There's Only One Viable Christian Radio Format

You've probably heard a variation on this line of thinking sometime over the past couple of years. The format, of course, would be that of our standard, run-of-the-mill, Christian AC stations. And, while there are differences among stations, they all play in the generally-same 25-54 year-old woman playground.

What if, though...what if that's not completely true?

First, the facts behind the statement and why people who are much smarter than me have said it: It is the easiest format to have "success;" though, I'll get back to this point in a moment. Christian AC radio songs are, overall, the most familiar songs - thanks to the proliferation of Christian AC stations across the country. And, since it's more familiar, the music tests better and tends to be the most palatable to a wide range of listeners. We, as an industry, have spent a lot of time building a successful AC format over the past 20-30 years. And it shows. Does that mean it's the only "real" format for Christian radio? The only format that can make it and have value?

You can probably guess from where I'm heading here. I believe the answer is "no." Let's start with the "success" metric. It can be easy in radio to define success by having high ratings or by bringing in the most money (or both). Who doesn't want to be one of the most listened-to stations in a market? If you're in a market with multiple Christian stations, you probably even want to be the Christian station with the most listeners.

Many of us are wired to "win," and ratings are an easy way to define "winning." If you're reaching 100,000 people with your station, isn't that better than only reaching 40,000? On the surface, your answer to that question is probably, "Yes, I want be the successful station who is making a difference in the lives of 100,000 listeners, rather than the station who reaches the smaller number." But what about the smaller group? This is where I circle around to how you define success.

Maybe your definition of success isn't being the most listened to station by W25-54. Maybe it's in being the most listened-to station by those who no one else is reaching with Christian music that they love. Maybe reaching a passionate niche of an audience is as important as reaching a wider general audience? It could just be a question of your calling; who has God called you to reach as a ministry?

To be honest, I get it. Many Christian music radio stations were started in the late 80s and early 90s with a mission to reach "the youth" and had a wide range of success. Overall, many of those stations were unfocused and all over the place in their programming and stylistic direction. And then, as we entered the early 2000s, we hired very smart consultants who taught us how to do radio right. As an industry, we learned how to do radio better and listenership increased. And when youth pastors complained about us not reaching their youth anymore, we could point to numbers that showed us having more teen listeners than ever! Donations even started increasing. It's been great!

As my friend Paul Adams, WAY-FM Operations Director in South Florida, shared with me while discussing this topic, it made sense in the early 2000s. Back when it took a 50,000-watt stick to reach people, you had to find the one format because you couldn't afford 10 sticks. It made sense to do a format and reach more people with the only avenue we had to use. Today though? We have plenty of other routes we can take: stream a station or maybe even own more than one stick and offer more than one format. Or maybe, just maybe, you can take the tools we've learned that have helped us be more successful and pull off a station that targets a different than normal Christian audience and see success.

By now you might be looking at me like I have three heads. Am I really suggesting that maybe a station that has fewer listeners - and might even bring in less money - is a good thing? Isn't that poor stewardship? There's a great quote (thanks to Mike Couchman for sharing this), "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."

I'd also add that maybe, if a different format was slowly built - like a pop/hip hop format like WAY-FM Network's WAY Now, NGEN, Boost FM, etc., that someday, as the songs become more familiar and the audience has grown, it could become a format that is just as celebrated as Christian AC. There is definitely an audience looking for and streaming music that's not what you hear on traditional Christian AC radio, and maybe a station that can also serve up other content can truly make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who will never tune into a Christian AC station.

I realize that I asked a lot of questions above. And I don't have all the answers to making this all work; but that doesn't mean it can't. So am I suggesting that you blow up your Christian AC station and swap formats and reach a completely different audience? No, unless that's what you feel called to do. I am saying that it's time to change the mindset that other Christian radio formats aren't worth exploring and can't work.