August PPMs, Day 2: It’s AC For The Win.

After two days, and data from 20 non-embedded markets, in Nielsen's August PPM survey covering July 23-August 20, adult contemporary takes its usual lead, scoring the most market wins with four, off one from July's five.

There's more to the story than just those wins. AC places a station in the top five of 17 of these 20 markets, up from July's 15, with stations in the format in Atlanta and Tampa having returned to the region.

For Days 1 and 2, the leaderboard shows AC with four crowns, three for soft AC and classic hits, two for classic rock, news/talk and urban AC, and one each for hot AC, news, rock, and sports.

Hubbard Radio's all-news WTOP not only stays on top but gains share for a fourth straight survey, up 32% since April. Meanwhile, second-place American University news/talk WAMU, which led for 12 consecutive books, has seen a 13% decline since June. As for the rest of the top five, Howard University urban AC WHUR spends a fourth survey in a row at third, while iHeartMedia's modern/alternative rock “DC101” WWDC-FM and AC WASH finish fourth and fifth.

After dropping to third in July, Audacy AC “Magic 106.7” WMJX bounces back to No. 1, where it's reigned for six of 2025's eight surveys to date. Two iHeart stations tie for second: classic rock WZLX, which dethroned Magic in July, and CHR “Kiss 108” WXKS-FM, up from fifth. Just below, Audacy hot AC “Mix 104.1” WWBX and Beasley Media Group classic hits WROR tie for fourth.

Cox Media Group soft AC “Easy 93.1” WFEZ is back on top after three surveys, either placing third or, in July, a tie for second with urban AC sister “Hot 105” WHQT, which stays in the runner-up spot. Audacy AC “101.5 Lite FM” WLYF slips from first to third, while Univision Spanish AC “Amor 107.5” WAMR and Audacy classic hits “102.7 The Beach” WMXJ stay at fourth and fifth.

University of Washington news/talk KUOW-FM rolls on with an eighth straight win, while breaking into 9-share territory with three surveys of steady gains, up 35% from May. Up nearly a share point to place second for the first time since 2022 is Bonneville's “Seattle Sports 710” KIRO-AM, flagship of the quite-possibly-postseason-bound Mariners. iHeart classic hits “95.7 The Jet” KJEB and Audacy “Rock 99.9” KISW tie for third, the latter benefiting from a 1.8-point lift, up from eighth.

After two surveys tied with iHeart AC “99.9 K-EZ” KESZ, Hubbard classic rock KSLX not only has the crown all to itself but also has a two-point lead over KESZ. iHeart's third and fourth with adult hits “95.5 The Mountain” KYOT and talk KFYI, while Audacy classic hits “Big 94.5” KOOL-FM is stuck in fifth gear for a third book.

For a fourth consecutive survey, iHeart and Audacy claim all of the Motor City's top five, with iHeart AC WNIC and Audacy sports “97.1 The Ticket” WXYT-FM neck-and-neck – or NIC-and-neck, if you will – in a tight race where WNIC finishes first by a tenth of a share point. Audacy classic hits WOMC comes in third, while iHeart urban AC “Mix 92.3” WMXD and Audacy country WYCD rank fourth and fifth for a third straight book.

The Twin Cities' top two are the same as in July, with iHeart sports “K-Fan” KFXN now No. 1 for the eighth straight month, taking a slightly larger lead over contemporary Christian pubcaster KTIS-FM. Hubbard hot AC “KS95” KSTP-FM and iHeart classic hits “Kool 108” KQQL place third and fourth, with Minnesota Public Radio news/talk KNOW once again ranked fifth.

Except for the Holiday 2024 book, Audacy classic hits “Sunny 98.1” KXSN has been No. 1 in every Nielsen survey since July 2024. Sunny notches its eighth victory in a row, 2.6 share points up on tied-for-second Audacy sports “97.3 The Fan” KWFN, flagship of the probably-postseason-bound Padres, and Comunicacion XERSA hot AC “Magic 92.5” XHRM. San Diego State University news/talk 89.5 KPBS and Audacy AC KYXY – the latter having interrupted Sunny's run at No. 1 during that Holiday book – finish fourth and fifth.

Since February, CMG soft AC WDUV and Radio Training Network contemporary Christian “The Joy FM” WCIE have been the only stations in Tampa's top two. Since June, the share difference between them has ranged from 0.2-0.4, with WDUV now up by 0.3 over WCIE. CMG again has three of the top five, with classic rock “The Eagle 107.3” WXGL third and AC “Magic 94.9” WWRM fifth. iHeart AC “Mix 100.7” WMTX makes its first appearance in the region since the Holiday 2024 book, up from seventh-ranked to fourth.

For a sixth consecutive survey, Bonneville AC KOSI rules in Denver, with country sister KYGO in second for a third straight book. Audacy takes third and fourth with hot AC “Alice 105.9” KALC and classic rock “99.5 The Mountain” KQMT, while iHeart classic rock “103.5 The Fox” KRFX returns to the top five.

It's the seventh win in a row for Urban One urban AC “Magic 95.9” WWIN-FM, this time with urban contemporary sister “92Q Jams” WERQ placing second, up from fifth and adding 1.1 share points. Audacy AC “Today's 101.9” WLIF's in third, while Hearst's “98 Rock” WIYY and iHeart country WPOC, which tied for second in July, now tie for fourth.

While the top four stay in the same order as in July, there’s one noticeable difference share-wise. Hubbard rocker KSHE, now on top for an eighth consecutive survey, widens its lead over iHeart classic hits KLOU — the only station that’s been No. 2 all that time — from 0.3 to 2.2, as KSHE is up nearly two share points from July. Hubbard adult hits “106.5 The Arch” WARH and Gateway Creative Broadcasting contemporary Christian “99.1 Joy FM” KLJY remain in third and fourth, respectively, while three stations — Audacy’s AC KEZK and urban AC “96.3 R&B” WFUN-FM, and iHeart country “93.7 The Bull” KSD-FM — tie for fifth.