Branding
The format is most famously associated with the Jack FM brand, although the format itself and the Bob FM brand both predate Jack. However, not all stations which implement the adult hits format use these brands — other brands associated with the format include "Frank", "Joe", "Mike", "Ed", "Max", "Mac", "Dave", "Giant", "Simon", "Sam", "Charlie", "Ben", "Freedom", "Pirate" and "Moose FM". The Adult Hits format dates back to 1990 when 98.9 WMMO was launched in Orlando, Florida.
Adult hits stations often go under monikers that consist of "(Male Name) FM", but there are some that use another name such as "Playlist FM" in Los Angeles, "My FM", "Rewind," or call themselves "Adult Hits 92.7" after the format itself. Adult hits stations target adults 25-54, and more specifically at 35-44 year olds. They have a wide playlist consisting of over 1,000 songs consisting of popular hits from the mid-'50s through today. This is one of the reasons the format is currently so popular; it has a wide playlist similar to an MP3 player's capabilities, and radio companies are utilizing this format to compete against such technologies.
A variation of adult hits has made inroads into the country format, typified by the "Hank FM" stations. A Spanish-language version, "Jose FM", is syndicated by Entravision.
Read more about this topic: Adult Hits