Contemporary Christian, Spanish, Religion Keep Adding To Their Station Totals.

Contemporary Christian may have added just one new station during July, based on Inside Radio/PrecisionTrak’s format counts, but that was enough to keep its steady uptrend going, dating back to September 2024. From that month forward, contemporary Christian, which ranks fourth among formats with the most stations, has brought in 44 new outlets without losing a single one.

Among the formats ranked in the top 10, contemporary Christian has by far the longest active growth streak. Of the three other formats adding stations in July, second-place religion (which includes religious teaching, hymns and other related content) and third-ranked news/talk have steadily gained since April, adding 12 and 11 stations since then, respectively, while classic rock, in eighth, has welcomed five new outlets since May.

On the other end, two formats display the longest steady downtrends: 10th-ranked top 40, which has lost 33 stations since July 2024, and seventh-place variety (including stations with three or more distinct formats, either block-programmed or simultaneously), which has shed eight since January.

A closer look at the top three formats shows that when it comes to adding stations, only religion is up both year-over-year and year-to-date, and unbeatable either way, bringing in an impressive 58 stations from a year ago, and 38 in 2025 alone. News/talk is up only year-over-year, having lost five since January, while top-ranked country is down both ways, although in just single- or double-digits.

Four other formats see gains both from a year ago and from January 2024. Aside from contemporary Christian, there’s fifth-ranked Spanish-language formats, adding 33 and 20, and two boosting their totals with six stations or less but up nonetheless, classic rock and sixth-place classic hits. Three formats are down both ways: variety, top 40, and ninth-ranked sports.

Just below the top 10, 11th-place adult contemporary has also shed stations year-over-year and year-to-date, with a total that’s declined steadily since April. There’s not much better news for 12th-ranked hot AC or alternative rock in 13th, the former down from a year ago and flat from January and the latter down either way. And while oldies, ranked 14th, may get little attention with less than 300 outlets, its total has grown since July 2024 (+5) and held steady since the first of the year.

Arguably, the report’s most eye-popping statistic is the change in the number of stations shutting down: up 62% year-over-year (190 to 307), and 45% (211-307) year-to-date.