2025 Format Counts: Religion, Contemporary Christian Make Biggest Gains.

In 2024, the religion format — which includes stations featuring religious teaching, hymns and other related content — added 36 new outlets for a 1.7% increase, coming in second place behind country for the most stations, according to Inside Radio/PrecisionTrak’s monthly counts.

What a difference a year makes. Religion, while still ranked second, brought in 61 more stations in 2025, up 2.9%, gaining more than any other format. The only other format that comes close is fourth-place contemporary Christian, which, although it added 39 new stations for a 2.7% lift, fell short of its 2024 growth, when it added 44 outlets for a 3.1% gain.

Like religion, Spanish-language stations, which rank fifth, outdid its 2024 intake, up from 22 new stations last year to 28 in 2025, up 2.1% vs. 2024’s 1.7%.

The only other formats in the top 10 to welcome new stations this year are eighth-ranked classic rock, adding eight vs. last year’s five, and third-place news/talk, moving into the plus column by adding three, having shed 21 in 2024.

While news/talk added as opposed to losing stations this year, top-ranked country went the opposite way, shedding 18 outlets compared to 2024, when it added four.

The remaining four formats remained in the minus column from last year. Eight stations were no longer classified as “variety” — as in having three or more distinct formats, either block-programmed or simultaneously — a big difference from the 42 stations shed in 2024. Seventh-ranked classic hits lost 12 vs. last year’s 14.

Sports, in ninth place, stayed steady with 13 fewer outlets vs. the 14 lost in 2024, while 10th-ranked top 40 shed an additional 24 stations, having lost 23 last year.