio City in
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
.


Rhythmic CHR

Also known as CHR/rhythmic, or CHR/urban. These stations focus on hip-hop and dance-pop. There are differences between CHR/rhythmic and the
urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...
format; urban stations will often play R&B and
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
songs that CHR/rhythmic stations will not, and CHR/rhythmic stations, despite playlists heavy with urban product, sometimes have white disc jockeys and will include
EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...
and rhythmic pop music that urban outlets will not play.
KYLD KYLD (94.9 FM) is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California, serving the San Francisco Bay Area and owned by San Antonio–based iHeartMedia. The station airs a top 40 format on its analog primary signal. The station has studios ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
,
WQHT WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared servi ...
in New York, and
KPWR KPWR (105.9 FM) – branded as ''Power 106'' – is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area. KPWR is owned and operated by Meruelo Group and airs a Rhythmic Hot AC format. KPWR's stu ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
are among the most successful CHR/rhythmic stations in the U.S. and among the pioneers of the format.


Bilingual CHR

Bilingual Spanish CHRs (such as
WPOW WPOW (96.5 FM) – branded Power 96 – is a commercial rhythmic top 40 radio station licensed to Miami, Florida. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Miami-Dade County, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area, and much of surroundin ...
in
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
,
KHHM KHHM (101.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Shingle Springs, California, and serving the Sacramento metropolitan area. It is owned by Entravision Communications and airs a Bilingual Rhythmic CHR radio format branded as "Fueg ...
in
Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
,
KKPS KKPS (99.5 FM) "Fuego 99.5" is a radio station broadcasting a Bilingual Rhythmic CHR format. Licensed to Brownsville, Texas, United States, the station serves the McAllen-Brownsville-Harlingen area. The station is currently owned by Entravision ...
and
KBFM KBFM (104.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Edinburg, Texas, carrying a bilingual English/Spanish language rhythmic contemporary format known as "Wild 104". Owned by iHeartMedia, the station serves the Lower Rio Grande Valley. KBFM ...
in Brownsville, Texas, WKAQ and
WXYX WXYX (100.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a contemporary hit radio format. Licensed to Bayamon, Puerto Rico, it serves the Puerto Rico area. The station is currently owned by Raad Broadcasting Corporation. The station is relayed through ...
in
San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...
,
KBHH KBHH (95.3 MHz, ''Forge 95.3 FM'') is an FM radio station licensed to Kerman, California, originally going on the air in 2001. The station's broadcast license is held by the Farmworker Educational Radio Network, Inc. It airs an English/Spanis ...
in
Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
WRUM WRUM (100.3 FM) is a commercial radio station in Orlando, Florida, known as "Rumba 100.3." It airs a Spanish-language radio format featuring Latin pop, Reggaeton and Tropical music, and is owned by iHeartMedia. The studios and offices are on Mai ...
-HD2 in
Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
and
KLLI (FM) KLLI (93.9 MHz, "Cali 93.9") is an FM radio station in Los Angeles, California. Owned by the Meruelo Group, it broadcasts a bilingual Latin pop/rhythmic contemporary format. The station has studios located in Burbank, while its transmitter is ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
combine current and recent mainstream and rhythmic CHR hits with recent Latin pop hits, targeting young Latina listeners. Similarly, bilingual French CHRs (such as CKOI-FM in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
) are common in many Canadian markets, and combine anglophone and French pop hits.


CHR/dance

Playing dance remixes of popular songs with perhaps some current hits from the dance charts. Pure dance-music radio stations (as opposed to CHR/rhythmic and
rhythmic AC Rhythmic adult contemporary, often abbreviated as rhythmic AC or RAC, is an adult contemporary radio format. The format focuses primarily on rhythmic hits aimed towards an adult audience, often resembling a mixture of the classic hits and hot adult ...
formats such as MOViN) are not very common but tend to have loyal audiences in the markets where they do exist. Examples include
WPTY WPTY (105.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "Party 105") is a rhythmic contemporary, rhythmic hot adult contemporary, hot AC formatted station city of license, licensed to Calverton, New York, Calverton-Riverhead (town), New York#Other communities, Roanok ...
on
Long Island, NY Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...
and
KNHC KNHC (89.5 FM) is a Class C1 high school radio station based in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's oldest, still remaining, dance music station. C89.5 offers a hybrid of current-based EDM product and Rhythmic Top 40 remixes, as well as new ...
in
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. This format is very popular on internet radio stations such a
KVPN Digital Broadcasting (VPN Digital 1) Los Angeles


CHR/rock

Stations with this format, a modernized Rock 40 format, are similar in some ways to the Adult CHR and Mainstream CHR/Pop formats, but also incorporate
modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...
/
alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
/ active rock and
modern AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet s ...
titles in an upbeat presentation. Examples include
KSXY KSXY (100.9 FM, "The 101") is an alternative rock formatted radio station licensed to Forestville, California, United States. It is owned by Sinclair Telecable, Inc. DBA Sinclair Communications. History When KSXY began broadcasting operations, ...
in
Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...
,
WDJQ WDJQ (92.5 MHz, "Q92") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Alliance, Ohio, and serving the Canton metropolitan area. WDJQ broadcasts a Top 40/CHR radio format and is owned by the family company of Don Peterson, the former publisher ...
in Canton, Ohio,
WIXX WIXX (101.1 FM) is a Top 40/ CHR radio station licensed to and serving Green Bay, Wisconsin, along with Appleton, Oshkosh, and much of Northeast Wisconsin. The station is owned and operated by Wausau, Wisconsin-based Midwest Communication ...
in Green Bay, Wisconsin,
KKCK KKCK (94.7 FM) is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station in Marshall, Minnesota (licensed to Springfield), serving the Marshall and Redwood Falls areas. The station is owned by John Linder and operated from the KMHL/KKCK studios in Marshall. From 1982 ...
in
Marshall, Minnesota Marshall is a city in Lyon County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,680 at the 2010 census. Marshall is a regional center in southwest Minnesota, and the county seat of Lyon County. It is the headquarters of the Schwan Food Com ...
, and
WMOM WMOM (102.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format. Licensed to Pentwater, Michigan, it serves the Ludington, Michigan Ludington ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Mason County in the U.S. state of Michig ...
in
Ludington, Michigan Ludington ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Mason County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,076. Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River ...
. An early version of rock-leaning CHR is Rock 40, which was popular in the late 1980s. This format, developed by Joint Communications who servicemarked the name in 1987, is a young-male-targeted hybrid of CHR and
album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orien ...
(AOR) that combines the formatics of the former with the music mix of the latter. After a short period of successful ratings, the Rock 40 format began to decline because it was too similar to conventional AOR yet lacked appeal among CHR fans who desired less emphasis on rock. According to
Lee Abrams Lee Abrams (born 1952) is an American media executive who has held a number of posts for large and influential companies, and is generally credited with developing the Album Oriented Rock format first heard at WQDR Raleigh and thereafter employ ...
, a pioneer of the AOR format, Rock 40 was "too wimpy for the real rockers and too hard for the mainstream people". Stations that previously broadcast the format include
KEGL KEGL (97.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The station broadcasts to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. KEGL is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The station's studios are located along Dallas Parkway in Fa ...
in
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, KQLZ (Pirate Radio) in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
KRZR KRZR (1400 AM broadcasting, AM) is an American radio station broadcasting a talk radio format, simulcasting KALZ 96.7 FM Fowler, California. Licensed to Visalia, California, United States. The station is currently owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It ...
in
Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
,
KXXR KXXR (93.7 FM) is an active rock/mainstream rock radio station broadcasting to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media, which also owns KQRS-FM. Its transmitter is located in Shoreview, Minnesota. Its studi ...
in Kansas City, and
WMMS WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock s ...
in
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. Rock 40 stations eventually segued to CHR or an AOR spinoff format such as active rock or
modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...
.


Other variations

There are also variations targeting minority ethnic groups, such as CHR/español ( Latin pop), and CHR/Tejano ( Tex-Mex and Tejano) which are commonly found in
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. In Greater China (People's Republic of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
, and
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
), there is also
Mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkie ...
and
Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
which are the top 40 variants in that language.


Key contributors


Todd Storz

Credit for the format is widely given to
Todd Storz Robert Todd Storz (May 8, 1924 – April 13, 1964) headed a very successful chain of American radio broadcasting stations and is generally credited with being the foremost innovator of the Top 40 radio format in 1951. The selection of records t ...
, who was the director of radio station KOWH-AM in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
in 1951. At that time typical AM radio programming consisted largely of full-service "
block programming Block programming is the arrangement of programs on radio or television so that those of a particular genre, theme, or target audience are united. Overview Block programming involves scheduling a series of related shows which are likely to attra ...
": pre-scheduled, sponsored programs of a wide variety, including
radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
s and variety shows. Local popular music hits, if they made it on the air at all, had to be worked in between these segments. Storz noted the great response certain songs got from the record-buying public and compared it to the way certain selections on
jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to sele ...
es were played over and over. He expanded his domain of radio stations, purchasing WTIX-AM in
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, gradually converted his stations to an all-hits format, and pioneered the practice of surveying record stores to determine which singles were popular each week. Storz found that the more people heard a given song on the radio or from the jukebox, the more likely they were to buy a copy; a conclusion not obvious in the industry at the time. In 1952 he purchased what was then WLAF-AM in Lafayette, Indiana and constructed WAZY-AM/FM which is still the longest running top 40 FM station in existence to this day. In 1954, Storz purchased
WHB WHB (810 AM) is a commercial radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The station is owned by Union Broadcasting and it airs an all-sports radio format. For most of the 1950s through the 1970s, while it was broadcasting at 710 AM, ...
-AM, a high-powered station in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
which could be heard throughout the Midwest and Great Plains, converted it to an all-hits format, and dubbed the result "top 40". Shortly thereafter WHB debuted the first "top 40 countdown", a reverse-order playing of the station's ranking of hit singles for that week. Within a few years, top 40 stations appeared all over the country to great success, spurred by the burgeoning popularity of
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...
music, especially that of
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
. A 1950s employee at WHB, Ruth Meyer, went on to have tremendous success in the early to mid-60's as program director of New York's premiere top 40 station at that time, WMCA. Storz Broadcasting Company consisted of six AM radio stations, all featuring top 40 in the sixties.


Gordon McLendon

Although Todd Storz is regarded as the father of the top 100 format,
Gordon McLendon Gordon Barton McLendon (June 8, 1921 – September 14, 1986Texas State Historical AssociationMcClendon, Gordon Barton/ref>) was a radio broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio", McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during the 1950s ...
of
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, is regarded as the person who took an idea and turned it into a mass media marketing success in combination with the development in that same city of
PAMS PAMS Productions, Inc. (an acronym for Production, Advertising and Merchandising Service), based in Dallas, Texas, was one of the most famous jingle production companies in American broadcasting. It produced identification packages for radio stat ...
jingles. McLendon's successful Mighty 1190 KLIF in Dallas, along with his two other
Texas Triangle The Texas Triangle (also known as Texaplex) is a region of Texas which contains the state's five largest cities and is home to the majority of the state's population. The Texas Triangle is formed by the state's four main urban centers, Austin ...
stations, 610
KILT (AM) KILT (, "SportsRadio 610") is a commercial AM radio station in Houston, Texas. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and carries a sports radio format. KILT shares its call sign with its sister station KILT-FM FM, which airs a country music radi ...
Houston and 550
KTSA KTSA (550 AM "107.1 and 550 KTSA") is a commercial radio station in San Antonio, Texas. KTSA is owned by Alpha Media and airs a talk radio format. The studios, offices and three-tower transmitter are on Eisenhauer Road in San Antonio. Most h ...
San Antonio, which went top 40 during the mid to late 1950s, soon became perhaps the most imitated radio stations in America. With careful attention to programming, McLendon presented his stations as packages to advertisers and listeners alike. It was the combination of top 40 and PAMS jingles which became the key to the success of the radio format itself. Not only were the same records played on different stations across America, but so were the same jingle music beds whose lyrics were resung repetitively for each station to create individual station identity. To this basic mix were added contests, games and
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
patter. Various groups (including
Bartell Broadcasters The Bartell Group, later known as Bartell Broadcasters, Bartell Family Radio, Macfadden-Bartell, and the Bartell Media Corporation, was a family-owned company that owned a number of radio stations in the United States during the 1940s through the 1 ...
) emphasized local variations on their top 40 stations. Gordon McLendon would operate approximately a dozen and a half AM, FM and TV stations at various times, experimenting with formats other than top 40 (including
beautiful music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator mu ...
and all-news).


Rick Sklar

In the early 1960s
Rick Sklar Rick Sklar (November 21, 1929 – June 22, 1992) was an American radio program director who, while at New York City's WABC, was one of the originators of the Top 40 radio format. Biography Sklar grew up in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He graduated ...
also developed the Top 40 format for radio station WABC in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
which was then copied by stations in the eastern and mid-western United States such as WKBW and WLS.


Bill Drake

Bill Drake Bill Drake (January 14, 1937 – November 29, 2008), born Philip Yarbrough, was an American radio programmer who co-developed the Boss Radio format with Gene Chenault via their company Drake-Chenault.Douglas, Susan, "Listening In: Radio and the ...
built upon the foundation established by Storz and McLendon to create a variation called "
Boss Radio Boss Radio was the name of two radio programming formats, both launched in the early 1960s: One in the United States, and one in the United Kingdom. Although the names were the same, the formats were quite different. The word "boss" was early 196 ...
". This format began in California in early 1961 at KSTN in Stockton, then expanded in 1962–63 to
KYNO KYNO (940 AM) is a radio station licensed to Fresno, California and is owned by John Ostlund and Katrina Ostlund. KYNO airs an oldies format, switching to Christmas music for much of December. KYNO's radio studios and offices are on Fulto ...
in Fresno, in 1964 to
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
in
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, and finally to KHJ in Los Angeles in May 1965; it was further adapted to stations across the western US. Boss Radio was later broadcast by American disc jockeys as a hybrid format on
pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...
station
Swinging Radio England Swinging Radio England ("SRE") was a top 40 offshore commercial station billed as the "''World's Most Powerful''" that operated from 3 May 1966 to 13 November 1966 from a ship in the North Sea, four and a half miles off Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, En ...
, broadcasting from onboard a ship anchored off the coast of southern England in international waters. At that time there were no commercial radio stations in the UK, and
BBC radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
offered only sporadic top 40 programming. Other noteworthy North American top 40 stations that used the Drake approach included KFRC in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
;
CKLW CKLW (800 AM) is a commercial radio station in Windsor, Ontario, serving Southwestern Ontario and Metro Detroit. CKLW has a news/ talk format. It features local hosts in morning and afternoon drive times, with syndicated Canadian hosts ...
in
Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the southe ...
;
WRKO WRKO (680 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, serving Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England. Owned by iHeartMedia, WRKO is a Class B AM station that provides secondary coverage to portio ...
in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
; WHBQ in Memphis;
WOLF The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...
in Syracuse, New York; and WOR-FM in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Most listeners identified Boss Radio with less talk, shorter jingles and more music.


Mike Joseph and hot hits

Mike Joseph's "hot hits" stations of the late 1970s and early 1980s attempted to revitalize the format by refocusing listeners' attention on current, active "box-office" music. Thus, hot hits stations played only current hit songs—no oldies unless they were on current chart albums—in a fast, furious and repetitive fashion, with fast-talking personalities and loud, pounding jingles. In 1977,
WTIC-FM WTIC-FM (96.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Hartford, Connecticut. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on Executive Drive in Farmington. WTIC-F ...
in Hartford, CT, dropped its long-running classical format for Joseph's format as "96 Tics" and immediately became one of the top radio stations in the market. The first Joseph station to use the term "hot hits" on the air was
WFBL WFBL (1390 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Syracuse, New York and owned by Wolf Radio, Inc. It serves Syracuse and its suburbs, with studios and offices located on Smokey Hollow Road in Baldwinsville. Since September 2017 the stati ...
("Fire 14", which played its top 14 hits in very tight rotation) in Syracuse, NY, in 1979. Then WCAU-FM in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
switched to hot hits as "98 Now" in the fall of 1981 and was instantly successful. Other major-market stations which adopted the hot hits format in the early 1980s included
WBBM-FM WBBM-FM (96.3 MHz) is a top 40 (CHR) radio station in Chicago, Illinois. It is known on the air as B96 and it is owned by Audacy, Inc. The station has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 3,300 watts, broadcasting from a transmitter atop t ...
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, WHYT (now
WDVD WDVD (96.3 FM) is a hot adult contemporary radio station in Detroit, Michigan. Owned and operated by Cumulus Media, WDVD's studios and offices are located in the Fisher Building in Detroit's New Center district near downtown, while its transmit ...
)
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, WMAR-FM (now
WWMX WWMX (106.5 FM), known on-air as Mix 106.5, is a commercial radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. It broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The studios and offices are on Clarkview Road off Jones Falls Exp ...
)
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, which we might add was not successful against market leader WBSB B104,
KITS Kits may refer to: *Kitsilano, a neighbourhood of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada *Kits, an American taffy candy made by Gilliam Candy Company * KITS, a San Francisco, California radio station * Kottayam Institute of Technology & Sc ...
San Francisco, and
WNVZ WNVZ (104.5 FM "Z104") is a commercial radio station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, serving Hampton Roads. WNVZ is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. It airs a rhythmic top 40 radio format. The studios and offices are at Audacy's Hampton Ro ...
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
.


Don Pierson

Don Pierson Donald Grey Pierson (October 11, 1925 – March 30, 1996) was a businessman and civic leader in Eastland, Texas. He founded the United Kingdom, British UK pirate radio, pirate stations Wonderful Radio London, Swinging Radio England and Brit ...
took the formats of Gordon McLendon, boss radio and PAMS jingles to the UK in the form of
Wonderful Radio London Radio London, also known as Big L and Wonderful Radio London, was a top 40 (in London's case, the " Fab 40") offshore commercial station that operated from 23 December 1964 to 14 August 1967, from a ship anchored in the North Sea, off Frinto ...
, (a
pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...
ship) and subsequently revolutionized the popular music format. On 14 August 1967 The Marine Offences Act was introduced in the UK and the pirate stations were shut down. The British Broadcasting Corporation were chosen by the UK government to come up with a station to replace the pirates, and so in 1967
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
started broadcasting, employing many of the DJ's from the pirate stations ( Tony Blackburn,
Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...
and
John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...
etc.) and obtaining re-sings of the PAMS jingles. In fact it was Tony Blackburn who played the first pop record on Radio 1, The Move's "Flowers In The Rain".


Countdowns, shows and personalities

*
List of number-one hits (United States) This is a list of songs that have peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the magazine's national singles charts that preceded it. Introduced in 1958, the Hot 100 is the pre-eminent singles chart in the United States, currently mon ...
*
Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 ''Rick Dees Weekly Top 40'' (sometimes known as ''The Weekly Top 40'') is an internationally syndicated radio program created and hosted by American radio personality Rick Dees. It is currently heard on over 200 radio stations worldwide. It is d ...
* American Top 40 * Sean “Hollywood” Hamilton *
The Official Big Top 40 ''The Sky VIP Official Big Top 40 from Global'' is a radio chart show broadcast every Sunday from 4 to 7pm on Global's Capital and Heart networks, presented by Will Manning. It was started in May 2009 but the show is the descendant of ''The Ne ...
, Global Radio's nationally syndicated chart show in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. It was previously known as Hit40UK. *
Asia Pop 40 ''Asia Pop 40'' is the first regional weekly chart countdown radio show produced in Asia specifically for Asian radio. There is an English language version as well as a Mandarin version. Each week ''Asia Pop 40'' counts down the most popular song ...
, a Top 40 chart program in the Asian region *The World Chart Show *Pânico, Hit Parade And The 7 Best in
Jovem Pan Jovem Pan is the main Brazilian radio station based in São Paulo, Brazil. It is also the largest network of radio stations of the southern hemisphere, of Latin Americaand one of the biggest radio stations in the world.The network has several bu ...


Formats and radio stations

Commercial broadcasting in bold.


America

*''See :Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States, :Contemporary hit radio stations in Canada, and :Contemporary hit radio stations in Mexico.''


Brazil

*
Jovem Pan Jovem Pan is the main Brazilian radio station based in São Paulo, Brazil. It is also the largest network of radio stations of the southern hemisphere, of Latin Americaand one of the biggest radio stations in the world.The network has several bu ...
- CHR/
News News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...
/ Pop/Top40 radio network * Jovem Pan FM - CHR/ Pop/Top40 radio network * Mix FM - CHR/ Pop radio network


Trinidad and Tobago

*
951 Remix 95 The Ultimate One (95.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting from Trinidad and Tobago owned and operated by Guardian Media Limited. It is currently the oldest station in Trinidad and Tobago. The station rebranded from "951 The Best Mix" to "95 ...
, Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
*
Hott 93 Hott 93 (93.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting from Trinidad and Tobago. References * http://hott93.com See also

*951 Remix *Star 947 Radio stations in Trinidad and Tobago {{NorthAm-radio-station-stub ...
, Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
*
Star 947 Star 947 ( 94.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting from Trinidad and Tobago. News The radio station provides news, through ''Newsfeed'' bulletins throughout the weekday. Along with 96 WEFM and 107.7 FM Music For Life, short news summaries are ...
, Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
*Music Radio 97, Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
*Platinum Hits 103.5, Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
*Heartbeat 104.1,
Valsayn Valsayn is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located along the East–West Corridor in northern Trinidad between the Eastern Main Road, Uriah Butler Highway, Churchill–Roosevelt Highway and Curepe. Valsayn consists of a small number of l ...
,
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...


Guyana

* Mix 90.1FM, Georgetown, Guyana


United Kingdom

*
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
** BBC Radio 1Xtra **
BBC Radio 1 Dance BBC Radio 1 Dance is a British online-only radio stream, owned and operated by the BBC and run as a spin-off from Radio 1. The station plays a mix of back-to-back current, future and classic electronic dance music, and broadcasts exclusively o ...
**
BBC Radio 1 Relax BBC Radio 1 Relax is a British online-only radio stream, owned and operated by the BBC and run as a spin-off from Radio 1. The station plays a selection of relaxation and well-being focussed shows, and broadcasts exclusively on BBC Sounds. H ...
* Capital **
Capital UK Capital UK is a radio station broadcasting through the digital platform across the United Kingdom and is owned by Global and operates from the Capital radio network. Capital UK is available nationally on digital radio, and instead of having loc ...
**
Capital Dance Capital Dance (styled Capital DANCE) is a national digital radio station in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Global and run as a spin-off from Capital. The station broadcasts from studios at Leicester Square in London alongside its sib ...
** Capital Xtra **
Capital Xtra Reloaded Capital XTRA Reloaded, is a Global-owned radio station operated as a sister station to Capital XTRA. It broadcasts from Birmingham and is available on DAB Digital Radio in London and on the Global Player app. Its output consists primarily of ...
**
Capital Cymru Capital Cymru is a local Welsh-language radio station owned and operated by Global. The station broadcasts to Gwynedd and Anglesey from studios in Gwersyllt, Wrexham via the Arfon transmitting station. Previously, the station formed part of th ...
**
Capital Liverpool Capital Liverpool is an Independent Local Radio station serving Liverpool, England. It is owned and operated by Global
**
Capital London Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. ...
**
Capital Manchester and Lancashire Capital Manchester and Lancashire is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It was broadcast to Greater Manchester and eastern & central parts of Lancashire from studios at the XYZ Building in Spinn ...
** Capital Mid-Counties **
Capital Midlands Capital Midlands is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Birmingham, parts of the Black Country and the East Midlands from studios at Brindleyplace in Birmingham City Centre. ...
**
Capital North East Capital North East is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to North East England from studios in Newcastle upon Tyne. The station launched on 1 June 1999 as Galaxy 105–106, ren ...
**
Capital North West and Wales Capital North West and Wales is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Cheshire, the Wirral Peninsula & North Wales. The station broadcasts from its studios in Gwersyllt, Wrexha ...
**
Capital Scotland Capital Scotland (formerly known as Beat 106, XFM Scotland, and later Galaxy Scotland) is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global. It broadcasts to Scotland's Central Belt, an area surrounding the two citie ...
**
Capital South Capital South is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Hampshire and Sussex from studios in Segensworth, Fareham. The station launched on 6 April 2019, following the merger o ...
**
Capital South Wales Capital South Wales is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Cardiff and Newport and the surrounding areas from studios in Cardiff Bay. History The station ...
**
Capital Yorkshire Capital Yorkshire is a regional radio station owned by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire from studios in Leeds, West Yorkshire, E ...
*
Hits Radio Hits Radio is a network of 25 contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK. As of October 2022, the network has a combined reach of 6.6 million weekly listeners according to RAJAR. Overv ...
**
Hits Radio UK Hits Radio UK is a national digital radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the United Kingdom. As of June 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 1.2 mill ...
**
Hits Radio Pride Hits Radio Pride is a national digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts across the United Kingdom. It was launched on 28 August 2020 as a pop up Pride station focusing on music for the L ...
** Hits Radio London **
Hits Radio Manchester ''For the Network, see Hits Radio. For the National DAB station, see Hits Radio UK.'' Hits Radio Manchester is an Independent local radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester ...
**
Hits Radio South Coast Easy Radio South Coast is an Independent Local Radio station based in Southampton, England, owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting. It broadcasts to the South Coast of the England. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 47 ...


Italy

* RTL 102.5 *
Radio Kiss Kiss Radio Kiss Kiss is an Italian commercial radio station and one of the first radio station aired from Naples, Italy. Based in Naples, Italy, with two offices in Rome and Milan, this radio station is devoted to Soul, Funky and Disco music Disc ...


Australia

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
: * 2WFM KIIS 106.5 FM Sydney
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
: * 3TTT KIIS 101.1 FM Melbourne


Indonesia

* Mustang 88.0 FM Jakarta * Gen 98.7 FM Jakarta


Lebanon

* Mix FM *
Virgin Radio Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...


Malaysia

*
8FM 8FM (formerly One FM) is a Malaysian Chinese-language radio station. Initially starting with broadcasts in the Klang Valley, it is now broadcast nationwide. 8FM is owned by Media Prima Berhad. History In 2006, its frequencies were from th ...
* goXuan ** goXuan Chinese Trending ** goXuan K-Pop ** goXuan Chinese OST ** goXuan Chinese Tik-Tok *
Hitz ''Hitz'' is an American sitcom that aired on UPN from August 26 until November 11, 1997. The series follows two record industry executives ( Rick Gomez and Claude Brooks) and their boss (Andrew Dice Clay) at Hitower Records in Los Angeles. Cast ...
** Hitz Sabah (
Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...
only) ** Hitz Sarawak (
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...
only) ** Hitz Urban ** Hitz Dance ** Hitz Tik-Tok ** Hitz Throwback ** Hitz Chillest ** Hitz Workout ** Hitz Top 40 ** Hitz Local ** Hitz K-Pop * My ** My Sabah (
Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...
only) ** My Sarawak (
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...
only) ** My Chinese Drop The Beat ** My Chinese Pop ** My Chinese Rock ** My Chinese Kara ** My Chinese Love Uu ** My Chinese Positive *
Era An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...
** Era Sabah (
Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...
only) ** Era Sarawak (
Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...
only) ** Era Flow ** Era Cintan ** Era K-Hit ** Era Nusantera ** Era Throwbaek ** Era Erathon ** Era Nurock ** Era Indie


New Zealand

*
The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...
* ZM **
ZM Whangarei 94.8ZM Whangarei (originally known as 93ZM) is a hit music radio station in Whangarei, New Zealand. It is a station of the ZM network, and is owned and operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment. History ZM was first started in the Nort ...
**
ZM Auckland ZM Auckland is a hit music radio station in Auckland, New Zealand. The station is the host of the ZM network, and is owned and operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Several stations have been set up since 2002 to carry ZM programmes ...
**
ZM Waikato ZM Waikato (also known as 89.8ZM) is Contemporary hit radio, contemporary hit radio network in Hamilton, New Zealand. It is owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and broadcasts via FM broadcasting, FM, and worldwide via the Internet. Th ...
**
ZM Wellington ZM Wellington (previously 2ZM, ZMFM and 91ZM) is a Contemporary Hit Radio, hit music radio station in Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand. It is a station of the ZM (New Zealand), ZM network, and is owned and operated by New Zealand Media and Ent ...
**
ZM Christchurch ZM Christchurch (previously 3ZM, Radio Nova, ZMFM and 91ZM) is a hit music radio station in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is a station of the ZM network, and is owned and operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment. History Early years Th ...


Singapore

*
Ria 89.7FM Ria 89.7FM is a Malay language, Malay radio station of Mediacorp in Singapore. This radio station operates on a 24-hour basis which plays the hottest Malay hits predominantly from the 90s to the present, and targets forward-thinking professiona ...
*
YES 933 YES 933, formerly known as 933醉心频道 (''933 Zuìxīn píndào'', "933 Intoxicated Channel"), is a Mandarin radio station owned by Mediacorp in Singapore. The station now holds the slogan of 顶尖流行音乐电台,引领潮流时代 ( ...
* 987FM


Sri Lanka

*
Yes FM ' Yes 101 (100.8, 101.0 F.M.) is an English radio station in Sri Lanka. Yes FM principally plays contemporary hit music. Yes 101 commenced broadcasting on December 10, 1993, at 6.00 am. It is one of the radio channels owned by The Capital ...


Philippines

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
: * Republika FM1 ( state-owned station) *
Magic 89.9 Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
( major commercial station) * Monster RX 93.1 ( major commercial station) * 99.5 Play FM ( major commercial station) * Q Radio 105.1 ( major commercial station)


Mainland China

* CNR Music Radio - National CHR (
Mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkie ...
)/Top40 radio * CRI Hit FM - National CHR ( Western Pop)/Top40 radio *
POP 101 "Pop 101" is a song recorded by Canadian pop rock band Marianas Trench, featuring hip hop artist Anami Vice. Written and produced by lead singer Josh Ramsay, it was released July 29, 2014 through 604 Records, Cherrytree Records, and Interscope ...
- Shanghai
Mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkie ...
radio * KFM 981 - Shanghai CHR ( Western Pop)/Top40 radio *AsiaFM 96.5 - Commercial
Mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkie ...
radio in Chengdu, Sichuan


Hong Kong

*
Ultimate 903 Commercial Radio Hong Kong (CRHK, , aka Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited is one of the two commercial radio broadcasting companies in Hong Kong along with Metro Radio Hong Kong. CRHK provides an array of entertainment, includ ...
(
Cantopop Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") or HK-pop (short for "Hong Kong pop music") is a genre of pop music written in standard Chinese and sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production ...
)


Taiwan

Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area The Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area () also commonly known as Greater Taipei Area () is the largest metropolitan area in Taiwan. It is composed of 3 administrative divisions: Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung. The region encompasses an area ...
: *
Taipei Pop Radio Taipei POP Radio FM91.7 () is a Taiwanese Mandopop radio station, began broadcasting on November 25, 1995.臺灣新浪網: 電台DJ拚球技丹尼斯戴口罩防尷尬 Oct 17, 2012 "第四屆「廣播電台3對3籃球聯誼賽」17日熱鬧開打 ...
(
Mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkie ...
) * Hit FM (
Mandopop Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkie ...
)


Japan

*
J-Wave J-Wave is a commercial radio station based in Tokyo, Japan, broadcasting on 81.3 FM from the Tokyo Skytree to the Tokyo area. J-Wave airs mostly music, covering a wide range of formats. The station is considered the most popular among FM broad ...


Thailand

* Hitz 955


Sweden

*
Sveriges Radio P3 P3 (''Sveriges Radio P3'' or ''pe tre'') is a mainstream CHR-formatted station operated by Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcasting organization Sveriges Radio. The P in P3 originally stood for Program (''Programme'') but today has no ...


International

*
Virgin Radio Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale. In 2001, ...


References


External links

*Format in the UK specified by OFCOM - CHR/Pop - Contemporary / Current / Recurrent hits, may contain older music

*Mass Media Moments in the United Kingdom, the USSR and the US, by Gilder, Eric. - "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu Press, Romania. 2003 *Music in the Air: America's Changing Tastes in Popular Music (1920–1980), by Eberley, P.K. New York, 1982. *Studying Popular Music, by Middleton, Richard. - Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1990/2002. . *Durkee, Rob. "American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century." Schriner Books, New York City, 1999. *Battistini, Pete, "American Top 40 with
Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio personality, who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40''. He was the first actor to voice No ...
The 1970s." Authorhouse.com, January 31, 2005. . *Douglas, Susan, "Listening In: Radio and the American Imagination," New York: Times Books, 1999. *Fong-Torres, Ben, "The Hits Just Keep On Coming: The History of Top 40 Radio", San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 1998. *MacFarland, David, "The Development of the Top 40 Radio Format", New York: Arno Press, 1979. *Fisher, Mark, "Something in the Air: Radio, Rock, and the Revolution That Shaped a Generation", New York: Random House, 2007. *Goulart, Elwood F. 'Woody', "The Mystique and Mass Persuasion: Bill Drake & Gene Chenault’s Rock and Roll Radio Programmin

, 2006.
Choice Hits
- a weekly music chart charting the week's top songs.
The Reel Top 40 Radio Repository
- a non profit Internet Museum of this "art form".
Rock Radio Scrapbook
- Canada's aircheck archive celebrating the Golden Years of North American Top 40 radio".
Hot Hits information siteContemporary hit radio
at RadioStationWorld
Tunecaster Online Pop And Rock Music Encyclopedia
- United States music charts and popular artists pages. *Puttin' On The Hits - an ebook by former Top 40 Program Director John Long.
Boss Radio Forever
The History of KHJ Radio, Los Angeles. *JovemPan {{DEFAULTSORT:Contemporary Hit Radio Radio formats Record charts