PPMs, Day 1: AC Stations Lose Ground.

Adult contemporary stations, which ruled in half of the eight non-embedded markets on Day 1 of Nielsen’s PPMs during May, June and July, claimed three in August and now just two in the September survey, covering Aug. 20-Sept. 16.

That comes as a result of ACs in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia abdicating the throne during the past two surveys, with all news, hot AC and rock taking their place in this most recent book.

Contemporary Christian, which has been more likely to see number-one action during PPM Day 2, gets on the Day 1 board for the first time since March, with the same station as in March, Salem Media Group contemporary Christian KLTY Dallas.

For Day 1, the leaderboard shows two wins each for news and AC, and one each for hot AC, news/talk, contemporary Christian, 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. 

Audacy all-news WINS-AM-FM earns its fourth crown in 2026, leading iHeartMedia AC “106.7 Lite FM” WLTW by a tenth of a share point. For “Lite,” it’s the first survey out of the number-one spot since February. Audacy classic hits WCBS-FM and iHeartMedia CHR “Z100” WHTZ have been going back and forth at third and fourth, with the former now ahead by 0.4, while iHeart Media classic rock “Q104.3” WAXQ spends a fifth straight book in fifth place.

It’s a third win in a row for iHeartMedia hot AC “104.3 MyFM” KBIG, keeping just 0.7 ahead of Audacy classic hits “K-Earth 101” KRTH, itself just 0.3 in front of iHeartMedia AC sister KOST. Audacy claims fourth and fifth with adult hits “93.1 Jack FM” KCBS-FM and, making a very rare top five showing, modern/alternative rocker KROQ, up from a tie for 11th in August.

Chicago’s top five stays just where they were in August’s survey, with Audacy all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS still on top — its fourth book on top, year-to-date — only now with just a tenth-of-a-point lead over adult alternative sister WXRT. Hubbard hot AC “101.9 The Mix” WTMX, iHeartMedia soft AC “93.9 Lite FM” WLIT and Hubbard classic rock sister “The Drive” WDRV/WWDV remain third, fourth and fifth, with little change in share.

While iHeartMedia AC “Star 102.1” KDGE makes it a fifth straight win, this time around it ties with Salem Media Group contemporary Christian KLTY, which jumps from a tie for eighth, making a 1.5-share-point gain. The pair are just half a point ahead of iHeartMedia hot AC sister “Mix 102.9” KDMX, with Audacy’s adult hits “100.3 Jack-FM” KJKK and classic hits “98.7 The Spot” KSPF at fourth and fifth.

It’s now 14 straight wins for iHeartMedia AC “Sunny 99.1” KODA, which widens its lead over Urban One classic rock “The Eagle 106.9/107.5” KGLK/KHPT by breaking into 10-share territory for the first time since Nielsen’s Holiday 2025 survey. iHeartMedia modern/alternative rock “94.5 The Buzz” KTBZ adds a share point to move to third, as Urban One urban AC “Majic 102.1” KMJQ slips to fourth.

News/talk pubcaster KQED racks up a ninth straight victory, ahead of Audacy all-news KCBS-AM/KFRC by 1.1 share points. At third and fourth, iHeartMedia soft AC “98.1 The Breeze” KISQ and Connoisseur Media AC KOIT switch places, while Connoisseur CHR sister “99.7 Now” KMVQ stays parked in fifth.

The top four stay in place from August, as Urban One urban AC “Majic 107.5/97.5” WAMJ marks its fourth survey on top this year, now ahead of Cox Media Group news/talk WSB-AM/WSBB-FM by 0.9. Audacy urban contemporary “V103” WVEE and CMG classic hits sister “97.1 The River” WSRV remain third- and fourth-ranked, respectively, followed by City of Atlanta Board of Education news/talk WABE, which re-enters the top five.

Beasley Media Group heritage rocker WMMR moves from a tie for fifth to first place for its third survey on top in 2026, and the first with the throne all to itself, having tied classic rock WMGK in February and Audacy sports WIP-FM in June. With a very rare double-digit share, WMMR has a 2.6-share-point lead over WIP. iHeartMedia urban AC WDAS-FM and Beasley Media Group classic rock WMGK, which tied for first in August, now rank third and fourth.