Nielsen PPM: Country, Spanish AC Score First No. 1 Finishes Of 2026.

Due to ties at the top — one of those a three-way tie — in three of the 20 non-embedded PPM markets reporting on Days 1 and 2 in Nielsen’s May survey (covering April 30-May 27), there are 24 stations representing 12 different formats, the most for any Nielsen book so far this year.

As a result, two formats make their first appearance at number one in these markets in 2026: country, with iHeartMedia’s “K102” KEEY Minneapolis part of that three-way tie; and Spanish AC, with iHeartMedia’s “Magic 93.9” WMIA-FM Miami celebrating its first survey on top.

For Days 1 and 2 in these 20 markets, the leaderboard shows AC with five wins, news/talk and classic hits with four each, sports with three, and once each for adult alternative, hot AC, soft AC, Spanish AC, urban AC, rock, classic rock and country.

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.

For the first time since June 2025, American University news/talk WAMU is on top in DC, 1.4 share points ahead of the champ for the prior 11 surveys, Hubbard – Media That Connects all-news WTOP, which still leads in weekly cume (842,500). iHeartMedia modern/alternative rock “DC101” WWDC-FM moves from sixth-ranked to third, its best showing since April 2025.

Boston University news/talk WBUR stays at number one, although now tied with Beasley Media Group classic hits WROR, up from fifth in April. Audacy AC “Magic 106.7” WMJX, which boasts the highest weekly cume (858,700), claims third, while iHeartMedia’s CHR “Kiss 108” WXKS-FM and classic rock WZKX tie for fourth.

iHeartMedia “Magic 93.9” WMIA-FM gets its first number-one showing in Miami since its flip to bilingual AC in November 2023, up from fifth in April’s survey with a 0.9-point gain. It does the trick with the slimmest of leads over the April champ, Audacy AC “101.5 Lite FM” WLYF, which is still ahead in weekly cume (740,300). Univision Spanish AC “Amor 107.5” WAMR, meanwhile, moves from a tie for sixth to one for third with Cox Media Group soft AC “Easy 93.1” WFEZ, while SBS Spanish classic hits “Zeta 92.3” WCMQ and CMG urban AC sister “Hot 105” WHQT tie for fifth. 

University of Washington news/talk KUOW-FM makes it a fifth straight win, staying 3.3 share points ahead of Bonneville “Seattle Sports 710” KIRO-AM. iHeartMedia classic hits “95.7 The Jet” KJEB, with the highest weekly cume (682,000), takes third, followed by classic rock sister KZOK which makes its first appearance in the top five since June 2025, up 1.3 share points to move from eighth-ranked to fourth.

For the first time since last October, Hubbard classic rock KSLX is Phoenix’s top station, with just 0.2 separating it from the November 2025-April 2026 champ, iHeartMedia AC “99.9 K-EZ” KESZ, which still leads in cume with 964,200. iHeartMedia also places talk KFYI and country KNIX at third and fourth.

For a fifth consecutive survey, Audacy sports “97.1 The Ticket” WXYT-FM leads in Detroit, 2.9 share points up on classic hits sister WOMC. Audacy also claims fourth place with country WYCD, while iHeartMedia takes the rest with AC WNIC (with the highest weekly cume at 997,300) and urban AC “Mix 92.3” WMXD at third and fifth, respectively. 

Never mind twins, it’s an iHeartMedia three-way tie for first, as sports “K-FAN” KFXN now has company at the top, sharing the crown with country and classic hits sisters “K102” KEEY and “Kool 108” KQQL, the latter delivering the highest weekly cume (754,500). As for the rest of the top five, news/talk pubcaster KNOW comes in fourth, while at fifth, Audacy adult hits “104.1 Jack FM” KZJK makes its first appearance in the region since May 2025.

The top three stay in the same order for a fourth straight survey, as CMG soft AC “105.5 The Dove” WDUV (with the top weekly cume at 643,600) stays 1.7 ahead of Radio Training Network contemporary Christian “The Joy FM” WCIE, while CMG classic rock sister “The Eagle 107.3” WXGL remains at third. CMG AC sister “Magic 94.9” WWRM and Beasley classic hits “Q105” WRBQ swap spots to place fourth and fifth.

After three surveys in the runner-up position, Bonneville AC KOSI – number one in weekly cume with 481,800 – returns to the top with a 0.8 edge over Audacy classic rock “99.5 The Mountain” KQMT, which led from February to April. iHeartMedia modern/alternative rock sister “Channel 93.3” KTCL ties for third with Bonneville country sister KYGO, while KSE Radio Ventures classic hits “Kool 105” KXKL moves back into the top five at fifth.

Audacy classic hits “Sunny 98.1” KXSN is still San Diego’s top-ranked station, also top-ranked in weekly cume (608,100), while still ahead of San Diego State University news/talk KPBS by only a tenth of a share point. The Padres’ flagship, Audacy sports “97.3 The Fan” KWFN, moves up from fifth to third. 

It’s now a fifth consecutive victory for Urban One urban AC “Magic 95.9” WWIN-FM, with a 1.9-point lead over Audacy AC “Today's 101.9” WLIF, while leads in weekly cume with 452,500. Audacy hot AC sister “Mix 106.5” WWMX, iHeartMedia country WPOC Peter and John Radio Fellowship contemporary Christian “Bright FM” WRBS-FM line up at 3-4-5.

Hubbard heritage rocker KSHE moves back into its usual place at the top, keeping 0.7 ahead of April’s leader and still tops in weekly cume (661,000), iHeartMedia classic hits KLOU. Growth-wise, the hottest station in the market is the flagship for one of baseball’s hottest teams, the Cardinals, as Audacy news/talk KMOX-FM, with steady share gains from February, is up 69%.