The Lead’s Up For Grabs In 13 PPM Day 1-2 Markets.

Historically, there have always been top-ranked stations in major markets that, share-wise, put great distance between themselves and the next ranked station. Looking at the 20 non-embedded PPM markets reporting on Days 1 and 2 in March’s survey (covering March 5-Apr. 1), those stations are getting harder to find.

In just one of these markets, Washington, DC, there’s currently a gap of between three and four share points between the first- and second-ranked stations, while there are four markets where the top two are separated by a two-to-three-point gap, and two where the share difference falls between one and two share points.

For the remaining 13 of Day 1 and 2’s markets, it’s an under-1.0 share difference between the top two, including ties in Dallas and San Francisco. In five markets, only one-tenth of a point separates the two highest-ranked stations, with three where it’s between 0.2 and 0.4, and three with a gap of between half of a share point to under one.

Is the competition at the top of the ratings in major markets tighter than it’s ever been since Nielsen changed to its three-minute qualifier in January 2025? We’ll let them handle that question.

For Days 1 and 2 in these 20 markets, the leaderboard shows: AC with five wins; news/talk with three; two each for all-news, sports, classic rock, hot AC and urban AC; and one each for adult alternative, contemporary Christian, soft 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.

It’s a 10th win in a row for Hubbard Radio all-news WTOP, again widening its lead over American University news/talk WAMU from 3.4 to 3.5, even though both stations see share declines – WTOP off 0.9 and WAMU down a full share point from February. That’s also true for third-ranked Howard University urban AC WHUR, losing 1.2, while iHeartMedia AC WASH adds half a point to move from fifth to fourth, swapping spots with modern/alternative rock sister “DC101” WWDC-FM.

Audacy AC “Magic 106.7” WMJX repeats at the top, with a 0.6 edge over Boston University news/talk WBUR, hitting a number two high for the first time since November 2023. Beasley Media Group’s classic hits WROR and “98.5 The Sports Hub” WBZ-FM, both former champs in the town of beans, place third and fifth, while iHeartMedia CHR “Kiss 108” WXKS-FM moves back into the top five, in between the two.

It’s the same old story here, as Cox Media Group again claims Miami’s top two, with urban AC “Hot 105” WHQT staying at the summit, leading soft AC sister “Easy 93.1” WFEZ by 0.4. Staying in place at third and fourth are Audacy AC “101.5 Lite FM” WLYF and Univision Spanish AC “Amor 107.5” WAMR, and SBS Spanish classic hits “Zeta 92.3” WCMQ in fifth.

An all-non-commercial station top two doesn’t occur often on PPM Days 1 and 2, but in Seattle, University of Washington news/talk KUOW-FM, which leads the market on a regular basis, is back-to-back with indie/alternative music pubcaster KEXP. The latter gains 1.6 share points, up from fifth-ranked, during a busy March, including the final days of its annual spring fundraising drive, its celebration of International Women’s Month, and its annual “six degrees week” where DJs connect every song to the previous one based on collaborations, samples or personnel for 168 hours. As for the rest of the top five, iHeartMedia classic hits “95.7 The Jet” KJEB, Crista Media contemporary Christian “Spirit 105.3” KCMS and Hubbard AC “Warm 106.9” KRWM line up at 3-4-5.

iHeartMedia AC “99.9 K-EZ” KESZ marks a sixth straight survey on top, but it’s another close victory as it’s just 0.1 ahead of Hubbard classic rock KSLX. Audacy classic hits “Big 94.5” KOOL-FM gets a 1.4-share lift as it rises to third, followed by two more from iHeartMedia, talker KFYI and country KNIX.

It’s Audacy and iHeartMedia’s top five again, with the former keeping hold of number one and two with sports “97.1 The Ticket” WXYT-FM and classic hits WOMC, not to mention country WYCD ranking fourth. iHeart Media takes the rest with AC WNIC still third and urban AC “Mix 92.3” WMXD fifth.

iHeartMedia sports “K-FAN” KFXN, the primary radio flagship of two teams in post-season action, the NBA’s Timberwolves and NHL’s Wild, move back to the top spot, just 0.1 ahead of Minnesota Public Radio news/talk KNOW. iHeartMedia claims three of the top five, as classic hits sister “Kool 108” KQQL sticks at third and country “K102” KEEY makes its first appearance in the region since September 2025.

Tampa’s top four stations remain in the same order as in February, with CMG soft AC “105.5 The Dove” WDUV more than doubling its lead over Radio Training Network contemporary Christian “The Joy FM” WCIE, CMG classic rock sister “The Eagle 107.3” WXGL hanging on in third and Beasley classic hits “Q105” WRBQ up 0.4 as it stays fourth-ranked. iHeartMedia’s “98 Rock” WXTB makes a 0.8 gain to return to top five territory.

Audacy classic rock “99.5 The Mountain” KQMT hangs on tight after moving from second to first place in February, as its then-0.3 lead on the former champ, Bonneville AC KOSI, has shrunk to 0.1. Just below, KSE Radio Ventures classic hits “Kool 105” KXKL moves up from fifth to third, Audacy hot AC “Alice 105.9” KALC stays at fourth, and Bonneville country sister KYGO gives up a share point to go from third-ranked to fifth.

For the first time since January 2024, Comunicacion XERSA hot AC “Magic 92.5” XHRM takes the throne, with a slim 0.3 lead over San Diego State University news/talk KPBS. Audacy lands in the 3 and 4 spots with classic hits “Sunny 98.1” KXSN and AC sister KYXY.

While Urban One urban AC “Magic 95.9” WWIN-FM continues its run at number one, two Audacy stations — AC “Today’s 101.9” WLIF, and hot AC “Mix 106.5” WWMX — tie for second, the former of those making it happen with a 1.3-share-point jump from fifth place in February. Filling out the top five are iHeartMedia country WPOC and Urban One urban contemporary sister “92Q Jams” WERQ.

Hubbard heritage rocker KSHE makes it a third consecutive survey on top, albeit with the same share delivery as in February and little room to spare, just a tenth of a point in front of iHeartMedia classic hits KLOU. Audacy AC KEZK and Gateway Creative contemporary Christian “99.1 Joy FM” KLJY post at third and fourth, followed by a rare top five showing for University of Missouri news/talk KWMU (90.7), up from eighth-ranked.