Even as New York lost one of its two all-news stations, with Audacy swapping “Newsradio 880” WCBS-AM for “ESPN New York” WHSQ, news-talk or news-formatted stations still made an impact in the non-embedded markets reporting on the first two days of Nielsen’s September PPM rankings, covering activity from Aug. 15-Sept. 11.
In five of these 20 markets, news-talk or news stations were No. 1, with stations in these formats controlling the top two in two markets, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and with two in the top five in Seattle. In addition to also leading in Chicago, Atlanta and Seattle, news-based stations finished in the top five in Dallas, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and San Diego.
For Days 1 and 2, the leaderboard shows four crowns for news-talk; three each for AC, classic hits, sports and urban AC; and one each for news, classic rock, soft AC, hot AC, and country.
The news still rules in D.C., with American University news-talk WAMU widening its lead over Hubbard Radio news WTOP, from August’s 0.7 to 2.9. WAMU breaks the 12-share barrier for the third time in 2024, its 12.1 still shy of January and February’s 12.7 and 13.0, respectively. Howard University urban AC 96.3 WHUR may still rank third, but it makes an impressive 1.5-point gain from August. Tied for fourth are iHeartMedia AC WASH and top five newcomer Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications classical WETA (90.9).
Proving its first-ever crown in August’s survey was no fluke, Audacy hot AC “Mix 104.1” WWBX not only pulls away from Beasley Media Group’s “98.5 The Sports Hub” WBZ-FM — with a full-share-point edge, vs. August’s neck-and-neck 0.3 — it adds another 1.8 for an all-time-high 9.6 share. Since May, steady growth has resulted in a whopping 71.4% rise for Mix over the past four surveys. New England Patriots flagship The Hub gains yardage of its own, up 1.1 from August. Beasley classic hits sister WROR and Audacy AC sister “Magic 106.7” WMJX hold at third and fourth, while iHeart classic rock 100.7 WZLX returns to the top five for the first time since April of this year.
Now it’s an even 20 consecutive wins for Cox Media Group urban AC “Hot 105” WHQT, as it breaks into 10-share territory, 4.3 share points ahead of iHeart Spanish-language gold AC “Magic 93.9” WMIA-FM. Tied for third are SBS Spanish classic hits “Zeta 92.3” WCMQ and Audacy AC “101.5 Lite FM” WLYF, with Univision Spanish AC “Amor 107.5” WAMR tied for fifth with CMG soft AC sister “Easy 93.1” WFEZ.
The top three line up the same as in July’s and August’s surveys, with news-talk pubcaster KUOW-FM, iHeart classic rock KZOK, and Audacy’s “Rock 99.9” KISW at 1-2-3. Although all three slip in share from August, KUOW takes a wider lead over KZOK with a 2.3-point advantage. iHeart classic hits sister “95.7 The Jet” KJEB places fourth, while Bonneville news-talk KIRO-FM ties for fifth with Audacy country sister “100.7 The Wolf” KKWF.
Phoenix’s top three stations remain immovable for a sixth consecutive survey, with iHeart AC “99.9 K-EZ” KESZ marking its 14th straight win, a comfy 3.9 share points above Hubbard classic rock KSLX, with iHeart adult hits sister “95.5 The Mountain” KYOT still in third. Tying for fourth are Audacy classic hits “Big 94.5” KOOL-FM and Hubbard rocker KUPD.
Lions and Tigers and share growth — oh, my. Audacy sports “97.1 The Ticket” WXYT-FM, flagship of both the Super Bowl-hopeful Detroit Lions and World Series-wishful Tigers, remains on top as it hits a 9 share for the third time this year. It’s 1.7 ahead of iHeart AC WNIC, while iHeart CHR sister “Channel 955” WKQI moves into a tie for third with Audacy classic hits WOMC, and Audacy country sister WYCD places fifth.
Meanwhile, in the Twin Cities, play-by-play of the Lions’ division rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, along with pennant race coverage of MLB’s Twins, propels iHeart sports “K-FAN” KFXN from fifth-ranked to the top spot and double-digits, with a 1.4-share lead over January-August champ, contemporary Christian pubcaster KTIS-FM. iHeart classic hits sister “Kool 108” KQQL and news-talk pubcaster KNOW finish third and fourth, while iHeart CHR KDWB makes its first top five showing since March 2023, tied with Hubbard hot AC “KS95” KSTP-FM for fifth.
It’s the third straight win and sixth this year for Audacy classic hits “Sunny 98.1” KXSN, keeping a 0.7 lead over news-talk pubcaster KPBS. Tied for third are Local Media of San Diego adult hits “100.7 Big FM” KFBG, and Audacy sports and Padres flagship “97.3 The Fan” KWFN, the latter up from eighth, as Univision Spanish regional Mexican “Que Buena 106.5” KLNV remains ranked fifth.
Note to CMG soft AC WDUV: don’t blow up those balloons just yet. At the rate they’re going, though, they’ll need them after Nielsen’s November survey to celebrate 40 consecutive market victories. For now, win number 38 is still sweet, with steady growth since July and a wider lead over both country runners-up, iHeart’s “US 103.5” WFUS and Beasley’s WQYK. Rounding out Tampa’s top five are CMG urban AC sister “101.5 The Vibe” WTBV and iHeart AC sister “Mix 100.7” WMTX.
Bonneville country KYGO wears the crown for the fourth time this year, pushing August’s champ, KSE Radio Ventures classic hits “Kool 105” KXKL, into a tie for second with Bonneville’s AC sister KOSI, both just half a point behind KYGO. Audacy hot AC “Alice 105.9” KALC comes in fourth, while iHeart’s classic rock “103.5 The Fox” KRFX and modern/alternative rock “Channel 93.3” KTCL tie for fifth.
For the first time since August 2022, Urban One urban AC “Magic 95.9” WWIN-FM is Baltimore’s top station. With urban contemporary sister “92Q Jams” WERQ ranked second, it’s the first time in recent memory the company claims the market’s top two positions. Just below, Hearst’s “98 Rock” WIYY and Audacy AC “Today’s 101.9” WLIF tie for third, while Peter and John Radio Fellowship contemporary Christian “Bright FM” WRBS-FM bounces back into the top five.
For a third straight survey, St. Louis’ top three stays the same, with iHeart classic hits KLOU ahead of Hubbard adult hits “106.5 The Arch” WARH by just 0.2, and Hubbard rocker KSHE in third. Hubbard country WIL-FM makes its first top five appearance since July 2023, joining iHeart country sister “93.7 The Bull” KSD-FM there, the latter tied with Hubbard modern/alternative rock “105.7 The Point” KPNT.
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