Radio Ratings Roundup, May 2026 Part II

June 16, 2026

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC.—along with our intrepid cohorts from XTRENDS—are back to regale you with stories and sagas contained within the MAY survey. This survey ran from APRIL 30^th through MAY 27^th. There was a long weekend, a salute to Mom, and a perfect excuse for day drinking. It was a month of celebrations and remembrances.

Did you know it was also Older Americans Month? It’s actually a thing, sponsored by a government agency and it has been around since 1963. The best part? It’s all about a demo that radio (and too many advertisers) ignores, despite the fact they are one of our most loyal demos. I’m speaking, of course, about 65+.

You won’t see any results of that kind as we proceed with the countdown:

SAN FRANCISCO: The AC Is On

The 6+ leaderboard is almost always a spoken word thing. And that did not change this month. KQED INC. N/T KQED was #1 for the fifth straight survey (9.2-9.3). In its customary #2 position was AUDACY News KCBS (8.7-8.8). The music flavor of MAY was various spins on the Adult Contemporary format. iHEARTMEDIA Soft AC KISQ (98.1 THE BREEZE) stepped up to #3 with its best showing in over a year (4.3-5.3). CONNOISSEUR AC KOIT dipped to #4 (4.6-4.8). CONNOISSEUR Hot AC KMVQ (99.7 NOW) and iHEARTMEDIA AC KIOI (STAR 101.3) remained tied as they slipped from #4 to #5. Both stations went 4.4-4.7, which was a 14-book high for KMVQ. KOIT was still picked up by the most meters (1,022,900-1,054,700) – a 3.1% rise. The market was off by 0.3%.

Last month KIOI and KQED were the 25-54 co-leaders. KIOI remained on top with its sixth up book in a row. KQED stepped down to #2 with a slight decrease. It was paired with KMVQ, which moved up a spot with a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR KYLD (WiLD 94.9) repeated at #4 with a slight share loss. KOIT was up to #5 as it halted a two-book slide. KISQ rose from #10 to #6 with its best showing since OCTOBER. SBS Mexican Regional KRZZ (LA RAZA 93.3) fell from #5 to #9 as it returned all of last month’s share increase, plus a bit extra.

The 18-34 space was another AC haven. KOIT repeated as the leader with its best Frosty-free share since SEPTEMBER. KISQ moved from a tie at #4 to #2 but remained two shares off the pace. KIOI stepped up from a tie at #4 to #3 with its highest score in over a year. KMVQ was still at #4 but with a new partner in iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR KMEL, which slipped from a tie at #2 as it gave back all of last month’s increase. KRZZ was also last seen at #2. It dropped into a tie at #7 with AUDACY Alternative KITS (LIVE 105).

A flat KIOI was #1 18-49 for the third book in a row. KMVQ inched up to #2 with a slight increase and was less than a half share off the lead. Three—count ‘em—three stations were languishing at #3. KYLD dipped from #2 with a small share loss. KQED was up from #5, while KOIT advanced from #7. Both stations had up books. KISQ rose from #11 to #6, while KRZZ fell from #3 to #9.

ATLANTA: Rollin’ On The River

The big NIELSEN wheel kept turning as COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) posted its fifth straight up book in the 6+ realm. This moved the station up to #1 (7.4-7.6). However, it was feeling the heat from a couple of other stations. URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) stepped down to a very close #2 (7.5-7.4), while COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A remained in place at #3 (7.0-7.1). AUDACY Urban AC WVEE (V-103) was back at #4 (6.7-6.1), while COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) repeated at #5 (6.3-5.9). COX MEDIA AC WSB-F (B98.5) remained in the mix at #6 but with its smallest share since the geese were making more geese (6.1-5.4). Despite a 3.8% decline, WSB-F continued as the cume leader (787,500-757,600). The market was down 0.7%.

Last month WAMJ and WSB-F were tied atop the 25-54 leaderboard. This time WAMJ stood alone in first place with its best book in over a year. WSB-F slipped to #3 as it returned most of last month’s large increase. Between those two was WVEE, which moved up to #2 with a slight increase. WSRV was back at #4 but with a small share loss. WALR stepped up to #5 with a slight increase, while AUDACY Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME) fell from #5 to #8 as it also returned most of last month’s gain.

In APRIL WSB-F and WSRV were #1 and #2, respectively 18-34. They also were well ahead of the rest of the field. This time, both stations suffered huge share losses and when the dust settled WSRV was #1 with WSB-F placing at #2. WVEE was back at #3 but with its lowest mark since OCTOBER. It was paired with AUDACY Rhythmic AC WSTR (STAR 94), which advanced from #8 with its best Frosty-free share in a year. WALR and iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WRDG (96.1 THE BEAT) slipped in tandem from a tie at #4 to #5 thanks to noticeable share losses.

WAMJ vaulted from #4 to #1 18-49 with its best outing in over a year. WVEE was back at #2 with a slight decrease and trailed the leader by the narrowest of possible margins. WSB-F went from first to third with its first down book since JANUARY. WSRV dipped to #4 with a rather large share loss. WSTR rose from #8 to #5 as it bounced back from a down book. WSB-A went from #5 into a tie at #6 with WALR.

 WASHINGTON, DC: Lucky #13

For the first time since last JUNE, HUBBARD News WTOP was not the leading 6+ station. If you’re keeping track, that’s a twelve-book winning string. The Station dipped to #2 with its smallest share in over a year (12.9-10.2). Rising to #1 was AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU (10.4-11.6). Moving up from #6 to #3— and claiming leading music station status—was iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) (4.9-5.4). HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR was back at #4 (5.4-5.2), while ATLANTIC GATEWAY Contemporary Christian WGTS slipped from #3 to #5 as it ended a strong two-book surge (5.7-5.1). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH stepped down to #6 (5.0-4.9). Despite a 2.9% drop WTOP was still your cume commander (868,000-842,500). The market was off by 0.6%.

For the fifth book in a row, WAMU was #1 25-54. The station also extended its double-digit share streak to four. WWDC moved up to #2 with its best outing since JANUARY but trailed the leader by three shares. WTOP stepped down to #3 with its lowest mark since Grandma was roadkill. A flat WGTS moved up to #4, while WASH dipped to #5 with its smallest share since SEPTEMBER.

Despite a significant share loss, WASH was back at #1 18-34. WWDC rose from #5 to #2 and was under a share behind the leader. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5) repeated at #3, while iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100) remained at #4. Both stations had modest share losses. AUDACY Sports WJFK (106.7 THE FAN) advanced from #8 to #5 with its best offensive performance in over a year. As recently as JANUARY the station was sitting at #15. WTOP fell from #2 to #7, losing more than half its previous share. Also coming in at #7 were WGTS, WHUR, AUDACY Classic Hits WIAD (94.7 THE DRIVE) and AUDACY Rhythmic CHR WPGC.

For the first time since NOVEMBER, WAMU was #1 18-49. WWDC went from #4 to #2 with its highest mark in over a year. However, it was more than two shares off the pace. This ended the four-book winning string for WTOP, which slipped to #3. WASH dipped to #4 with its smallest share since JULY. It was paired with WGTS, which stepped up from #5 despite a small share loss. WHUR rose from #8 to #6.

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PHILADELPHIA: Good Sports

AUDACY Sports WIP (94WIP SPORTSRADIO) was back at #1 6+ with its third up book in a row (7.4-8.0). BEASLEY Active Rock WMMR was back at #2 (6.9-6.7) but it was not alone. iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS rose from #5 to forge a tie thanks to its best outing in over a year (5.9-6.7). AUDACY AC WBEB (B101) remained at #4 (6.1-6.2), while BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK slipped from #3 to #5 (6.3-6.0). AUDACY News KYW held steady at #6 (5.5-5.7). WBEB still had the most listeners (1,158,500-1,154,800) – a 0.3% decline. The market was down 0.1%.

For the second book in a row—and eleventh time in the last 14 surveys—WMMR was #1 25-54. WDAS was up two places to #2, again with its best book in over a year. The stations were separated by a share and a half. WIP remained at #3 with a slight increase, while WBEB slipped from #2 to #4 with a slight decrease. WHYY INC. N/T WHYY stepped up to #5 as it ended a three-book slide. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99) dipped to #6 with a small share loss.

BEASLEY Country WXTU (92.5 XTU) was #1 18-34 for the third straight survey. WBEB remained at
#2 but was paired with iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (ALT 104.5), which moved up a slot with its highest score in over a year. That dynamic duo trailed the leader by about a share. BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) was back at #4 and held a narrow lead over two stations at #5. WMGK moved up from #6 with a small increase, while WIP advanced from #7. WUSL slipped from #5 to #7 with its third down book in a row.

The top three 18-49 stations were the same as last month. WMMR was #1, WBEB #2 and WIP #3. All three stations had small increases. WXTU inched up to #4, while WDAS rose from #9 to #5. Both stations rebounded from down books. WUSL slipped to #6 with a small share loss.

 BOSTON: Fit To Be Tied

BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR was back at #1 6+ (6.6-6.2) but was forced to share as BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR advanced from #5 with its best book since OCTOBER (5.6-6.2). AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) stepped up to a very close #3 as it bounced back from a down book (5.8-6.1). iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108) slipped two places to #4 (5.9-5.6). It was met there by iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX, which rose from #6 with its fourth up book in a row (5.2-5.6). BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) landed its lowest share since AUGUST as it fell from a tie at #2 to #7 (5.9-4.7). WMJX kept the cume crown despite a 0.3% decline (860,900-858,700). The market also fell by 0.3%.

WXKS was #1 25-54 for the second book in a row but saw its lead shrink to under a share as AUDACY Hot AC WBMX (MIX 104.1) stepped up to #2 with its highest score since JULY. WBZ-F dipped to #3 with a small share loss, while WZLX stepped up to #4 with its best showing since AUGUST. WBUR dipped to #5 as it halted a strong four-book surge.

Despite landing its lowest share since AUGUST, WMJX was #1 18-34 for the seventh straight survey. WBMX returned at #2 but cut the lead from almost a share and a half to less than a share. WROR vaulted from a tie at #9 to #3 with its best book since DECEMBER. WXKS slipped from a tie at #2 to #4 and joined up with the stationary WZLX. AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103) slipped to #6 and was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Spanish Contemporary WZRM (RUMBA 97.7), which advanced from #13 with its largest share since JUNE. iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) dropped from a tie at #4 to #8 with only a slight decrease.

WXKS and WBMX were back at #1 and #2, respectively, 18-49. WZLX rose from #6 to #3 with its highest mark in over a year. WMJX repeated at #4 with a slight increase, while WBUR went from #3 to #5 as its four-book surge ground to a halt. WBZ-F slipped from #4 to #6 with its least productive outing in over a year.

We appreciate you taking the time to read this here missive. More to come! 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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