Nielsen: Christian, Alternative Remain Growth Formats.

With three-quarters of 2026 now in the books, there are clear trends for radio formats in key demos for this year, and year-to-year, according to Inside Radio’s analysis of average-quarter-hour share data in PPM markets, covering Monday-Sunday 6am-midnight.

When it comes to share gains, the standout formats continue to be contemporary Christian — which in the September 2026 survey ranks 10th among persons 18-34 and 12th for 25-54s — and modern/alternative rock, which ties for seventh in both demographics.

During the first nine months of 2026, contemporary Christian has seen 22% and 11% lifts for 18-34 and 25-54, respectively. Year-over-year, dating back to the first three quarters of 2022, the format’s up 35% and 30% for the two demos, although compared to January-September 2025, shares are off 11% and 5%.

For modern/alternative rock, year-to-date share is up 15% 18-34 and 9% 25-54, although off by 7% and 5% for those demos year-over-year.

Adult contemporary has been the uncontested champ in both demos for all nine Nielsen surveys this year. In September, AC took a 1.2-share-point lead over both CHR and country, tied for second, among 18-34s, while 1.3 ahead of hot AC for 25-54. From survey to survey, AC’s share has been steady in both demos, although year-over-year share is down 12% 18-34 and 10% 25-54.

A closer look at other formats ranked in the top three in either demo finds just one (hot AC) with share growth. That’s in 25-54, where it’s up 5% since January, while off 4% vs. January-September 2025. For 18-34, where hot AC sits just outside of the top three, it’s down 7% year-to-date and 11% year-over-year. For CHR, country and news/talk, also among these demos’ top three formats, trends are in the minus column across the board.

Several other formats display year-to-date gains in one or both of these demos. From January to September, sports is up 17% in 18-34 and 18% 25-54. Compared to earlier years, this is not a typical pattern, with January’s share traditionally higher due to NFL playoffs and college bowls. Other plus-column-growth formats are, for 18-34, fourth-ranked classic hits (+8%) and sixth-place classic rock (+21%), and for 25-54, Spanish contemporary (+12%).

Also worth a mention is adult hits, which, while not showing significant growth, is holding its own: either flat or up 0.1 in these demos year-to-date, and off by just 0.1-0.2 year-over-year.