Hot AC Up, CHR Down Among Nielsen Format Trends For 2026-To-Date.

Which radio formats have grown in popularity in 2026, and which show movement in the opposite direction? As always, there are key trends in Inside Radio’s analysis of Nielsen’s average-quarter-hour share data in PPM markets, covering Monday-Sunday 6am-midnight, for persons 6+, 18-34 and 25-54.

Based on a year-over-year comparison of January-to-April data, the two primary formats for mainstream hit music, CHR and hot AC, are trending in noticeably different ways. While CHR, once better known as top 40, is still more popular than the older-skewing hot AC among adults 18-34 and 25-54 – ranking second and third among all formats, respectively – hot AC is ahead of CHR in 6+ by a tenth of a share point, with the two ranked seventh and eighth, yet trends for the two formats is the same for all three demographics.

Comparing the first four months of 2026 to those of 2024 and 2025, hot AC is up 18% with steady gains year-over-year for 6+ (4.0-4.3-4.7), while up 8% 18-34 (5.1-5.2-5.5) and 16% 25-54 (4.9-5.2-5.7). Hot AC ranks fourth the latter two demos, and leading the charge are iHeartMedia’s “104.3 MyFM” KBIG Los Angeles, Hubbard Radio’s “101.9 The Mix” WTMX Chicago and Audacy’s “Mix 102.9” KDMX Dallas, all of which rank in the top three of their markets.

CHR, meanwhile, has seen declines dating back to 2022, albeit with a slight uptick in all three demos a year ago. Over the past four years, format shares are off by 8% for 6+ (5.0-4.9-4.6-4.8-4.6), 19% 18-34 (8.4-7.9-.7.1-7.4-6.8) and 8% 25-54 (6.4-6.3-6.1-6.3-5.9).

How to explain these trends? “By definition, hot AC is playing more popular music,” consultant Guy Zapoleon, who was one of the architects of the format in the early 90s, tells Inside Radio. “Hot AC plays more gold and recurrents — [both of which] test better than currents — and plays more of them than CHR. With the average age of radio listeners getting older each year, it stands to reason that a format like hot AC, which targets older listeners than CHR, would be doing better.” 

Matt Bailey, founder of Your Hit Momentum Report, adds, “We’re in a cycle right now where Millennials are picking the hits while GenZ listeners haven’t yet taken back CHR. Until then, hot AC has the hits.”

Aside from hot AC, two other formats are growing across the board. While contemporary Christian may not rank as high in either of these demos — it’s ninth 6+, tied for 11th 18-34, and 13th 25-54 — it has, with steady growth, shown double-digit share gains since 2022: up 41% 6+ (2.9-3.2-3.,5-3.8-4.1), +52% 18-34 (2.3-2.8-3.2-3.5-3.5), and +44% 25-54 (2.7-3.1-3.4-3.6-3.9).

Modern/alternative rock has also been an across-the-board gainer over this time span, up 26% for 6+ (2.3-2.9), 8% 18-34 (4.0-4.3) and an impressive 32% 25-54 (3.4-4.5).

A look at the top three 6+ formats — news/talk, adult contemporary and country — shows that with the exception of news/talk among 18-34s, where it’s up 17% since Jan.-April 2024, each of the three is generally losing share. 

Over the past two years, AC is off 15% 6+ (8.6-7.3), 9% 18-34 (8.8-8.0), and 13% 25-54 (8.5-7.4). Country’s declines during the same period are not as steep, actually flat for 6+ (5.9-5.9) while down 6% 18-34 (7.0-6.6) and 10% 25-54 (6.1-5.5). For news/talk, it’s a more recent and smaller downtrend, its 6+ share off 4%, and 25-54 5%, vs. a year ago.