RADIO RATINGS ROUNDUP, May 2025, Part II

June 17, 2025

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. – along with the intrepid data diviners from XTRENDS – are back to regale you with more stories and sagas from the MAY survey. There were the requisite number of triumphs and tragedies, victories and defeats along with the mind-numbing regularity of the same old trends. Fortunes rose and fell based on a small percentage of the population. Yes, it’s a system that causes those outside of our industry to cock their heads like a curious dog. But it’s what we signed up for.

The book ran from MAY 1^ST through the 28^TH. It was an odd weather month that culminated in a three-day holiday weekend. Let us begin…

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: More Of The Same

While the stakeholders in the 6+ arena are fine with the status quo, it provides little fodder for storytelling. iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) was #1 for the tenth book in a row (7.7-7.6). URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) was back at #2 but with its best showing in over a year (6.3-6.6). HOPE MEDIA Contemporary Christian KSBJ repeated at #3 (5.7-5.4), while RADIO ONE Country KKBQ (93Q Country) moved up two places to #4 (5.1-5.3). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) was still hovering in fifth place (5.2-5.0), while iHEARTMEDIA N/T KTRH-A ended a four-book surge as it slipped from #4 to #7 (5.3-4.7). KODA kept the cume lead despite a 4.6% decline (2,151,500-2,053,400). The market was down 1.0%. Market PUMM rose 1.4% from APRIL and 20.6% from 2024.

Ho-Hum, KODA was #1 25-54 for the seventh straight survey. KTBZ repeated at #2. Both stations were separated by less than a half share. URBAN ONE Rhythmic CHR KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) halted a three-book slide as it advanced from #8 to #3. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary KQBT (93.7 THE BEAT) held firm at #4 with a slight increase. KSBJ was back at #5 but was not alone as KMJQ stepped up from #6 to forge the tie. TELEVISAUNIVISION Spanish Adult Hits KOVE (AMOR 106.5) fell from #3 to #8 as it gave back most of last month’s large increase. It was tied with KKBQ. Market PUMM was down 0.8% from the previous survey but went up 21.0% from a year ago.

KTBZ was #1 18-34 for the fourth book in a row and made it back-to-back double-digit performances. KODA became a much stronger #2 as the station landed its largest Frosty-free share since OCTOBER. KQBT repeated at #3, while KBXX moved up to #4. Both stations rebounded from down books. AUDACY Hot AC KHMX (MIX 96.5) posted its best number in over a year as it vaulted from #12 to #5. RADIO ONE Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9/107.5) slid three places to #7 with its smallest share since AUGUST. It was tied with KKBQ. AUDACY Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) dropped from #5 into a tie at #11 with AUDACY Country KILT. Market PUMM was up 4.0% from last month and 21.9% from the previous MAY.

For close to a year the top two 18-49 spots have been occupied by KODA and KTBZ. It was KODA’s turn at #1 this month as KTBZ stepped down to #2. KBXX ended a three-book slide as it leapt from #7 to a somewhat distant #3. KQBT remained at #4 but had a new partner as a flat KSBJ dipped from #3. KOVE fell from a tie at #4 into an arrangement at #7 with KHMX, which moved up from #15. Market PUMM was up 1.6% from APRIL and 21.6% from 2024.

ATLANTA: Watchin’ The River Flow

For the third straight survey COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) was #1 6+ (7.8-7.7). It narrowly defeated COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A, which moved up two slots to #2 with its first up book since JANUARY (7.0-7.5). COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) was back at #3 (7.1-6.8), while URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) slipped to #4 (7.2-6.7). AUDACY Urban Contemporary  WVEE (V-103) repeated at #5 (6.2-6.4). The station also added a 0.4 share from cyberspace. COX MEDIA AC WSB-F (B98.5) held the cume lead with a 2.5% increase (898,800-920,200). The market was up 0.4%. Market PUMM was off 0.4% from APRIL but rose 2.9% from 2024.

Things were much as we last saw them in the 25-54 space. WVEE was a strong #1 for the sixth straight survey. WALR repeated at #2 with a small decrease and was about a share and a half off the pace. WAMJ remained at #3 but with its smallest share since OCTOBER. WSB-F rose two places to #4 with a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WRDG (96.1 THE BEAT) dipped to #5 where it met up with the stationary WSRV. Both stations had small share losses. Market PUMM was up 0.2% from last month and 4.0% from a year ago.

WRDG made it back-to-back 18-34 wins but could not quite match last month’s double-digit feat. AUDACY Rhythmic AC WSTR (STAR 94) vaulted from #7 to #2 with its best outing in over a year. The station has more than doubled its share since FEBRUARY when it was sitting at #12. A flat WVEE remained at #3, while WSB-F was back at #4 with a slight decrease. WAMJ dropped three places to #5 as it returned a good portion of last month’s massive share increase. EMF Contemporary Christian WAKL (106.7 K-LOVE_ jumped from #14 to #6. WSRV slipped to #7. Market PUMM was up 6.0% from the previous survey and 45.9% from a year ago.

WVEE extended its 18-49 winning string to six and held better than a half share lead over WRDG, which stepped up to #2 with a flat book. WALR also lost share as it inched up to #3. WAMJ slid to #4, while WSB-F remained at #5 with a small share gain. WSTR rose from #9 to #6 with, again, its best outing in over a year. Market PUMM was down 2.6% from APRIL but up 12.0% from 2024.

WASHINGTON, DC: Talk Ain’t Cheap

From a city whose main industry consists of speeches and opining, it is appropriate that three of the top five 6+ stations specialize in that product. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was in its customary #1 position (12.4-12.2). Coming in at #2 again was HUBBARD News WTOP (10.5-10.7). This marked the sixth book in a row that both stations were in double figures. HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR was the leading music outlet as it moved up to #3 with its best showing since we were pretending that a mound of frozen water was a man of the cloth (5.4-5.8). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) dipped to #4 (5.5-5.5). CUMULUS N/T WMAL entered the chat at #5 with its best book in over a year (4.1-5.1). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH dipped to #6 with its smallest share since SEPTEMBER. WASH remained the cume leader (879,200-878,600). Both the market and the station were down 0.1%. Market PUMM was off 4.9% from APRIL but grew 12.0% from 2024.

The 25-54 leaderboard contained the usual suspects with a slightly different lineup. WAMU was #1 for the fifth straight survey, while WWDC inched up to #2. Both stations had slight increases and were separated by two full shares. WTOP dipped to #3 with a slight decrease, while WASH was back at #4 WHUR remained at #5, also with a slight increase. Market PUMM was down 7.6% from last month but was up 5.1% from a year ago.

The 18-34 chart was in flux. To begin with, it is not often you see an All News station at #1 with this demo but that is exactly what WTOP accomplished. The station advanced there from #6 with its highest mark in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5) moved up to #2 as it bounced back from a down book. AUDACY Classic Hits WIAD (94.7 THE DRIVE) dipped to #3 despite being up for the third book in a row. WWDC rose from #5 to forge a tie at #3 thanks to its best showing in over a year. WHUR stepped up to #5 with its best book since NOVEMBER. It was met there by WASH, which saw its two-book winning string come to a close. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ returned all of last month’s large share increase – plus a bit extra – as it dropped from #2 to #8. Market PUMM was down 16.3% from the previous survey but grew 8.5% from last year.

We go back to the beginning of this section as WAMU and WTOP were #1 and #2, respectively, 18-49 for the second book in a row. WWDC repeated at #3 with its highest score since AUGUST, while WASH was back at #4 with a slight decrease. WHUR stood alone at #5 with its first up book since JANUARY. WIHT moved up to #6, while WIAD fell from a tie at #5 into one at #7 with AUDACY Rhythmic CHR WPGC. Market PUMM dropped 9.0% from APRIL but rose 9.3% from 2024.

Shameless plug: Imagine if we could show you where your station’s listening is coming from and what those listeners look like. Would that be valuable info? What could you do with that? Imagine not because this is a reality. Shoot us an e-mail and we’ll show you how it all works.

PHILADELPHIA: It’s Only Rock & Roll…

For the last four books the top of the 6+ chart has been dominated by rock and roll music. This was the third book in a row that BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK was #1 (9.0-9.2) and BEASLEY Album Oriented Rock Rock WMMR was #2 (7.6-7.0). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS moved up to #3 (6.5-6.5), while AUDACY Sports WIP dipped to #4 (7.2-6.4). WIP did gain a 1.7 share from the stream. AUDACY News KYW-A repeated at #5 (5.0-5.0). It also gained digital share to the tune of a 1.2). It was tied with AUDACY AC WBEB (B101), which moved up a spot (4.8-4.9). BEASLEY Country WXTU (92.5 XTU) moved down to #6 (5.4-4.9). WBEB increases its cume lead by 4.6% (1,130,200-1,182,100). The market was up 1.4%. Market PUMM grew 2.5% from APRIL and 15.0% from 2024.

WMMR was #1 25-54 for the fourth book in a row but was unable to extend its double-digit streak to three. WMGK was back at #2 but trailed its cluster bruh by about a share. WDAS was up two slots to #3 with its best outing since maids were doing farm work. WBEB repeated at #4 with a small increase, while WIP slid to #5 with its lowest score in over a year. Market PUMM was up 1.6% from last month and 16.3% from a year ago.

WMGK bounced back from a down book to move back to #1 18-34. The station was alarmingly close to hitting double figures. WBEB dipped to #2 with a rather large share loss. A flat WDAS stood alone at #3, while its former partner WXTU stepped down to #4 as it returned a chunk of last month’s big share gain. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIOQ (Q102) was up to #5 with its best book since NOVEMBER. WIP moved

down to #6 and was paired with WMMR, which did rise from #9. Market PUMM rose 2.3% from the previous survey and 12.3% from last year.

For the fifth book in a row WMMR led the 18-49 parade. A flat #2 WMGK stepped up to #2, while WDAS rose from #5 to #3 as it rebounded from a down book. WIP slipped to #4 as it ceded a portion of last month’s large increase. WBEB dipped to #5. Market PUMM was up 1.6% from APRIL and 17.2% from 2024.

BOSTON: Oh, Oh, Oh, It’s Magic

There’s your ear worm for the day. For the fourth book in a row AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) was #1 6+ (5.9-5.8). iHEARTMEDIA N/T WBZ-A was back at #2 (5.6-5.3). It was partnered with iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX, which moved up from #4 (5.4-5.3). iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108) and BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR were last seen at #7. WXKS landed at #4 with its best book in over a year (4.8-5.2. WBUR settled in at #5 with its first up book since JANUARY (4.8-5.1). AUDACY Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1) dipped to #6 (5.3-5.0), while BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR slid from #2 to #7 as it ended a four-book surge (5.6-4.8). WMJX was still the cume leader with a 4.7% increase (839,200-878,500). The market was off 1.4%. Market PUMM was down 0.6% from APRIL but grew 3.2% from 2024.

A flat WWBX moved up to #1 25-54. This ended the two-book run for BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB), which dipped to #2 with its smallest share since AUGUST. WXKS repeated at #3 but with its highest mark since JULY. WBUR remained at #4 with a slight decrease, while WZLX continued on at #5 with a slight increase. Market PUMM was up 2.1% from last month and 10.1% from a year ago.

WWBX continued to dominate the 18-34 space with its fourth win in a row. iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) was back at #2 as it returned most of last month’s solid increase. The gap between the two stations widened to more than three shares. BEASLEY Country WKLB (COUNTRY 102.5) repeated at #3 with a down book, while WXKS inched up to #4 with a slight increase. WMJX dipped to #5 with its lowest total in exactly a year. It was paired with AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103), which advanced from #9 as it rebounded from a down book. Market PUMM was down 1.8% from the previous survey and 1.0% from last year.

WWBX made it back-to-back 18-49 wins. WBZ-F was back at #2 and was joined there by WXKS, which posted its best score since JUNE. They trailed the leader by just under a share. WBGB stepped up to #4 with its best book in over a year, while WBUR dipped to #5. WROR and WKLB had been an item at #5. WROR landed at #6 along with BEALSEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT 96.9). WKLB ended up at #8. Market PUMM was off 0.1% from APRIL but grew 0.6% from 2024.

We now hit pause on the roundup. We’ll gather what few wits we have left so we can gin up something for the next salvo, which will feature SEATTLE, MIAMI, PHOENIX, DETROIT and MINNEAPOLIS. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog. And remember, sharing is caring – spread the word far and wide.

-Steve Allan, Programming Research Consultant

About XTrends: XTrends is radio’s favorite Nielsen ratings analysis tool, used by all major groups. Learn why here.

About Research Director, Inc.: Research Director, Inc. is based in Annapolis, Maryland. We help radio stations’ programming and sales departments maximize the value of their research. For more information, visit www.ResearchDirectorInc.com, call 410-295-6619, or e-mail info@ResearchDirectorInc.com or sallan@ResearchDirectorInc.com.

• Tweet