Changes On Top In Four Markets On August PPMs’ Day 1.

Day 1 of Nielsen August 2026 PPMs (covering July 23-August 19) sees shuffling at the top of four of these eight non-embedded markets, with all-news and news/talk stations involved in three.

In New York, where it’s been years since two stations tied for first, both Audacy news WINS-AM/FM (1010/92.3) and iHeartMedia adult contemporary “106.7 Lite FM” WLTW claim the top spot, while in Chicago, Audacy’s all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS (780/105.9) ousts Hubbard hot AC “101.9 The Mix” WTMX from number one.

In two markets, urban AC stations shine, marking the first Nielsen survey this year with two stations in the format at the top on Day 1. In Atlanta, Urban One urban AC “Majic 107.5/97.5” WAMJ pushes Cox Media Group news/talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM (750/95.5) to second place, while in Philadelphia, iHeartMedia urban AC WDAS-FM (105.3) ties Beasley Media Group classic rock WMGK (102.9) for number-one honors.

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

Please note that rankings do not include stations owned by Cumulus Media, which is in the midst of a re-negotiation of its contract with Nielsen which expired Dec. 31, 2025. 

While iHeartMedia AC “106.7 Lite FM” WLTW holds on at the top, it now shares the crown with Audacy all-news WINS-AM/FM, which last led the market in January and February. Just below, iHeartMedia CHR “Z100” WHTZ and Audacy classic hits WCBS-FM switch places, with the former now at third, while iHeart Media classic rock “Q104.3” WAXQ ranks fifth for a fourth straight survey.

iHeartMedia hot AC “104.3 MyFM” KBIG shows its rare win in July’s survey was no fluke, as the station remains at the top, a share point ahead of both AC sister KOST and Audacy classic hits “K-Earth 101” KRTH, which tie for second. The rest of the top five is Audacy’s, as adult hits “93.1 Jack FM” KCBS-FM and urban AC “94.7 The Wave” KTWV finish fourth and fifth.

For the first time since Jan.-Feb. of this year, Audacy all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS takes the lead in the Windy City, half a share point up on adult alternative sister WXRT. Hubbard hot AC “101.9 The Mix” WTMX, the May-to-July champ, places third, while iHeartMedia soft AC “93.9 Lite FM” WLIT and Hubbard classic rock sister “The Drive” WDRV/WWDV land at fourth and fifth, respectively.

It’s a fourth straight win for AC “Star 102.1” KDGE as part of an all-iHeartMedia top three in Big D. Just 1.3 points behind at second is hot AC sister “Mix 102.9” KDMX, while CHR “106.1 Kiss FM” KHKS places third. Audacy claims the rest of the top five, with Texas Rangers flagship “105.3 The Fan” KRLD-FM fourth and classic hits “98.7 The Spot” KSPF fifth.

iHeartMedia AC “Sunny 99.1” KODA makes it a 13th consecutive survey on top, keeping 2.2 points ahead of Urban One classic rock “The Eagle 106.9/107.5” KGLK/KHPT. Urban One urban AC “Majic 102.1” KMJQ and iHeartMedia modern/alternative rock “94.5 The Buzz” KTBZ stay at third and fourth, with Urban One country “93Q” KKBQ tied at fifth with Hope Media Group contemporary Christian KSBJ.

It’s eight straight victories for news/talk pubcaster KQED, widening its lead over Audacy all-news KCBS-AM/KFRC to 2.1 share points. While Connoisseur Media AC KOIT and iHeartMedia soft AC “98.1 The Breeze” KISQ stick at third and fourth, there’s a three-way tie for fifth between two hot ACs – iHeartMedia’s “Star 101.3” KIOI, and Audacy’s “Alice 97.3” KLLC – and Connoisseur Media CHR sister “99.7 Now” KMVQ.

After three Nielsen surveys where it ranked second or tied for third, Urban One urban AC “Majic 107.5/97.5” WAMJ returns to number one, with a 1.1-share-point gain from July’s survey and a 1.6-point lead over Cox Media Group news/talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM. Both WSB-AM/WSBB-FM and Audacy urban contemporary “V103” WVEE, the latter now third, tied for first in July. Meanwhile, CMG classic hits sister “97.1 The River” WSRV and urban AC sister “Kiss 104.1” WALR come in fourth and fifth.

iHeartMedia urban AC WDAS-FM and Beasley Media Group classic rock WMGK tie for first in Philly, the former on top for the first time since November 2024 and the latter since March’s survey. Audacy sports and Phillies flagship WIP-FM gains a point to place third, followed by news sister KYW/WPHI-FM. Tied for fifth are July’s champ, Audacy AC “B101” WBEB, making a 2.2-share-point dive, and Beasley heritage rocker WMMR.