Radio Ratings Roundup, Holiday 2025, Part 2

January 27, 2026

We are coming to you live (ish) from inside the snow globe caused by winter storm Fern (a name that future generations will certainly recoil from in horror). The weather outside for many of us is frightful, which is appropriate since The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC.—ably abetted by the NIELSEN savants from XTRENDS—are about to dive into another round of HOLIDAY ratings stuff.

The survey that is all but ignored by all except (usually) one station in each market. This book ran from DECEMBER 11^th through JANUARY 7^th. If you do the math (and we did) that meant that Santa’s dominion only covered 15 of the 28 days of the book. It all looked something like this:

SAN FRANCISCO: We Built This City…

…on Yule AND Tide. BONNEVILLE AC KOIT took Santa Claus Lane to #1 6+ (7.0-9.9). Last year it was #1 with an 11.6 share. This ended the twelve-book winning string for KQED INC. N/T KQED, which dipped to #2 (9.1-9.2). AUDACY News KCBS stepped down to #3 (8.1-7.9) but added a 0.3 share from cyberspace. USC CLASSICAL KDFC (CLASSICAL CALIFORNIA) was back at #4 (5.0-5.0), while BONNEVILLE Hot AC KMVQ (99.7 NOW) remained at #5 (4.1-3.8). KOIT padded its cume lead with a 16.4% increase (1,162,300-1,353,000). The market was up 0.2%. Market PUMM was off 5.2% from DECEMBER but up 12.9% from 2024.

KOIT was back at #1 25-54 but could not quite hit double figures as it did a year ago. KQED held steady at #2 but with its smallest share in over a year. KMVQ remained at #3 but with its lowest score since JUNE. AUDACY Alternative KITS (LIVE 105) stepped up to #4 with a small increase, while iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR KYLD (WiLD 94.9) dipped to #5. Market PUMM was off 7.9% from the previous survey but up 12.1% from last year.

KOIT extended its 18-34 winning streak to five books as it landed its largest share in over a year. KMVQ was up two places to #2 with its best outing since AUGUST. SBS Mexican Regional KRZZ (LA RAZA 93.3) slipped to #3 as it returned some of last month’s huge increase. KYLD rose two slots to #4 with a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR KMEL was down two places to #5 with its lowest total in over a year. It was paired with a flat iHEARTMEDIA Soft AC KISQ (98.1 THE BREEZE), which rose from #8. AUDACY Hot AC KLLC (ALICE 97.3) dropped from #5 to #10. It was partnered with BONNEVILLE Classic Rock KUFX (98.5 KFOX) and iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KOSF (CLASSIC HITS 103.7), which did advance from #23. Market PUMM was flat from last month and went up 22.8% from a year ago.

KOIT was back at #1 and in double figures 18-49. KQED remained at #2 but with its lowest number in over a year. KITS leapt from #6 to #3 as it bounced back from a down book. KYLD repeated at #4, while KMVQ was back at #5. Both stations had small decreases. KMEL dropped from #3 into a tie at #6 with KRZZ. Market PUMM was down 3.4% from DECEMBER but up 21.8% from 2024.

ATLANTA: Santa Tried…

…but could not quite deliver a 6+ win. For the fifth book in a row that honor was bestowed upon COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A (7.4-6.7). COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1FM) rose two places to #2 (6.0-6.4). The holiday hitmaker was AUDACY Rhythmic AC WSTR (STAR 94). It jumped from #8 to #3 with its best book in over a year (4.2-6.3). AUDACY Urban AC WVEE (V-103) ended a two-book slide as it moved up to #4 (5.1-6.1). URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) repeated at #5 (5.9-6.0). COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) flowed from #2 to #6 (6.2-5.7), while COX MEDIA AC WSB-F (B98.5) fell from #3 to #8 with its smallest share in over a year (6.1-4.8). It was still the leading cume station despite a 14.2% drop (816,100-699,900). WSTR moved from #5 to #3 in this category. Market cume was off 3.5%. Market PUMM was down 6.4% from DECEMBER but up 2.1% from 2024.

WVEE was #1 25-54 for the fourth straight survey as it landed its largest share since JUNE. WALR moved up two spots to #2 as it rebounded from a down book. WSTR advanced from #8 to #3. It was tied with AUDACY Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME), which remained in place with a slight increase. WSB-F slid from #2 to #6, while WSB-A dropped from #4 to #9. Market PUMM was off 4.6% from the previous survey but up 6.4% from last year.

The NORTH POLE gang was finally victorious as WSTR advanced from #8 to #1 18-34. It narrowly defeated WSB-F, which dipped to #2 as its three-book winning string was run over by a reindeer. A flat WVEE remained at #3, while two stations landed at #4. WSRV slipped from #2, while WALR stepped up from #5. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WRDG (96.1 THE BEAT) fell from #4 to #8 with its smallest share since JULY. It was paired with EMF Contemporary Christian WAKL (K-LOVE 106.7). Market PUMM was down 5.7% from last month but up 23.8% from a year ago

WVEE moved up to #1 18-49 with a solid increase, while WSTR leapt from #6 to #2. WSRV repeated at #3 with a slight decrease. It was joined there by WALR, which advanced from #7 as it rebounded from a down book. WSB-F fell from #1 to #5 with its least productive outing since the big guy’s last appearance. WZGC slid from #4 to #6 and was paired with WAMJ. Market PUMM was off 3.0% from DECEMBER and up 4.8% from 2024.

WASHINGTON, DC: It’s News To Them

The news business continues to be very, very good as HUBBARD News WTOP was #1 6+ for the seventh straight survey (12.2-11.3). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH rode the polar express up to #2 (8.7-10.1). Last year it was #3 with an 8.7 share. For the first time in well over a year AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was not in double figures. The station stepped down to #3 (10.9-9.8). HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR remained at #4 (6.0-5.9), while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) was back at #5 (5.2-4.8). WASH cracked the one milllllion cume mark with a 19.8% increase (904,500-1,083,800). The station was not in that rarefied area a year ago. Market cume was down 0.8%. Market PUMM was off 5.8% from DECEMBER but up 20.4% from 2024.

WASH was #1 and in double figures 25-54 for the second book in a row. WAMU remained at #2 but with its smallest share since MARCH. WWDC stepped up to #3 despite a down book. WTOP dipped to #4 with its lowest score in over a year. WHUR was back at #5 with a small share loss. Market PUMM was down 6.5% from the previous survey and up 22.2% from last year.

WASH was back at #1 18-34 with a massive share increase. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ also landed a huge share increase as it rose from #5 to #2. Despite posting its best number in over a year WMZQ was seven shares off the lead. Three stations were circling one another at #3. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100) held steady as it shed a bit of last month’s big gain. WTOP slipped from #2 with its lowest mark since APRIL. WWDC rose from #7 with its best outing since AUGUST. WHUR slipped into a tie at #6 with ATLANTIC GATEWAY Contemporary Christian WGTS. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5) slid to #8 with its lowest total in over a year. Market PUMM was down 11.5% from last survey but up 19.2% from a year ago.

WASH was #1 and in double digits 18-49 for the second book in a row. WAMU was back at #2 with its lowest score since MARCH, while WWDC inched up to #3 with a slight decrease. WTOP dipped to #4 with its smallest share in a year. WHUR maintained its presence at #5 with a small share loss. Market PUMM was down 11.6% from DECEMBER but up 12.4% from 2024.

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 PHILADELPHIA: Fly, Santa, Fly

Too soon, EAGLES fans? AUDACY AC WBEB (B101.1) continued as the leading 6+ station (10.1-17.0). It was also #1 a year ago with a 15.7 share. BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK jumped from #5 to #2 as it rebounded from a down book (5.5-5.9). It was tied with BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR, which remained motionless (6.4-5.9). AUDACY Sports WIP repeated at #4 (5.8-5.5). It also gained a 1.9 share from the interwebs. iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS slid to #5 as it returned all of last month’s big increase, plus a little value added (6.3-5.3). WBEB increased its #1 cume total by 21.8% (1,396,200-1,699,900). The market was off 2.8%. Market PUMM was down 4.4% from DECEMBER and up 10.6% from 2024.

WBEB was #1 and deep into double digits 25-54 for the second straight survey. WMMR remained at #2 but with its smallest share in over a year, while EMF Contemporary Christian WKVP (K-LOVE 106.9) stepped up to #3 with a small increase. WDAS dipped to #4 as it ended a three-book surge. WIP remained at #5 with a small decrease. The station’s stream landed at #18. Market PUMM was down 8.4% from the previous survey but up 13.1% from last year.

I wish I could share WBEB’s 18-34 share. It reached heights not often seen in the PPM era. Oh, and of course it was #1 again. WMMR stood alone at #2 as it came back from a down book. A flat BEASLEY Country WXTU (92.5 XTU) dipped to #3, while three stations were conspiring together at #4. WDAS slipped from #2 with a rather large share loss. WMGK stepped up from #5, also with a massive share decrease. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99) advanced from #7 with only a small share loss. BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) dropped from a tie at #5 into an arrangement at #10 with AUDACY Classic Hits WOGL (BIG 98.1). Market PUMM was up 7.1% from last month and 5.6% from a year ago.

WBEB was #1 18-49 again with a huge double-digit share. WMMR remained at #2 with a slight decrease, while WDAS repeated at #3, though its three-book surge ground to a halt. WIP held steady at #4 with its lowest score in over a year. It was tied with WXTU, which rose from #6 with a slight increase. WBEN fell from #5 to #12. Market PUMM was off 4.1% from DECEMBER but up 4.9% from 2024.

 BOSTON: The Magic Is In The Music

AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) went over the (Charles) river and through the woods to another #1 6+ book (10.3-13.5). Last year it was #1 with a 15.4 share. BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) repeated at #2 (6.2-6.3), while iHEARTMEDIA N/T WBZ-A moved up from a tie at #5 to #3 (4.6-4.8). AUDACY Sports WEEI inched up to #4 (4.6-4.7) and was paired with AUDACY Hot AC WWBX (MIX 104.1), which advanced from #7 (4.4-4.7). Two stations were excused from the top five. BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR slid from #3 to #6 with its smallest share since JANUARY (5.3-4.6). iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108) fell from #4 to #7 with its lowest mark since MARCH (4.9-4.5). WMJX added 22.4% to its leading cume total (1,004,000-1,228,400). The market was off 2.1%. Market PUMM was down 4.2% from DECEMBER and 3.3% from 2024.

WMJX was in double figures and the runaway 25-54 leader for the second book in a row. WBZ-F remained at #2 but with its lowest score since AUGUST. WWBX stepped up to #3 with its best showing since JULY, while a flat WXKS dipped to #4. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX held firm at #5 with a modest share loss. Market PUMM was down 5.2% from the previous survey but up 7.2% from last year.

WMJX continued to dominate the 18-34 space with a share that exceeded the next three stations – combined! WWBX leapt from #5 to #2 with a large share increase, while WEEI stepped up to #3 with its best outing in over a year. WXKS inched up to #4 with a slight decrease. iHEARTMEDIA Spanish Contemporary WZRM (RUMBA 97.7) vaulted from #14 to #5 with its best book since JUNE. WROR slipped from #3 to #6 as it surrendered all of last month’s huge increase – plus a bit more. It was partnered with BEASLEY Country WKLB (COUNTRY 102.5) and AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103). iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) lost more than half its previous share as it fell from #2 to #11. It was tied with WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION N/T WGBH and NORTHEAST BROADCASTING AAA WXRV (92.5 THE RIVER). Market PUMM was down 0.8% from last month and up 0.6% from a year ago.

WMJX completed the demo sweep by dominating the 18-49 arena for the second book in a row. WWBX was up two places to #2 with a strong increase. WXKS moved from #5 to #3 as it rebounded from a down book. WBZ-F slipped to #4, while WROR landed at #5. Both stations suffered large share losses. Market PUMM was down 4.1% from DECEMBER and 1.2% from 2024.

Two down, two to go. Thanks for playing along.  Stay tuned for another action splattered episode. On tap are MIAMI, SEATTLE, PHOENIX, DETROIT, and MINNEAPOLIS. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog at www.ResearchDirectorInc.com/Hot-Topics. And remember, sharing is caring—spread the word far and wide.

-Steve Allan, Programming Research Consultant

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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.

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