AC Extends Lead As Top-Ranked Format In Q2 PPM Markets.

With half of this year already in the ratings books, how does Q2 2026 compare to both Q1 2026 and Q2 2025 format-wise, based on the champs in each of the eight non-embedded markets on each Day 1 of Nielsen’s PPMs?

Adding in Day 1 of June 2026’s survey, covering May 28-June 24, here’s how total number one stations by format looks for each quarter:

When it comes to dominating these eight markets, AC and hot AC stations have become stronger, while news/talk and sports outlets remain powerful as well. Meanwhile, classic rock and all-news stations surprisingly haven’t reached the top during this most recent quarter.

For Day 1, the leaderboard shows four wins for AC, two for news/talk, and one each for hot AC, sports and rock.

Please note that rankings do not include stations owned by Cumulus Media, which is re-negotiating its contract with Nielsen. The deal expired Dec. 31, 2025. 

The Apple’s top five stations stay in the same rank order from May’s survey, with iHeartMedia AC “106.7 Lite FM” WLTW holding a slimmer lead over Audacy all-news WINS-AM/FM. iHeartMedia again claims three of the five, as CHR “Z100” WHTZ and classic rock “Q104.3” WAXQ stay at fourth and fifth, while Audacy classic hits WCBS-FM sticks at third, all three posting the same share as in May.

Make it four surveys in a row with no change in the top four’s order, with iHeartMedia AC KOST on top for eight books running, while hot AC sister “104.3 MyFM” KBIG, Audacy classic hits “K-Earth 101” KRTH and iHeartMedia adult hits “93.1 Jack FM” KCBS-FM have ranked second, third and fourth since March. Just below, iHeartMedia news/talk KFI makes its first top five showing since April 2024.

Hubbard hot AC “101.9 The Mix” WTMX now has the top spot all to itself, just 0.4 ahead of Audacy adult alternative WXRT, with which it tied in May’s survey. Audacy all-news sister WBBM-AM/WCFS repeats at third, followed by Audacy country “US99” WUSN which re-enters the top five, with iHeartMedia soft AC “93.9 Lite FM” WLIT stays at fifth.

iHeartMedia AC “Star 102.1” KDGE adds half a share point as it digs in at number one, but it’s only two-tenths of a point in front of EMF soft Christian "K-Love" KYDA (101.7), which makes a rare top five appearance as it leaps from 15th to runner-up, more than doubling its May share. Audacy hot AC “Mix 102.9” KDMX and Salem Media Group contemporary Christian KLTY come in third and fourth, respectively, with Audacy’s adult hits “100.3 Jack-FM” KJKK and classic hits “98.7 The Spot” KSPF again tied for fifth.

iHeartMedia AC “Sunny 99.1” KODA rolls on with an 11th consecutive victory, widening its lead over Urban One urban AC “Majic 102.1” KMJQ to 2.1 share points. Urban One again lands three stations in the five, with classic rock “The Eagle 106.9/107.5” KGLK/KHPT third and country “93Q” KKBQ fifth, while iHeartMedia modern/alternative rock “94.5 The Buzz” KTBZ finishes fourth.

For the first time since June 2025, news/talk pubcaster KQED is in 10-share territory, widening its lead over Audacy all-news KCBS-AM/KFRC to 1.5 share points. Connoisseur Media AC KOIT and iHeartMedia soft AC “98.1 The Breeze” KISQ rank third and fourth, followed by iHeart hot AC sister “Star 101.3” KIOI again tied for fifth with Connoisseur CHR sister “99.7 Now” KMVQ. 

Following two surveys ranked third, Cox Media Group news/talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM moves back into first, ahead of Urban One urban AC “Majic 107.5/97.5” WAMJ by just 0.7, with CMG’s urban AC “Kiss 104.1” WALR up from fifth to third. May’s leader, CMG classic hits “97.1 The River” WSRV, sheds 1.6 share points to tie for fourth with AC sister “B98.5” WSB-FM. 

For a third straight survey, Audacy sports and Phillies flagship WIP-FM stays at the top, although this time tied with Beasley Media Group heritage rock WMMR, up from third for its second time at number one this year. Tied for third are Audacy AC sister “B101” WBEB and iHeartMedia urban AC WDAS-FM, while Beasley classic rock sister WMGK holds at fifth.