Radio Ratings Roundup, July 2026, Part I

August 10, 2026

There is reality and then there is radio ratings reality. The glorious disconnect between the two is spurious at best. Out in the wild, people are slapping mosquitoes, screaming over jet skis, and arguing about who forgot the bag of ice. Meanwhile, inside the spreadsheet, that very same chaotic chaos is translated into neat little decimal points representing cumulative reach and listener loyalty. It is a world where an extra three minutes of air conditioning in a grocery store parking lot can rewrite the fortune of a morning drive show. We do, however, applaud NIELSEN for their steadfast dedication to order, quietly quantifying the unquantifiable while the rest of humanity is just trying not to get sunburned.

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC.—along with the tall, tanned and lovely numbers crunchers from XTRENDS—bring you the JULY book. It ran from JUNE 25^TH through JULY 22^ND and it was hot, damned hot.

NEW YORK: Summer In The City

The heat on the street led to stagnation atop the 6+ leaderboard as the top five was unchanged from last month. iHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (106.7 LITE FM) was #1 for the fifth book in a row (7.5-7.9). AUDACY News WINS (1010 WINS) was back at #2 with its best showing since FEBRUARY (7.1-7.4). AUDACY Classic Hits WCBS repeated at #3 (5.8-5.7), while iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WHTZ (Z100) remained at #4 (5.6-5.2). Rounding out the top five again was iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3) (4.9-4.8). MEDIACO Urban AC WBLS ended a three-book slide as it rose from #11 to #6 (3.7-4.5). WLTW was still in cume control (3,801,500-3,791,300)—a 0.3% decline. The market fell by 2.6%.

After a two-book hiatus, WLTW was back at #1 25-54 with its best Frosty-free share since NOVEMBER. WHTZ dipped to #2 with its smallest share since FEBRUARY. iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC WKTU (103.5 KTU) remained at #3, while WINS advanced from #7 to #4. Both stations landed their largest shares in over a year. WCBS stepped down to #5 with a slight decrease, while a flat iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WWPR (POWER 105.1) slipped to #6.

Not only was WLTW #1 18-34 for the tenth book in a row, the station also cracked double figures. AUDACY Hot AC WNEW (NEW 102.7) rebounded from a down book as it leapt from #8 to #2. WHTZ moved down to #3 with a slight increase, while WAXQ stepped up to #4 with its best outing in over a year. WBLS turned it up from #11 to #5 ending another three-book skid. Three stations dropped out of the top five. MEDIACO Rhythmic CHR WQHT (HOT 97) went from #4 to #7 as it returned most of last month’s increase. SBS Spanish Contemporary WPAT (93.1 AMOR) went from #3 to #8, while WCBS fell from #5 to #10 with its smallest share in over a year.

WLTW was back at #1 18-49 with its highest Frosty-free share in over a year. WHTZ remained at #2 and was about two shares off the lead. WKTU repeated at #3 and was paired with WNEW, which moved up from #5. WINS vaulted from #11 to #5 with its highest score in over a year. WQHT slid from #4 to #8.

LOS ANGELES: Big Time

As a wise basketball coach said, luck is when preparation meets opportunity. iHEARTMEDIA Hot KBIG (104.3 MYFM) was ready for its closeup as it moved up to #1 6+ (6.2-6.2). AUDACY Classic Hits KRTH (K-EARTH 101.1) stepped up to #2 (5.8-5.9). This ended the eight-book winning string for iHEARTMEDIA AC KOST, which drifted down to #3 with its smallest share since OCTOBER (6.5-5.8). AUDACY Urban AC KTWV (94.7 THE WAVE) rose to #4 with its highest water mark since SEPTEMBER (4.3-4.8). AUDACY Adult Hits KCBS (93.1 JACK FM) dipped to #5 (4.6-4.7), while iHEARTMEDIA N/T KFI-A stepped down to #6 (4.5-4.4). KOST still had the most listeners despite a 9.3% drop (2,371,100-2,150,400). The market was down 2.2%.

Despite a down book, KBIG was #1 25-54 for the fifth straight survey. However, its lead over #2 KRTH shrank to a half share. Last month the #5 position was the Alternative battleground as both AUDACY Alternative KROQ and iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KYSR (ALT 98.7) occupied that space. KROQ was up to #3 with a solid increase, while KYSR inched up to #4 with a slight decrease. KOST and KCBS were last seen at #3 and #4, respectively. Both stations had down books as they landed together at #5.

KRTH got some major ratings love as it stepped up to #1 18-34 with its best book since NOVEMBER. KTWV was up to #2 with its highest mark in over a year. This ended another eight-book winning string for KOST, which slipped to #3. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary KRRL (REAL 92.3) and iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR KIIS (102.7 KISS FM) were previously partners at #7. KRRL rose to #4, while KIIS was up to #5. Both stations had up books. KYSR fell from #4 to #9 with its lowest total since the swans were swanning. MOUNT WILSON Country KKGO (GO COUNTRY 105 FM) dropped from #5 to #14 as it ended a robust three-book surge. It was tied with ENTRAVISION Spanish Adult Hits KLYY (JOSÉ FM 97.5/107.1).

KBIG returned a good portion of last month’s increase but had enough left in the tank to remain #1 18-49. KRTH moved up to #2 with its best book since NOVEMBER. A flat KCBS was up to #3, while KOST slid from #2 to #4. KROQ repeated at #5 with a slight increase.

CHICAGO: A Media Mix

This month the top of the 6+ chart became much more contested. HUBBARD Hot AC WTMX (101.9 THE MIX) was #1 for the third straight survey (6.0-6.0). AUDACY News WBBM-A moved up to #2 with its first up book since MARCH (5.5-5.8). iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WVAZ (V103) jumped from #6 to #3 with its best book in over a year (4.4-5.5). AUDACY AAA WXRT (93XRT) slipped to #4 with its smallest share since JANUARY (5.6-5.4). AUDACY Country WUSN (US99) dipped to #5 (5.4-4.9). It was tied with the stationary iHEARTMEDIA AC WLIT (93.9 LITE FM) (5.1-4.9). The station was still the cume leader with a 4.6% rise (1,253,000-1,310,900). The market was down 1.4%.

WTMX dominated the 25-54 space for the seventh book in a row. WXRT moved up to #2 with a slight decrease and was more than three shares off the pace. WUSN stood alone at #3. It narrowly edged iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WGCI, which inched up to #4 with its highest grade in over a year. A small step behind was iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WKSC (103.5 KISS FM), which slid from #2 with its lowest mark since JANUARY.

That said, WKSC was the 18-34 leader for the seventh straight survey. The station was unable to extend its three-book double-digit streak but held nearly a two-share lead over WLIT. It vaulted from #10 to #2, more than doubling its previous number in the process. AUDACY Pop CHR WBBM-F (B96) dipped to #3, while WVAZ rose from #8 to #4 with its third up book in a row. WUSN went from #3 to #5 as it halted a three-book surge. WTMX slipped to #6 and was tied with HUBBARD Classic Rock WDRV (97.1 THE DRIVE).

This month’s column is sponsored by the number seven. That’s how many consecutive #1 18-49 books WTMX has posted. It held a very small advantage over two stations at #2. WKSC remained in place with a noticeable share loss, while WGCI moved up a slot with a slight increase. WLIT advanced from #12 to #4 with its best Frosty-free share in over a year. WXRT dipped to #5, while WUSN stepped down to #6. Both stations had small share losses.

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DALLAS-FT. WORTH: Shining Star

For the second book in a row iHEARTMEDIA AC KDGE (STAR 102.1) was the 6+ leader. The station also posted its largest Frosty-free share in over a year (5.4-6.0). iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KDMX (MIX 102.9) stepped up to #2 (4.4-4.8), while iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR KHKS (106.1 KISS FM) jumped from #7 to #3 (3.6-4.1). TELEVISAUNIVISION Mexican Regional KLNO (QUÉ BUENA 94.1) vaulted from #9 to #4 as it stopped a three-book slide (3.3-4.0). AUDACY Classic Hits KSPF (98.7 THE SPOT) remained at #5 (3.9-3.9). EMF Contemporary Christian KYDA (AIR1) surrendered most of last month’s massive increase as it fell from #2 to #9(5.2-3.6). KDGE retained the cume crown with a 2.9% increase (1,192,500-1,227,200). The market was off by 0.4%.

KDGE was back at #1 25-54 with its third up book in a row. KLNO repeated at #2 with its best outing since MARCH. KDMX stepped up to #3 as it bounced back from a down book. AUDACY Sports KRLD (105.3 THE FAN) jumped from #8 to #4, while KHKS moved from #7 to #5. Both stations had strong share increases. AUDACY Adult Hits KJKK (100.3 JACK FM) slipped three places to #6 thus ending its two-book surge.

KDMX regained most of last survey’s share loss, which propelled the station to #1 18-34. KDGE and KHKS were previously an item at #3. A flat KDGE inched up to #2, while KHKS remained behind at #3 with a noticeable share loss. AUDACY Alternative KVIL (ALT 103.7) was up two slots to #4 and got back about half of last month’s rather large share loss. URBAN ONE Urban AC KKDA (K104) fell from #1 to #5 with its smallest share since JANUARY. It was paired with KYDA, which dropped down from #4.

KDMX landed its largest 18-49 share in over a year as it stepped up to #1. This pushed KDGE, which had a slight increase, down to #2. KLNO remained at #3 with a solid increase, while KHKS was up two places to #4 with its highest score since SEPTEMBER. KRLD worked it from #9 to #5 with its best offensive performance in over a year. KKDA and KYDA were last seen at #4. KKDA slipped into a tie at #6 with KJKK, while KYDA dropped to #8.

HOUSTON-GALVESTON: Spot Remover

It’s a radio cliché that the last book for a station changing formats is often its best one. We’re going to bury the lead here and tell you that iHEARTMEDIA AC KODA (SUNNY 99.1) was #1 6+ for the twelfth straight survey (9.4-9.6). Moving up to a distant #2 was URBAN ONE Classic Rock KGLK (THE EAGLE 106.9/107.5), which ended a four-book surge (6.9-6.8). URBAN ONE Urban AC KMJQ (MAJIC 102.1) dipped to #3 with its smallest share since SEPTEMBER (7.3-6.6). iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTBZ (94.5 THE BUZZ) was back at #4 (5.6-5.5), while URBAN ONE Country KKBQ (93Q COUNTRY) remained at #5 (5.0-5.4). Now to our top story. This was the final full survey for AUDACY Adult Hits KKHH (95.7 THE SPOT) before it disappears into the ether. The station was still at #6 but, naturally, with its best book in over a year (4.7-5.3). Despite a 8.5% drop, KODA still found the most meters (1,969,800-1,802,600). The market was down 0.8%

KTBZ continued to run roughshod over the 25-54 field as the station notched its sixth straight win. KKHH jumped from #5 to #2 with—you guessed it—the station’s best outing in over a year. KODA dipped to #3 with a slight decrease, while HOPE MEDIA Contemporary Christian KSBJ moved from #6 to #4 as it bounced back from a down book. KMJQ slipped to #5, while AUDACY Hot AC KHMX (MIX 96.5) repeated at #6 but with its highest mark since FEBRUARY. KGLK slid from #4 to #7.

KTBZ continued to be the station of choice with the 18-34 crowd. It was #1 for the seventh straight survey, though its double-digit streak ended at five. KKHH held steady at #2, again with its highest share in over a year. KODA was back at #3 with a solid increase, while KGLK moved from #6 to #4 with a slight increase. AUDACY Spanish Contemporary KLOL (MEGA 101 fm) was up two slots to #5 despite a slight decrease. KHMX dipped to #6. It was partnered with KMJQ—up from #8—and KSBJ—up from #10. URBAN ONE Rhythmic CHR KBXX (97.9 THE BOX) slid from #4 to #9 as it ended a strong three-book surge.

KTBZ continued to hold sway with the 18-49 situation, capturing their attention for the fourth book in a row. KODA returned at #2 as it cut the lead in half. KKHH stepped up to #3 with—surprise!—its best book in over a year. KSBJ rose from #9 to #4 as it bounced back from a down book. KGLK slipped to #5 and was tied with the stationary KHMX. KBXX went from #5 to #7.

Thanks for listening. Up after the break are SAN FRANCISCO, ATLANTA, WASHINGTON D.C., PHILADELPHIA, and BOSTON. They will be in your inbox tomorrow.

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