Sports Stations Score Big In October PPMs.

Not since this past May has any format claimed as many as six crowns in the 20 non-embedded markets reporting on the first two days of Nielsen's PPM rankings. That format was adult contemporary, which has seen its win total slide from that six in May to five in June, four in July, and three in each survey since, including October's, covering activity from Sept. 12-Oct. 9.

So, what format went all the way in six markets in October's survey? That would be sports, which might not be surprising given four weeks of NFL football action and baseball's pennant races and post-season – except that only two stations in the format led their market a year ago, during the October 2023 book.

The six markets where sports took the lead? Dallas and Philadelphia on Day 1, and Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, and San Diego on Day 2. Of course, it helped that five of those six stations are the play-by-play home for an NFL and/or MLB team and that four carry games either for football teams boasting a winning record early in the season or baseball teams that made it to the playoffs.

For Days 1 and 2, the leaderboard shows sports with a league-leading six crowns, news/talk with four, AC and classic hits tied with three, urban AC with two, and one each for news, soft AC, rock, and country.

The top three stay as it was in September's survey, with American University’s news/talk WAMU still ahead of Hubbard Radio all news WTOP by nearly three share points, and Howard University’s urban AC WHUR finishing third. iHeartMedia AC WASH and Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications classical WETA, which tied for fourth in September, now place fourth and fifth.

Beasley Media Group rules Beantown's top two, as “98.5 The Sports Hub” WBZ-FM returns to number one, followed by classic hits sister WROR. Audacy claims positions 3 and 4 with AC “Magic 106.7” WMJX and hot AC “Mix 104.1” WWBX, which led the market in August and September.

Cox Media Group urban AC “Hot 105” WHQT does it again, marking its 21st straight victory with a 2.7-share-point lead over Univision Spanish AC “Amor 107.5” WAMR, which moves from a tie for fifth up to second place. iHeart Spanish-language gold AC “Magic 93.9” WMIA-FM, CMG soft AC sister “Easy 93.1” WFEZ, and Audacy AC “101.5 Lite FM” WLYF line up at 3-4-5.

While the top two stay in place for a third consecutive survey, with news/talk pubcaster KUOW-FM ahead of iHeart classic rock KZOK, Hubbard AC “Warm 106.9” KRWM makes a big move from eighth up to third with a 1.4-share-point gain. iHeart classic hits sister “95.7 The Jet” KJEB and Audacy's “Rock 99.9” KISW take fourth and fifth place.

Since January, Phoenix's top two stations haven't budged, as iHeart AC “99.9 K-EZ” KESZ again stays ahead of Hubbard classic rock KSLX. Meanwhile, tying for third with Hubbard rock sister KUPD is iHeart talk KFYI, leaping from 13th with a 1.6-point gain. Placing fifth and returning to the top five for the first time since July 2023 is news/talk pubcaster KJZZ.

Benefiting from the Tigers' deep post-season run and the Lions' strong beginning to their NFL season, the radio flagship for both, Audacy sports “97.1 The Ticket” WXYT-FM, not only makes it a third straight win in Detroit but does it by posting double digits, which it last did exactly a year ago. As a result, The Ticket has a commanding 4.1-point lead over iHeart AC WNIC, while Audacy classic hits WOMC comes in a close third.

There's football fever in the Twin Cities as well, as the Vikings flagship, iHeart sports “K-FAN” KFXN, gains for a third consecutive book – up 94% from July – widening its lead over contemporary Christian pubcaster KTIS-FM from September's 1.4 to 4.5. iHeart classic hits sister “Kool 108” KQQL and news/talk pubcaster KNOW stick at third and fourth, while Hubbard hot AC “KS95” KSTP-FM finishes fifth.

The Padres' return to the post-season helps propel its flagship, Audacy sports “97.3 The Fan” KWFN, to a tie for first with classic hits sister “Sunny 98.1” KXSN. The pair squeak ahead of Univision Spanish regional Mexican “Que Buena 106.5” KLNV in third, followed by news/talk pubcaster KPBS and Local Media of San Diego adult hits “100.7 Big FM” KFBG.

CMG soft AC WDUV racks up its ninth straight double-digit share, not to mention its 39th consecutive survey at number one, making a statement with a big 5.1-point lead over Beasley country WQYK. Tied for third are iHeart AC “Mix 100.7” WMTX and CMG urban AC sister “101.5 The Vibe” WTBV, with iHeart's country sister “US 103.5” WFUS fifth-ranked.

Bonneville takes the top two as country KYGO stays on top, followed by AC sister KOSI. Audacy hot AC “Alice 105.9” KALC hits a number-three high for the first time since April 2023, just 0.1 in front of KSE Radio Ventures classic hits “Kool 105” KXKL, as Audacy classic rock sister “99.5 The Mountain” KQMT returns to Denver's top five for the first time since September 2023.

Rockin' its way to the top is Hearst's “98 Rock” WIYY, tying with Urban One urban AC “Magic 95.9” WWIN-FM, which had the throne to itself in September's survey. Rounding out the top five are Urban One urban contemporary sister “92Q Jams” WERQ, Audacy AC “Today's 101.9” WLIF, and Peter and John Radio Fellowship contemporary Christian “Bright FM” WRBS-FM.

The top four line up just as in September, with iHeart classic hits KLOU now a five-time champ, again with the slightest edge – a tenth of a share point – over Hubbard adult hits “106.5 The Arch” WARH. Staying at third and fourth are Hubbard rocker KSHE and country sister WIL-FM.