There once was a time when Miami had many hip-hop stations. I remember growing up and having
my choice over which station I turned to and could hear my favorite hip-hop track. That is no longer
the case for the residents of Miami. From the year’s 2002 – 2010 you could have your choice between
99Jamz and 103.5 The Beat, but that all changed when The Beat decided it was time to reformat their
sound. 99Jamz remained the sole station in Miami, representing the urban community and their musical
preference in a city which has a high demand for this genre. Well, a silver lining came on October 11th
2013 when The Beat returned to the urban format and shocked residents of Miami; Djs and fans alike. A new day had arrived and with that the battle for Miami’s #1 station began.
For the last few months I been sitting back watching the battle of stations. There have been some
STRONG allegations by The Beat, read the following excerpt:
“103.5 THE BEAT is back and ready to take back ‘Hip-Hop’s Heavyweight Title’ in MIAMI,”
CCM+E SVP/Urban Programming DOC WYNTER said.
“While THE BEAT was ‘away’ we got a little harder and this time around we‘re just straight ‘bangin’ hip-hop. Many of the biggest stars in the hip-hop world live in MIAMI, so the format was a natural choice
for this community.”
99Jamz on the other hand hasn’t made any huge changes or announcements. That
made me wonder why, so I did a little research and what I found may put an end to the battle as far as I know.
99Jamz is known for consistency with their format, they are the people’s station and known as the home of true hip-hop. While the history for The Beat is shaky to say the least. In the last 3 years, The Beat has changed their format 3 times (May 14 2010 Spanish, May 2012 Modern Rock, and April of 2013) to finally come back and say “the format was natural choice”. The fans are tuning in, but I think they are not believers in the station. The best thing for us to do is look at the numbers right and I got my hands on those figures, because as we have been taught, the numbers don’t lie. As of right now, there is NO
COMPETITION in Miami; 99Jamz is the #1 station for the urban community. The Beat, unfortunately
does not have a history for remaining loyal to their listeners, whereas 99Jamz has remained strong since 1988.
Numbers don’t lie!
I will continue to follow this battle, as it is an awesome one for the hip-hop lovers of Miami, either
way we’re winning.
Stay tuned to more editorials from @IamBreezySays and welcome her to the 24hourhiphop.com family!
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