The ’80s have been a factor recently for almost every format on the adult radio landscape. Hot ACs are deciding whether to ankle them altogether. Oldies/Greatest Hits stations are moving further into the decade, as a way of getting away from the ’60s. Mainstream ACs are using them as a way to get away from the soft ’70s.

In New York’s recently profiled AC/Hot AC wars, the ’80s were clearly in play. WLTW (Lite FM) is imaging around them. WPLJ has readded them. WWFS (Fresh 102.7) has moved on and started concentrating on “’90s/2K/Today.” But with not every market having an Adult Hits Bob-or-Jack-FM or a “Rewind” devoted to the ’80s, where have the ’80s landed in other markets?

The answer, based on six different markets, is that it’s different everywhere. It’s typical to hear an AC station like WRAL Raleigh, N.C., stage Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” with “remember all those great ’80s songs, we’re bringing them back on Mix 101.5.” But owning the ’80s can mean three songs an hour for some ACs and seven for others.

Analyzing data from Mediaguide, we looked at the Mainstream AC station (or stations), the Hot AC, the Oldies/Greatest Hits station, and the Adult Hits station, where one existed. In most cases, we did not treat the Classic Rock station as part of the AC landscape, but there was one market where it was an obvious choice, and two where the Jammin’ Oldies station had to be taken into consideration.

One commonality does emerge here. With the exception of some of the Adult Hits stations, the ’80s songs represented here are the timeless/all-ages ’80s that would test for most AC, Hot AC or Greatest Hits stations willing to test them. WLTW goes further into the MTV ’80s than most, but nobody has quite concentrated on the ’80s (or the audience who grew up with them) in a way that would allow any new ’80s titles to become viable in station music research. You do see a few less typical titles on Oldies stations, typically those by artists with history in the ’60s/’70s.

Here are the six markets we looked at. Listings represent the titles played in the 2 p.m. hour on October 13 and the time after the hour they were played.

New York

WLTW (Lite FM), which has made the ’80s part of its positioning, has the most obvious commitment of the Mainstream ACs we looked at. Lite FM played seven ’80s over the course of an hour—they were never more than 10 minutes away from an ’80s song. Oldies/Greatest Hits WCBS-FM, which made the ’80s part of its 2007 return to the format, was playing four. Hot AC WPLJ was playing two—still a change for a station that was imaged around “today” not so long ago.

WLTW (AC): 00 – Pretenders, “Brass In Pocket (I’m Special)”; 10 – Belinda Carlisle, “Mad About You”; 21 – Simple Minds, “Don’t You (Forget About Me”); 30 – Prince, “I Would Die For You”; 36 – Tears For Fears, “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”; 43 – Madonna, “Like A Prayer”; 55 – Phil Collins, “In The Air Tonight”

WCBS-FM (Oldies/Greatest Hits): 00 – Donna Summer, “On The Radio”; 10 – Eurythmics, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”; 33 – Genesis, “Invisible Touch”; 58 – Aretha Franklin, “Freeway Of Love”

WPLJ (Hot AC): 09 – Eurythmics, “Here Comes The Rain Again”; 42 – 38 Special, “Caught Up In You”

Los Angeles

With a long running Adult Hits station in the market, the ’80s go to KCBS-FM (Jack FM), or at least the pop/rock ’80s do, with seven titles. Mainstream AC KOST and Jammin’ Oldies KHHT (Hot 92.3) are close behind, though, with five titles. (Given L.A.’s history with rhythmic music, and new morning man Rick Dees, Hot had to be included.) Jack’s sister station, KRTH (K-Earth 101) has moved into the early AC-leaning ’80s, but only played two titles, while Hot AC KBIG (My 104.3) only played one. And in true L.A. fashion, it was New Order’s “Blue Monday,” a song played only on Alternative KROQ as a current, that now plays on two stations in the same hour.

KCBS-FM (Adult Hits): 02 – Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin’”; 06 – Adam Ant, “Strip”; 24 – Pat Benatar, “Love Is A Battlefield”; 32 – Billy Squier, “The Stroke”; 36 – A-Ha, “Take On Me”; 52 – New Order, “Blue Monday”; 56 – Blue Oyster Cult, “Burning For You”

KOST (AC): 00 – Hall & Oates, “Private Eyes”; 20 – Michael Jackson, “Human Nature”; 28 – Wham, “Careless Whisper”; 40 – REO Speedwagon, “Take It On The Run”; 54 – Madonna, “Into The Groove”

KHHT (Jammin’ Oldies): 00 – Lakeside, “Fantastic Voyage”; 05 – Atlantic Starr, “Secret Lovers”; 20 – Ready For The World, “Love You Down”; 45 – Sheila E., “The Glamorous Life”; 53 – Bobby Brown, “My Prerogative”

KRTH (Oldies/GH): 11 – Genesis, “That’s All”; 38 – Commodores, “Lady (You Bring Me Up)”

KBIG (Hot AC): 10 – New Order, “Blue Monday”

Washington, D.C.

This is a market without an Oldies/Greatest Hits station, so the largest number of ’80s titles are actually on Classic Hits WBIG, which we included here because of their relatively pop lean, including a lot of ’80s songs that are AC mainstays. WBIG had five ’80s titles (six if you count Police’s “Message In A Bottle,” which misses by three months, but which is more of a piece in terms of sound and artist image with other ’80s songs). Sister AC WASH had four. Hot AC WRQX (Mix 107.3) had only one.

WBIG (Classic Hits): 58 – Steve Perry, “Oh Sherrie”; 05 – Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes”; 10 – Bryan Adams, “Summer Of ’69”; 23 – Yes, “Owner Of A Lonely Heart”; 33 – Clash, “Rock The Casbah”; 36 – Police, “Message In A Bottle”

WASH (AC): 00 – Madonna, “Open Your Heart”; 28 – Prince, “When Doves Cry”; 35 – Toto, “Africa”; 53 – Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin’”

WRQX (Hot AC): 02 – INXS, “Need You Tonight”

Miami

Longtime Hot AC WFLC (Coast 97.3) has always had a not-so-stealth functionality as an ’80s station, which continues, despite the evolution of the format elsewhere, and includes some less typical titles. Soft AC sister WFEZ (Easy 93.1) had four very different ’80s titles (including one on the cusp of 1979-80). Mainstream AC rival WLYF played three ’80s, but its Oldies/GH sister WMXJ (Majic 102.7) doesn’t delve into the ’80s at all.

WFLC (Hot AC): 00 – George Michael, “Faith”; 07 – Tears For Fears, “Shout”; 18 – Shannon, “Let The Music Play”; 31 – Soft Cell, “Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go”; 43 – Glenn Frey, “You Belong To The City”

WFEZ (Soft AC): 59 – Whitney Houston, “Saving All My Love For You”; 08 – Commodores, “Nightshift”; 29 – Air Supply, “Every Woman In The World”; 37 – Captain & Tennille, “Do That To Me One More Time”

WLYF (AC): 04 – Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney, “The Girl Is Mine”; 40 – Eurythmics, “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”; 44 – Beach Boys, “Kokomo”

WMXJ (Oldies): None

St. Louis

Oldies/Greatest Hits KLOU has steered away from its “Rewind” handle, returning to “Oldies 103.3” and playing only one ’80s an hour. In fact, KLOU’s ’90s-centered sister station, WSGX (Gen X), actually played one more ’80s than KLOU. That leaves Adult Hits WARH (The Arch) as the pop/rock ’80s choice, with six an hour. Mainstream AC KEZK plays three, while Hot AC KYKY is imaged as “Today’s Best Music” and plays none.

WARH (Adult Hits): 00 – Def Leppard, “Rocket”; 04 – Prince, “Little Red Corvette”; 22 – REO Speedwagon, “Keep On Loving You”; 26 – Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes”; 37 – Joan Jett, “I Love Rock & Roll”; 52 – Van Halen, “When It’s Love”

KEZK (AC): 00 – Phil Collins, “Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now)”; 37 – Tracy Chapman, “Fast Car”; 46 – Bonnie Tyler, “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”

WSGX (’90s Gold): 01 – Guns ’N’ Roses, “Paradise City”; 40 – Beastie Boys, “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)”

KLOU (Oldies/GH): 22 – Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin’”

KYKY (Hot AC): None

Las Vegas

This market has had both a dedicated ’80s outlet and a Jack FM, but both were gone when we wrote this article. Jack’s CBS Hot AC sister station KMXB (Mix 94.1) does well with its newer mix, meaning that the most ’80s are actually heard on Jammin’ Oldies KOAS (The Oasis), which played six, followed by AC KSNE (Sunny 100.3) and Oldies/GH KKLZ, which played either three or four, depending on how you count the Contours’ “Do You Love Me” (which seems to be classified as a ’60s, based on other hours). If that sounds like a hole, KOAS' quasi-sister station KVGS saw one too, becoming Bob-FM on Oct. 20.

KOAS (Jammin’ Oldies): 01 – Shannon, “Let The Music Play”; 05 – Diana Ross, “Missing You”; 24 – Starpoint, “Object Of My Desire”; 37 – Jets, “Make It Real”; 47 – Commodores, “Lady (You Bring Me Up)”; 54 – Michael Jackson, “Human Nature”

KSNE (AC): 19 – Cutting Crew, “(I Just) Died In Your Arms)”; 27 – REO Speedwagon, “Keep On Loving You”; 50 – George Michael, “Father Figure”; 59 – Crowded House, “Don’t Dream It’s Over”

KKLZ (Oldies/GH): 18 – Soft Cell, “Tainted Love”; 22 – Contours, “Do You Love Me”; 38 – Phil Collins, “In The Air Tonight”; 50 – Prince, “1999”

So who owns the ’80s in your market? Please leave a comment.