Radio Ratings Roundup, March 2026, Part II

April 21, 2026

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC.—along with our committed partners from XTRENDS—bring you another round of the madness of MARCH ratings. We were going to call it MARCH madness but our legal eagles frowned upon that. Which means we also cannot refer to the four weeks of the survey as “the final four.” If we add this book to the previous three it would be a “sweet 16,” but we cannot legally say that. Heaven forbid we cross the monarchs at the NCAA.

What we can tell you is this survey ran from MARCH 5^th through APRIL 1^st. The clocks inexplicably fell forward, the seasons went through their annual change, and we saw the beginnings of PASSOVER. There was probably some basketball in there somewhere, but we are legally prohibited from mentioning that.

Now, back to the countdown…

SAN FRANCISCO: A Two For One Split

The top of the 6+ leaderboard is usually dominated by two spoken word formats. This time they decided to share market leading responsibilities. KQED INC. N/T KQED was #1 for the third book in a row but with its smallest share in over a year (9.9-8.6). This paved the way for AUDACY News KCBS to move up and forge a tie for the lead (8.8-8.6). BONNEVILLE AC KOIT was back as the leading music station at #3 (5.0-4.8), while two stations were sharing the spotlight at #4. BONNEVILLE Hot AC KMVQ (99.7 NOW) moved up a slot (4.6-4.5), while iHEARTMEDIA Soft AC KISQ (98.1 THE BREEZE) wafted in from #7 with its highest score since NOVEMBER (3.7-4.5). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR 101.3) slipped to #6 (4.7-4.1). KOIT padded its cume lead with a 12.7% increase (1,016,200-1,145,600). The market grew by 2.7%.

A flat KMVQ moved up to #1 25-54 for the first time since AUGUST. KQED dipped down to a very close #2 to end a two-book surge. KIOI was back at #3 with a slight increase, while we had a jump ball at #4. KOIT remained in place with a small share loss, while a flat AUDACY Alternative KITS (LIVE 105) rose from #6. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR KYLD (WiLD 94.9) slipped to #6 with a slight decrease.

Despite a down book KMVQ was #1 18-34 for the third straight survey. KOIT repeated at #2 but with its smallest share in over a year. It was paired with SBS Mexican Regional KRZZ (LA RAZA 93.3), which moved up from a three-way tie at #4 with its best showing since DECEMBER. iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR KMEL dipped to #4 as it ended a two-book surge. KISQ and KYLD were last spotted at #7 and #8, respectively. Both stations had up books as they advanced to a tie at #4. They were joined there by KITS, which vaulted from #11 with its best book since NOVEMBER. KIOI dropped from a tie at #4 to #9, while TELEVISAUNIVISION Spanish Adult Hits KBRG (AMOR 100.3) vacated the #4 position and took up residence at #12. It shared that space with KQED, BONNEVILLE Urban AC KBLX and AUDACY Hot AC KLLC (ALICE @ 97.3).

KIOI experienced a small share loss but still rose to #1 18-49. It defeated KQED, which dipped to #2, by the narrowest of possible margins. KMVQ stepped up to #3, while KITS moved up two spots to #4. Both stations were flat. KOIT slipped to #5 with its lowest total since OCTOBER, while KYLD moved down to #6 as it returned most of last month’s share increase.

 ATLANTA: Back On Top

Last month COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A saw its six-survey 6+ winning streak stopped by URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5). WSB-A came roaring back this month to become the market leader once again (6.6-8.5). The battle for second place was being hotly contested. COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) was back at #2 (6.8-7.0), while WAMJ slipped to #3 (7.2-6.9). AUDACY Urban AC WVEE (V-103) repeated at #4 (6.0-6.7). COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) stepped up to #5 (5.7-6.4). COX MEDIA AC WSB-F (B98.5) dipped to #6 (5.9-5.8). The station remained in cume command with a 1.1% increase (762,100-770,600). The market was up 0.3%.

Last month WVEE and WAMJ were the 25-54 co-leaders. WVEE rebounded from a down book to capture the demo flag for the seventh straight survey. WAMJ stepped down to #2 with a slight decrease. WSB-F remained at #3 with a small share gain, while WSRV moved up to #4 with its fourth up book in a row. WSB-A posted its largest number since NOVEMBER as it advanced two spaces to #5. AUDACY Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME) dropped four slots to #8 with its smallest share since SEPTEMBER.

WSRV made it back-to-back 18-34 wins and landed its largest share in over a year. WSB-F remained at #2 but with a down book and now trailed the leader by better than two shares. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WRDG (96.1 THE BEAT) held steady at #3 with a modest share loss. It was paired with WVEE, which moved up a slot with a slight increase. WALR stepped up to #5 with a slight increase.

WVEE had its best 18-49 book in exactly a year as it finished in first place for the fourth book in a row. WSB-F maintained its #2 presence with a solid increase but was forced to share as WSRV advanced from #4 with its highest score in over a year. WAMJ slid from 3 to 4 with a small share loss. WSB-A vaulted from #10 to #5 with a huge share increase, while WRDG slid three places to #8 as it ended a strong two-book surge.

 WASHINGTON, DC: Stuff’s Happening

You may have noticed there’s a lot of news right now and this is the city where the news cycle is on a constant loop. HUBBARD News WTOP was #1 6+ for the tenth book in a row (15.2-14.3). AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was back at #2 (11.8-10.8). Despite both stations having “down” books they continue to rake in about a quarter of all the 6+ shares of listening. Astounding. HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR was the leading music station again at #3 but with its smallest share since JULY (7.0-5.8). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH stepped up to #4 with its best Frosty-free share since JUNE (4.6-5.1). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) dipped to #5 (5.4-4.8) and was being closely pursued by ATLANTIC GATEWAY Contemporary Christian WGTS, which remained at #6 as it bounced back from a down book (4.3-4.6). WTOP still had the most listeners (922,600-927,200) – a 0.5% increase. The market grew by 3.1%.

WAMU was #1 25-54 for the third book in a row, the last two of which were in double figures. WTOP repeated at #2 though it could not quite duplicate last month’s double-digit feat. WASH stepped up to #3 with a strong share increase, while WWDC dipped to #4 with a modest share loss. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5) advanced two spaces to #5 with a slight increase. WHUR stepped down to #6 with its smallest share in over a year. It was tied with WGTS.

WTOP repeated as the 18-34 leader but did exit double-digit territory. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ was back at #2 with its second straight down book. It trailed the leader by a full share. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100) inched up to #3 with its best performance in over a year. Close behind was WASH, which rose to #4 as it rebounded from a down book. WIHT stepped up to #5 despite a small share loss. WHUR slipped from #3 into a tie at #6 with WWDC.

WTOP was #1 18-49 for the third straight survey, the last two of which were in double figures. WAMU remained at #2 with a slight decrease. The stations were separated by a very thin margin. WASH moved up a spot to #3 with its highest Frosty-free share in exactly one year. WWDC inched up to #4 with a slight decrease, while WHUR slipped to #5 with its lowest total since OCTOBER.

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 PHILADELPHIA: Its Lonely At The Top

In FEBRUARY BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK and BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR were the 6+ co-leaders. WMGK remained in place (7.1-7.1), while WMMR drifted down to #5 with its least productive outing since AUGUST (7.1-5.8). AUDACY AC WBEB (B101) and AUDACY Sports WIP (94WIP SPORTSRADIO) were tied at #3. They remained an item as they stepped up to #2 with the exact same 6.5-6.6 shares. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WDAS rose two places to #4 with its third up book in a row (6.1-6.5). AUDACY News KYW dipped to #6 (6.3-5.4). WBEB increased its #1 cume total by 6.1% (1,101,300-1,168,000). The market rose by 4.8%.

WBEB stepped up to #1 25-54 with its best Frosty-free share in over a year. This ended the two-book run at #1 for WMMR, which dipped to #2. It was less than a half share off the pace. WDAS repeated at #3 with a slight increase, while WIP moved up a spot to #4 as it bounced back from a down book. WHYY INC. N/T WHYY inched up to #5 despite a slight decrease. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99) had its best outing since SEPTEMBER as it leapt from #10 to #6. EMF Contemporary Christian WKVP (106.9 K-LOVE) dropped from #4 to #8 with its lowest score since AUGUST. It was tied with BEASLEY Country WXTU (92.5 XTU).

WXTU fared far better with the 18-34 crowd as it moved up to #1 with its highest mark in over a year. The station was dangerously close to hitting double figures. WBEB was up to #2 with its best Frosty-free outing since SEPTEMBER. WMGK rose two places to #3 as it rebounded from a down book. WUSL repeated at #4 with a modest share loss, while URBAN ONE Urban AC WRNB (100.3 RnB) advanced from #11 to #5 with its best book in over a year. WMMR fell from #1 to #6 with its least productive outing since APRIL. BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) slipped to #7 as it surrendered a good portion of last month’s massive increase. It was tied with UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA AAA WXPN.

WBEB copped its best Frosty-free 18-49 share in over a year as it stepped up to #1. WMMR dipped to #2 as its two-book winning double-digit string came to an end. WIP and WXTU were #5 and #6, respectively, last month. Both stations had solid share gains as they moved up into a tie at #3. WUSL moved from #7 to #5 with its highest score since SEPTEMBER. WMGK slid three places to #6, while WDAS dropped from #4 to #7. Both stations had modest share losses.

 BOSTON: This Magic Moment

AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) was flat 6+ for the second straight survey but was #1 for the fourth time in the last five books (6.2-6.2). There were six other stations within a share and a half of the leader. BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR leapt from #5 to #2 with its best outing in over a year (5.2-5.6). BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR dipped to #3 as it ended a two-book surge (5.7-5.3). iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108) stepped up to #4 as it rebounded from a down book (4.9-5.2). BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) slipped to #5 (5.3-5.1), while WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION Classical WCRB (CLASSICAL 98.5) vaulted from #12 to #6 with its highest score in over a year (3.6-4.9). AUDACY Hot AC WBMX (MIX 104.1) fell from #3 to #7 as it returned most of last month’s share increase (5.3-4.7). WMJX was still the cume leader with a 0.6% increase (827,000-832,200). The market was up 0.5%.

The top three 25-54 stations were within a half share of one another. WBMX made it back-to-back wins with a slight decrease, while a flat WBZ-F was back at #2. WXKS bounced back from a down book to repeat at #3. WMJX held steady at #4 with its highest Frosty-free number in over a year. WBUR leapt from #8 to #5 with its best outing since MAY. AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103) inched up to #6 with a small increase. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX and WROR were tied at #5. Both stations experienced large share losses as they fell in tandem to #7.

A flat WMJX was #1 18-34 for the fifth straight survey. WXKS was up two slots to #2 with its best book since AUGUST but still trailed the leader by about a share and a half. iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) dipped to #3 as it surrendered some of last month’s huge share increase. WBMX stepped down to #4 with its lowest mark since DECEMBER. In FEBRUARY there was a threesome at #4. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT 96.9) cooled off to #5 despite landing its largest share since NOVEMBER. WBUR fell into a tie at #11 with WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION N/T WGBH, while WROR landed alone at #15 with its lowest total since AUGUST.

Three stations were closely huddled together atop the 18-49 chart. WBMX was back at #1 but with a down book. WXKS remained at #2 but was paired with WMJX, which moved up a spot. Both stations had solid increases. WBZ-F stepped up to #4 with a small share gain, while WJMN was up to #5 with a slight increase. WROR fell from #4 to #8, again with its smallest share since AUGUST.

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