Format Counts: Contemporary Christian Continues To Add Stations Every Month.

While the biggest growth story in Inside Radio/PrecisionTrak’s format counts for April is still second-ranked religion (including religious teaching, hymns, and other related content), adding 58 stations year-over-year and 26 year-to-date, only one format has seen nothing but growth from one month to the next as far back as September 2024. That’s contemporary Christian, which ranks fourth. Over the past eight months it has added 34 stations for a 2.5% increase.

As was the case for March’s counts, three of the top five formats, including religion and contemporary Christian, see year-over-year and year-to-date gains. The third is again Spanish-language stations, ranked fifth, adding 22 since April 2024 and six since January. The only other format in the top 10 to do this is eighth-place classic rock, adding seven outlets from a year ago and four since January.

Format - Number of Stations	Apr 24	Jan 25	Apr 25	Gain/ Loss YOY	Gain/ Loss YTD
1 Country	2,161	2,168	2,158	-3(-0.1%)	-10(-0.5%)
2 Religion (Teaching, Variety)	2,039	2,071	2,097	58(2.8%)	26(1.2%)
3 News/Talk	2,000	1,997	1,981	-19(-1.0%)	-16(-0.8%)
4 Contemporary Christian	1,375	1,408	1,416	41(2.9%)	8(0.6%)
5 Spanish	1,287	1,303	1,309	22(1.7%)	6(0.5%)
6 Variety	1,222	1,189	1,186	-36(-3.0%)	-3(-0.3%)
7 Classic Hits	1,183	1,183	1,182	-1(-0.1%)	-1(-0.1%)
8 Classic Rock	635	638	642	7(1.1%)	4(0.6%)
9 Sports	613	615	603	-10(-1.7%)	-12(-2.0%)
10 Top 40	591	569	557	-34(-6.1%)	-12(-2.2%)
Apr 2025					StationRatings.com

The other six formats in the top 10 have all lost stations over the past year and past three months. Three of those six — news/talk, sports, and top 40 — have shed 10 or more stations either way. Top 40 shows the most notable decline, having not added a single outlet since April 2024.

Among the other three, variety (including stations with three or more distinct formats, either block-programmed or simultaneously) lost the most year-over-year with 36, and country saw 10 stations leave the format since January, while classic hits shed only one from a year ago and from January.

For the formats just below the top 10, 12th-ranked hot AC looks brightest, adding eight stations since last April and five since the first of the year. Adult contemporary, ranked 11th, has added just one year-over-year while shedding six year-to-date, while alternative rock is down both ways, losing six from April 2024 and five since January 2025.

There’s one other key trend, although not an encouraging one for radio overall. Total stations taken off the air were up 50% from a year ago, and 33% since January, with 94 stations shut down over the past 12 months, and 70 in 2025 so far.