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Radio Ratings Roundup, April 2026, Part II
May 19, 2026
If APRIL showers bring MAY flowers, what do APRIL ratings bring? We’ll let that one just hang in the air for a bit and let the radio pundit class debate it. We are merely the humble Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC. We embark on this monthly journey through the morass of data with our trusty partners from XTRENDS.
This book ran from APRIL 2nd through APRIL 29th, a rare calendar convergence. It featured the EASTER holiday, the introduction of the ABS system “for real” and, of course, those aforementioned precipitation events. Here’s how it all played out…
SAN FRANCISCO: Spoken Word Rules
As usual. Last month KQED INC. N/T KQED and AUDACY News KCBS (ALL NEWS 106.9FM/740AM) were the 6+ co-leaders. KQED remained on top for the fourth book in a row (8.6-9.2), while KCBS drifted down to second place (8.6-8.7). The music posse was fighting for third place. That went to BONNEVILLE AC KOIT (4.8-4.6). BONNEVILLE Hot AC KMVQ (99.7 NOW) remained at #4 (4.5-4.4) but was paired with iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KIOI (STAR 101.3), which rose from #6 (4.1-4.4). iHEARTMEDIA Soft AC KISQ (98.1 THE BREEZE) wafted down to #6 (4.5-4.3). KOIT was still the cume leader despite a 10.7% decline (1,145,600-1,022,900). The market was off at 1.6%.
Last survey KQED and KIOI were #2 and #3, respectively, 25-54. KQED was up slightly while KIOI landed its fifth straight up book. Both stations rose together to #1. KMVQ went from first to third with a small share loss. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR KYLD (WiLD 94.9) moved from #6 to #4 with its best outing in over a year. SBS Regional Mexican KRZZ (LA RAZA 93.3) also landed its largest share in over a year as it rose from #7 to #5. A couple of stations were forced to exit the top five. AUDACY Alternative KITS (LIVE 105) and KOIT went from a tie at #4 to #6 and #7, respectively.
There was also sort of movement in the 18-34 ranks. KOIT rebounded from a down book to rise to #1. KRZZ remained behind at #2 and was paired with iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR KMEL, which moved up from #4 as it also bounced back from a down book. KMVQ went from first to fourth with its smallest share since the place was lousy with leaping lords. It was joined there by KISQ, up from #5, and KIOI, which advanced from #9 with its best showing in over a year. KYLD and KITS slipped from a tie at #5 into the same situation at #8.
In an odd turn of events the top four 18-49 stations each posted their largest number in over a year. KIOI repeated as the market leader, while KYLD vaulted from #6 to #2. KMVQ remained at #3 and was met there by KRZZ, which advanced from #8. KQED slid from #2 to #5. KITS went from #4 to #6, while KOIT slipped from #5 to #7. All three stations had slight decreases.
ATLANTA: The Majic Is Back
Last month URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) went from first to third 6+. The station responded with its highest share in over a rear to move back to #1 (6.9-7.5). COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) kept flowing at #2 (7.0-7.4), while the previous leader—COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A—slid to #3 as it returned most of last month’s huge increase (8.5-7.0). AUDACY Urban AC WVEE (V-103) repeated at #4 (6.7-6.7), while COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) was back at #5 (6.4-6.3). COX MEDIA AC WSB-F (B98.5) still had the most listeners (770,600-787,500)—a 2.2% rise. The market grew by 0.4%.
When last we visited, WAMJ and WSB-F were #2 and #3, respectively, 25-54. Each station posted its best score in over a year as they rose as one to #1. WVEE went from #1 to #3 with a modest share loss. WSRV repeated at #4 with a slight decrease. AUDACY Sports WZGC (92.9FM THE GAME) advanced from #8 to #5 as it rebounded from a down book. WSB-A slipped to #6 and was tied with WALR.
WSB-F landed its largest 18-34 share since NOVEMBER as it stepped up to #1. It narrowly edged the former leader as WSRV dipped to second place with a slight decrease. They were well ahead of #3 WVEE, which held steady with a small share loss. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WRDG (96.1 THE BEAT) dipped to #4 with its smallest share since Santa was roaming the streets. It was paired with WALR, which stepped up a spot with a solid increase.
Thanks to its best 18-49 book in over a year, WSB-F moved up to #1. This ended the four-book winning string for WVEE, which stepped down to #2. WSRV dipped to #3 with a slight increase, while WAMJ repeated at #4 with its best showing in exactly a year. WSB-A was back at #5 with a down book.
WASHINGTON, DC: Turn It Up To Eleven
HUBBARD News WTOP was #1 6+ for the eleventh straight survey, all of which have been in double figures (14.3-12.9). AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was in second place again as it extended its double-digit string to four (10.8-10.4). The leading music station this time was ATLANTIC GATEWAY Contemporary Christian WGTS, which rose from #6 to #3 with its best performance in over a year (4.6-5.7). HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR dipped to #4 with its smallest share in exactly a year (5.8-5.4). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH stepped down to #5 (5.1-5.0), while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) slipped to #6 (4.8-4.9). WASH padded its cume lead with a 9.1% increase (795,700-868,200). The market was up by 0.5%.
WAMU was #1 25-54 for the fourth straight survey, the last three of which have been in double figures. WTOP remained at #2 and continued to trail the leader by about a share. WWDC rebounded from a down book to step up to #3, while WASH dipped to #4 with a slight decrease. WGTS inched up to #5 as it ended a steep two-book slide. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5) slid from #5 to #8 with its lowest score since we were hallucinating about fruit.
WASH had its best Frosty-free 18-34 share in over a year as it rose from #4 to #1. This pushed two-time winner WTOP down to #2. WIHT leapt from #5 to #3 as it halted a two-book slide. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100) dipped to #4 with its lowest mark since NOVEMBER. A flat WWDC moved up a spot to #5, while iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ fell from #2 to #6. It shed almost half its previous share.
WTOP was #1 18-49 for the fourth straight survey but was unable to extend its double-digit string to three. WAMU remained at #2 with a down book and was a half share off the pace. WASH repeated at #3 with its highest Frosty-free share in over a year, while WWDC was back at #4 with a modest share increase. WGTS rose from #8 to #5, while WHUR fell from #5 to #8.
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PHILADELPHIA: Good Sports
The anticipation of the PHILLIES slow start fueled AUDACY Sports WIP (94WIP SPORTARADIO) to #1 6+ (6.6-7.4). BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR regained most of last month’s large share loss as it moved from #5 to #2 (5.8-6.9). BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK had its two-book winning streak snapped as it slipped to #3 (7.1-6.3). AUDACY AC WBEB (B101) went from a tie at #2 to #4 (6.6-6.1), while iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS dipped to #5 (6.5-5.9). WBEB still held the cume lead despite a 0.8% decline (1,168,000-1,158,500). The market increased 1.0%.
The 25-54 space was a tale of two stations. WMMR regained all of last month’s share loss—plus some added value—as it moved back to #1. Meanwhile, WBEB returned most of last month’s large increase as it stepped down to #2. WIP and WDAS also pulled a switcheroo with WIP up to #3 with a solid share gain, while WDAS dipped to #4 with a small share loss. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99) was up a spot to #5 with a slight decrease. This pushed WHYY INC. N/T WHYY down to #6 where it was tied with iHeart Media Pop CHR WIOQ (Q102).
Beasley Country WXTU (92.5 XTU) and WBEB remained #1 and #2, respectively, 18-34 despite the fact that both stations experienced large share losses. iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (ALT 104.5) vaulted from #9 to a very close #3 with its best showing since JULY. BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) rose from #7 to #4 as it bounced back from a down book. WUSL dipped to #5, while WMGK dropped from #3 to #6. Both stations had noticeable share losses. URBAN ONE Urban AC WRNB (100.3 RnB) dropped from #5 to #13 as it returned all of last month’s share increase, plus a little extra.
As with the previous demo, WMMR got back some of last month’s huge share loss to move up to #1 18-49, while WBEB did the opposite as it stepped down to #2. WIP repeated at #3 with a solid increase, while WUSL inched up to #4 with a small share loss. WXTU slipped from #3 to #5 and narrowly defeated WBEN, which rose from #9 to #6.
BOSTON: Wait, Wait…
We’ll tell you. BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR moved up to #1 6+ with its best showing in over a year (5.6-6.6). Two stations moved up to forge a tie at #2. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108) rose from #4 with its fourth straight up book (5.2-5.9), while BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) advanced from #5 (5.1-5.9). This ended the two-book winning string for AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7), which drifted down to #4 with its smallest share since JULY (6.2-5.8). BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR went from #3 to #5 (5.3-5.6). WMJX kept the cume crown with a 3.4% increase (832,200-860,900). The market was up 2.1%.
WXKS leapt from #3 to #1 25-54 with its highest mark in over a year. WBZ-F was back at #2 with a small increase and trailed the new leader by a full share. This halted the two-book winning streak for AUDACY Hot AC WBMX (MIX 104.1), which slipped to #3 with a slight decrease. WBUR stepped up to #4 with its fourth straight up book. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX went from #7 to #5 as it bounced back from a down book. WMJX slipped two places to #6 as it returned all of last month’s share increase.
Despite a slight decrease WMJX was #1 18-34 for the sixth straight survey. A flat WXKS repeated at #2 but was joined in that space by WBMX, which rose from #4 as it rebounded from a down book. IHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) dipped to #4 with its second straight down book. It was partnered with a couple of stations that came roaring up the chart. AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103) vaulted from #13 with its highest mark in over a year. WZLX advanced from #16 with its best book since SEPTEMBER. BEASLEY Rhythmic AC WBQT (HOT 96.9) slid from #5 to #8 thus ending a three-book surge.
WXKS had its best 18-49 book in over a year as it moved up to #1. WBMX was down to #2 and went from a small lead to trailing by more than a share. WBUR leapt from #6 to #3 with its highest score in over a year. WMJX slipped to #4 and met up with the stationary WBZ-F. WZLX rose from #9 to #6, while WJMN dipped from #5 to #7.
Thanks for reading. We have a fresh batch of markets baking in the oven. 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.
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