July PPMs: AC Has Its Best Survey This Year.

In the 20 non-embedded PPM markets reporting on Days 1 and 2 in Nielsen’s July survey (covering June 25-July 22), adult contemporary is the clear winner, with seven stations in the format leading their markets, and four more ranking second or third.

Taking into account all “AC” formats, and total market leaders go from seven to 11, with two hot ACs, one soft AC and one urban AC also on top.

It’s also the best survey this year for news/talk stations, with five ranked number one and two more at second or third.

For Days 1 and 2 in these 20 markets, the leaderboard shows AC with seven wins, news/talk with five, hot AC and sports with two apiece, and one each for urban contemporary, soft AC, classic rock, classic hits, urban AC and 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.

The gap between top-ranked American University news/talk WAMU and second-place Hubbard all-news WTOP shrinks from June’s 2.7 to just one point during July, both stations with a double-digit share. Just below, Atlantic Gateway Communications contemporary Christian WGTS/WGBZ and Howard University urban AC WHUR swap places, giving the former its second number-three finish over the past four surveys, the station’s best showing since February 2023.

For the third time since April, Boston University news/talk WBUR is tops in Beantown, with a slim 0.3 edge over June’s champ, Audacy AC “Magic 106.7” WMJX. Gaining a full share point to move from fifth to third is iHeartMedia CHR “Kiss 108” WXKS-FM, followed by Beasley Media Group classic hits WROR and Audacy hot AC sister “Mix 104.1” WBMX. 

Audacy AC “101.5 Lite FM” WLYF, third-ranked in June, bounces back to number one, leapfrogging Cox Media Group soft AC “Easy 93.1” WFEZ, which stays in second place. Audacy classic hits “102.7 The Beach” WMXJ returns to the top five, up from seventh, while CMG urban AC sister “Hot 105” WHQT holds at fourth and iHeartMedia Spanish/bilingual AC “Magic 93.9” WMIA-FM drops a full share point to fifth, following two surveys at the top.

University of Washington news/talk KUOW-FM makes it a seventh consecutive survey on top, pulling away from Bonneville “Seattle Sports 710” KIRO-AM with a 1.3-share-point advantage, vs. June’s close-as-can-be 0.1. Audacy’s “Rock 99.9” KISW takes third, followed by iHeartMedia’s classic rock KZOK and classic hits “95.7 The Jet” KJEB.

It’s a familiar top two in Phoenix, with iHeartMedia AC “99.9 K-EZ” KESZ and Hubbard classic rock KSLX at first and second, respectively. June’s champ, iHeartMedia talk sister KFYI, slips to third, while Maricopa County Community College news/talk KJZZ and iHeartMedia adult hits “95.5 The Mountain” KYOT place fourth and fifth.

The winning streak for Audacy sports “97.1 The Ticket” WXYT-FM extends to seven surveys, as it widens its lead a bit over classic hits sister WOMC, while country sister WYCD holds onto third place. iHeartMedia AC WNIC and urban AC “Mix 92.3” WMXD, meanwhile, take fourth and fifth.

iHeartMedia still claims all of the Twin Cities’ top three, with sports “K-FAN” KFXN back on top, with classic hits “Kool 108” KQQL and country “K102” KEEY at second and third. Minnesota Public Radio news/talk KNOW remains at third, while University of Northwestern St. Paul contemporary Christian KTIS-FM returns to the top five for the first time since February.

CMG soft AC “105.5 The Dove” WDUV makes it six wins in a row, with a 3.8-share-point lead over classic rock sister “The Eagle 107.3” WXGL, up from a tie for fourth in June to second-ranked. As for the rest, Radio Training Network contemporary Christian “The Joy FM” WCIE, iHeart AC “Mix 100.7” WMTX and Beasley classic hits “Q105” WRBQ come in at 3-4-5. 

Bonneville AC KOSI has ranked first or second in Denver since February 2025, with 15 of those 19 surveys at number one. That’s where it is in July’s book, just 0.9 in front of country sister KYGO, which places second for the first time since last October. Tied for third are Audacy’s hot AC “Alice 105.9” KALC and classic rock “99.5 The Mountain” KQMT, along with iHeartMedia modern/alternative rock “Channel 93.3” KTCL.

Audacy classic hits “Sunny 98.1” continues its run at the top, now ahead of San Diego State University news/talk KPBS by 1.4 share points. Grupo Imagen Spanish hot AC “Radio Latina 104.5” XLTN moves up to third, while Audacy AC sister KYXY and iHeartMedia hot AC “Star 94.1” KMYI come in fourth and fifth.

There’s still only one station that’s led in every 2026 survey for Baltimore so far, and it’s Urban One urban AC “Magic 95.9” WWIN-FM. It’s now 1.7 share points ahead of Audacy AC “Today's 101.9” WLIF, which marks its fifth straight survey in the runner-up spot. Audacy hot AC sister “Mix 106.5” WWMX and iHeartMedia country WPOC stay at third and fourth, while news/talk pubcaster WYPR enters the top five for the first time since November 2024.

The distance between Hubbard heritage rocker KSHE and still-second-ranked iHeartMedia classic hits KLOU shrinks again in July, down to three-tenths of a point, with both stations now in 10-share territory. Audacy news/talk and Cardinals flagship KMOX-FM and Gateway Creative Broadcasting contemporary Christian “99.1 Joy FM” KLJY switch places, with the former back at third.