Format Trends: AC Still Leads Among 18-34 And 25-54.

According to the rankings of Nielsen’s most listened-to radio formats for 2026-to-date, adult contemporary continues to dominate in both the closely-watched persons 18-34 and 25-54 demographics, while it still finishes second among persons 6+ behind news/talk.

The trends, based on Inside Radio’s analysis of average-quarter-hour share data in PPM markets, covering Monday-Sunday 6am-midnight, show AC with an 8.0 share for 18-34 – 1.3 points ahead of CHR, and 1.4 ahead of country – while posting a 7.4 among 25-54, leading news/talk by 1.2 share points. The 6+ ranking shows news/talk out front at a 10.0 share, 2.7 ahead of AC.

Year-over-year, AC’s share has declined steadily in the 18-34 demo since January-July 2024 (8.5-8.2-8.0), while also down overall for 25-54 (8.1-7.3-7.4). For 6+, AC’s trend is a similar 8.3-7.4-7.3. Looking at monthly performance during 2026, AC is actually up from January to July (7.8-8.2) among 18-34s, with no real change in the other two demos.

News/talk’s share may be up since 2024, but a closer look shows declines over the past year and most notably during this year. While 6+’s year-over-year trend is 9.8-10.4-10.0, it’s down significantly Jan.-July (10.6-9.8). For 18-34, where news/talk ranks 10th, those same trends are 3.4-3.9-3.9 year-over-year and 4.1-3.6 year-to-date, while for 25-54 they’re 5.7-6.4-6.2 and 6.3-5.9, respectively.

CHR, ranked second 18-34 and third 25-54, continues its mostly-steady decline in both demos. Year-to-date since 2022, CHR’s 18-34 trend is 8.3-7.7-7.2-7.2-6.7 while down 6.9-6.6 since January, compared to 25-54 where it’s 6.4-6.3-6.2-6.1-5.9 year-over-year and 5.9-5.8 Jan.-July.

Country, third among 18-34s and fifth 25-54, has been down-trending since 2023. The 18-34 year-over-year trend is 7.6-6.9-6.9-6.6, with year-to-date at 6.6-6.3, while 25-54 shows 6.9-6.1-5.9-5.5 year-over-year and 5.6-5.5 2026-to-date.

Further down in the rankings are several formats with impressive growth stories, including hot AC, which has been on the up-and-up since 2024. For 6+, where hot AC places seventh, the three-year trend is 4.1-4.4-4.7 with a 4.6-4.7 uptick since January. It’s more noticeable in 25-54 – where hot AC ranks fourth and is up 4.9-5.3-5.7 year-over-year and 5.6-5.8 Jan.-July – but less so for 18-34, where it ranks fifth with a 5.2-5.4-5.4 trend since 2024 and 5.8-5.4 since January.

Contemporary Christian continues to be in growth mode, with the ninth-ranked format overall up steadily since 2022 (2.9-3.2-3.5-3.9-4.1) and up slightly since January (3.9-4.0) among persons 6+. The 25-54 trend shows the format, tied for 12th, with an also-steady 2.7-3.0-3.4-3.6-3.9 year-over-year and 3.8-3.9 Jan.-July. While not as strong in 18-34, year-over-year contemporary Christian is still 2.3-2.7-3.0-3.5-3.5, with year-to-date 3.2-3.5, while ranked 11th.

Two other formats have stories to tell within specific demographics. For 25-54, it’s all good news for tied-for-seventh-place modern/alternative rock, also up steadily since Jan-July 2022 (3.6-3.7-4.1-4.3-4.5) with year-to-date 4.5-4.5. In the same demo, 14th-ranked adult hits’ year-to-year is 2.8-3.0-3.1-3.0-3.2 with Jan.-July up 3.0-3.3. More recently, adult hits is up for 18-34 (where it ties for 12th), 3.0-3.3 from a year ago and 3.0-3.5 since January.