The copycat nature of the entertainment industry means that it is not uncommon to find different versions of the same thing dispersed here and there. But when it comes to radio, specifically the morning show game, competition to be the best often manifests in similar tactics with twists meant to one-up the other. In New York, the number one broadcasting market, this battle is being played out on TV between the top hip hop stations.
Clear Channel’s Breakfast Club, featuring Power 105’s top-rated hosts Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee and DJ Envy debuted Monday on Sean Combs’ REVOLT network. Like a live version of the show, it airs daily from 6am to 9am Eastern, with an encore for the West Coast in Pacific Time. “Adding radio as a medium to the REVOLT arsenal will help push the traditional boundaries of music on television and expand our reach even further with millions of new listeners and viewers, which is incredible for a fledgling network," says REVOLT CEO and founder of The Shadow League, Keith Clinkscales.
Aiming to outdo the "other" radio crew, Hot 97 heads to VH1 to premiere its new reality show This Is Hot 97. Debuting Monday, March 31 at 10:30 Eastern, the show features its longtime personalities Angie Martinez, Funkmaster Flex, and the morning show crew of Ebro, Cipha Sounds, Peter Rosenberg, Laura Stylez, and Miss Info. Billing itself as the place “Where Hip Hop Lives,” Hot 97 is considered by some as the #1 Hip Hop station in the world broadcasting in countries like Japan.
Now that both Hot 97 and Power 105 go head to head on TV aiming to bring "the real," the unscripted TV versions with likely be all of the things you love and hate about reality television, with the added morning burst of craziness that hip hop radio is notoriously known to place on full display.
