URBAN ALTERNATIVE STATION – “THE DROP” – DEBUTS IN DENVER • JUNE PPM RATINGS FOR DENVER & CHICAGO

The Drop Team: (L-R) Content Director Nikki Swarn,

Unique, DJ Bella Scratch, DJ Dif'Rent

On Saturday, June 29^th a new noncommercial public radio station – The Drop – made its debut in Denver. 

The Drop [link] is branded as The People’s Station For R&B and Hip Hop. 

It airs the newly developed Urban Alternative format that first appeared on WBEZ’s Vocalo channel in Chicago in 2017.

The Drop is part of an ambitious effort by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and Paragon Media Strategies to establish Urban Alternative – Hip Hop, R&B and Urban Contemporary, curated with “public radio’s values” – on noncommercial stations. CPB has invested $1.3 million in the project.

The goal is to establish Urban Alternative as a new format that will draw a younger and more diverse audience that is less aligned with specific genres or traditional music formats.

The best way to understand The Drop is to hear it live here.

In addition to the streaming audio, folks in the Denver are can hear The Drop on KUVO-HD2.

The Drop was unveiled to the public at the Westword Music Showcase. In a pre-launch story, The Drop’s Content Director Nikki Swarn told Westword [link]:

“The Drop aims to give radio back to the people. The DJs play whatever the listeners want to hear, seamlessly integrating local songs with international urban music. I’ve never been a part of something so thrilling as this is right now. I love our baby. I really do.”

The Drop is one of three stations participating in the Urban Alternative project. The other two stations, KPVU, Houston and, WNSB, Norfolk, are at earlier stages in the process. The development phase is expected to last two years.

The Drop almost made it into the June Denver-Boulder Nielsen PPM ratings.

The station was in testing mode on June 23^rd when the June survey ended.

The big news in the June book is the  one-month drop in listening and listeners to Colorado Public Radio’s (CPR) News flagship station KCFR. 

The station’s AQH share dropped 1.4 and the estimated weekly listeners fell by over 13%. 

Keep in mind, one book doesn’t make it a trend.

The AAA battle between KJAC The Colorado Sound and CPR’s KVOQ remains close. KVOQ was still operating as Open Air during the June book. Indie 102.3 debuted on KVOQ on July 1^st.

In the June Chicago Nielsen Audio PPM ratings Urban Alternative Vocalo was up a little bit but still lags behind other noncommercial stations. Vocalo originates on WBEZ’s HD2 channel and can be heard on an FM translator at 91.1 FM and WBEW 89.5 FM in northern Indiana.

Vocalo’s [link] music mix is similar to what is heard on The Drop. The station is deeply involved with Chicago’s music scene. Vocalo describes itself as Chicago’s Urban Alternative – the nation’s first 24/7 public radio station focusing on R&B, Hip Hop, Dance music and more.

Chicago is at the epicenter of cultural and social movements not currently represented on commercial FM airwaves.  We aspire to be that soundtrack that amplifies our city and makes you say and feel- this is what Chicago sounds like.