Subgenre radio formats: The case of music‐intensive religious stations

Some radio stations emulate mainstream formats in an effort to attract “niche” audiences, characterized by cultural determinants such as language or religion. This study analyzed stations that follow religious music subgenre formats. The most prominent religious music format. Southern Gospel, along with Country Religious and Black Gospel, was found almost exclusively in the Southern region of the U.S. The majority of stations that featured these formats were AM. In contrast, Worship, Soft Rock, and Rock format emulations were broadcast primarily on FM, with Soft Rock formats most evenly distributed around the country. Religious Rock formatted stations gave significantly greater emphasis to promotion and lowest emphasis to ministry. Findings suggest that niche formats' success in appealing to identifiable cultural groups may rest on the effectiveness of station promotion to the intended audiences.