RadioTime's top hip-hop stations online - NYC's Hot 97 and Paris-based Sky Rock FM

RadioTime is the online directory of terrestrial and Internet-only radio for computer and mobile users, and it issues another in its line of “19” most popular lists. This time it’s for hip-hop stations, and the top ten are #1, Hot 97/WQHT. #2, Sky Rock FM 96.0. #3, Choice FM/107.1 of London. #4, KXOL-FM 96.3 of Los Angeles. #5, Nairobi, Kenya’s Homeboyz Radio. #6, 181.FM the Beat (internet stream). #7, Kiss 100 FM, London. #8, DWAV-FM, Wave 89.1 from Manila. #9, Ado 97.8 FM of Paris. And #10, WKYS, Washington, D.C. The complete “19” list is here.

Radio prepares for the arrival of Ida along the Gulf Coast

With hurricane watches and warnings in place from just west of New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle, radio is gearing up for the arrival of Hurricane Ida, expected to make landfall very early Tuesday morning. In New Orleans, WWL-AM/FM (870/105.3) reports Ida will have an “isolated impact” on Louisiana, but flooding and wind damage is possible. You can listen to WWL by clicking here. The storm’s projected path will take it into Mississippi and Alabama, where WNTM-AM (710) in Mobile has a web page dedicated to the storm coverage. WNRP-AM (1620) in Pensacola, Florida is also tracking the storm, expected to move directly over the North Florida coast. You can listen to the station here.

Radio listening on mobile devices shows huge gains in Great Britain

A survey in 2002 showed just 1.8 percent of people listened to radio on mobile devices throughout Great Britain. Increase use and upgrade the technology, and now that number has increased seven-fold. A survey by England’s Radio Joint Audience Research (Rajar) shows 13.5 percent of all people surveyed said they had used their mobiles for radio listening in the third quarter of this year. In the 15-24 age category, nearly one-in-three, 32.7 percent, used mobile devices to tune in radio, up from 6%, seven years ago. The same survey found digital radio listening was on the rise. DAB listening was 21.1 percent of the overall audience in the third quarter of 2009, an increase from 18.7 percent one year ago, and nearly one-in-three surveyed said they owned a DAB radio set at home.

The UK's latest Rajar research shows listening up on mobile phones

That figure grew 8%, from 6.4 million a year ago to 6.9 million, among all people age 15+. Nearly 33% of those in the 15-24 demo say they've listened to radio on their phones, up from 30.5% a year ago. 16% of young adults say they listen that way at least once a week. Great Britain has aggressively pushed its own digital radio technology, and the quarterly Rajar study shows both DAB ownership and “digital listening hours” growing 14%. As for over-the-air listening, it “remains high with a total of 45.7 million listeners age 15+, or 89.2% of the UK population.” Rajar stands for Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd. More from its new release.

Radio Hosts Get In The Charity Spirit

• Blair Garner, host of Premiere Radio Network’s nationally syndicated “After MidNite” program, will present a special six-hour show on November 22 to promote the T.J. Martell Foundation’s Text 4 Life mobile giving campaign that kicks off for the holiday season. Country artists Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Montgomery Gentry, Little Big Town, Darryl Worley, Miranda Lambert, Jimmy Wayne and others will lend their voices to the campaign, which encourages listeners to donate $5.00 by texting “TJ” to 90999 on their cell phones. Garner is a member of the board of directors of the Nashville Division of the T.J. Martell Foundation.

Radioio.com Gets In The Holiday Spirit With New Channels

Tampa, Fla.-based Internet radio company radioio.com launched three new online Christmas music channels Nov. 13, including a country Christmas stream. The others are dubbed “Christmas Traditions,” and “Today’s Christmas.”

RadioTime's top hip-hop stations online - NYC's Hot 97 and Paris-based Sky Rock FM

RadioTime is the online directory of terrestrial and Internet-only radio for computer and mobile users, and it issues another in its line of "19" most popular lists. This time it's for hip-hop stations, and the top ten are #1, Hot 97/WQHT. #2, Sky Rock FM 96.0. #3, Choice FM/107.1 of London. #4, KXOL-FM 96.3 of Los Angeles. #5, Nairobi, Kenya’s Homeboyz Radio. #6, 181.FM the Beat (internet stream). #7, Kiss 100 FM, London. #8, DWAV-FM, Wave 89.1 from Manila. #9, Ado 97.8 FM of Paris. And #10, WKYS, Washington, D.C.

The Video Gaming of Media

One year ago, the Pew Internet & American Life project released a study that outlined an entertainment category that has grown so large that it was approaching radio and television in terms of usage. Was it social media, that headline-generating wave of the past few years? No, it was video gaming, a category that is routinely ignored by the press but has gotten so big that the industry is now larger than Hollywood, as outlined in a recent Daily Observer column from the UK. And the gaming story crosses all boundaries—from hardware device to demographics. We are seeing nothing less than the video gaming of life, and it is an area where radio must pay attention and use to its advantage.