Radio Ratings Roundup, July 2026 Part IV

August 13, 2026

The bell has rung for the final lap of the JULY ratings race. What have we learned? Welp, predicting what will happen in any market is an inexact science. Some remain fixated on their previous positions, while others fluctuate wildly. You would think that since we have deep knowledge and experience in these matters, we could make a fortune on something like KALSHI. But betting on the meters may not be a sound investment.

The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC—along with the power players from XTRENDS—do our level best to give you insight and perspective every month. This one ran from JUNE 25^TH through JULY 22^ND. While radio folk were focused on the AC format, everyone else was focused on the AC thermostat.

TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG-CLEARWATER: More Dove Love

For the sixth book in a row, COX MEDIA Soft AC WDUV (105.5 THE DOVE) was the runaway 6+ leader (11.0-9.9). COX MEDIA Classic Hits WXGL (107.3 THE EAGLE) flew up to #2 as it bounced back from a down book (5.6-6.1). RADIO TRAINING NETWORK Contemporary Christian WCIE (THE JOY FM) repeated at #3 (5.8-5.9), while iHEARTMEDIA AC WMTX (MIX 100.7) slipped to #4 as it surrendered most of last month’s share increase (6.0-5.4). BEASLEY Classic Hits WRBQ (Q105) dipped to #5 with its smallest share since the geese were making more geese (5.6-5.2). Despite a 5.4% drop, WDUV remained in cume control (626,200-592,300). The market was down 1.2%.

There was a changing of the 25-54 guards as WDUV’s five-book winning string came to an end. The station moved down to #3. Two stations replaced it at #1. WRBQ rose from #3 as it rebounded from a down book, while iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock WXTB (98 ROCK) advanced from #4 with its third up book in a row. Also coming in at #3 was COX MEDIA Hot AC WWRM (MAGIC 94.9), which moved up from #5 with a slight increase. WMTX slid from #2 to #5 with its smallest share since MARCH. WCIE dipped to #6 and was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WFLZ (93.3 FLZ).

The 18-34 contest was both shaken and stirred. WXGL vaulted from #14 to #1 as it more than doubled its last number. It was being chased by three stations at #2, all of which improved their previous status. WCIE was up from #4 with a small share loss, while WFLZ rose from #5 with a slight increase. WWRM moved up from #6 as it regained a small portion of last month’s massive share loss. WDUV snapped its four-book winning string and dropped down to #5. It was met there by COX MEDIA Urban AC WTBV (101.5 THE VIBE), which was up from #8 with its largest share since SEPTEMBER. WXTB and WMTX were last seen at #2 and #3, respectively. They fell as one into a tie at #7.

Though WMTX returned all of last survey’s increase, the station still managed to repeat at #1 18-49. WWRM was up two slots to #2 with a slight increase and was paired with WFLZ, which advanced from #7 with its highest score since MARCH. They trailed the leader by less than a half share. WCIE stepped down to #4 with its lowest mark since AUGUST. WDUV slipped from #2 to #5 and was joined there by WRBQ, which rose from #8. WXTB slid from #4 to #7 but was very close to remaining in the top five.

DENVER-BOULDER: It’s Cozy, Not Koozie

Just wanted to clear up any confusion. For the third book in a row, BONNEVILLE AC KOSI (KOSI 101.1) was #1 6+ (6.9-6.9). BONNEVILLE Country KYGO rose to #2 with its best outing since SEPTEMBER (5.3-6.0). AUDACY Classic Rock KQMT (99.5 THE MOUNTAIN) slid to #3 with its smallest share since OCTOBER (6.0-5.2). It was tied with the stationary iHEARTMEDIA Alternative KTCL (CHANNEL 93.3), which returned all of last month’s share gain (5.7-5.2). Also landing in third place was AUDACY Modern AC KALC (ALICE 105.9), which rose from a tie at #6 as it ended a two-book slide (4.8-5.2). iHEARTMEDIA AAA KBCO just missed joining that party as it stayed behind at #6 (4.8-5.1). KSE MEDIA Classic Hits KXKL (KOOL 105) went from #4 to #7 with its lowest total since JANUARY (5.3-4.9). KOSI kept the cume lead despite a 6.8% decline (488,200-455,100). The market was off 0.6%.

KTCL continued to be the dominant 25-54 player. While it was flat this month it did extend its string of #1 books to seven. KALC inched up to #2 as it rebounded from a down book. KOSI dipped to #3 with a slight decrease. Two stations came charging up the chart to land at #4. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR KDHT (HITS 93.7) advanced from #9 with its best showing in over a year. ENTRAVISION Mexican Regional KXPK (LA TRICOLOR 96.5) leapt from #7 with its highest score since AUGUST. KQMT and KXKL were tied at #4. They fell to #7 and #8, respectively.

KXPK exploded in the 18-34 realm. The station more than doubled last month’s share, landed in double figures, and moved from #3 to #1. This ended KTCL’s three-book winning streak though it did land its fourth double-digit book in a row. KOSI and KDHT moved their pairing from #4 to #3 with large share increases. KXKL slid from #2 to #5 and was joined there by COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO N/T KCFR, which advanced from #8 with its best showing in over a year. KQMT and KSE MEDIA Hot AC KIMN (MIX 100) fell together from #4 to #9.

While KXPK was not quite as explosive 18-49, the station did go from #4 to #1 with its highest total in over a year. Once again, KTCL dipped to #2 as its three-book winning streak was halted. KOSI dipped to #3 with a slight increase. KALC and KDHT moved as a unit from #5 to #4 with solid increases. KXKL slid from #3 to #6.

SAN DIEGO: Sunny Side Of The Street

We’re running out of headline cliches for AUDACY Classic Hits KXSN (SUNNY 98.1). The station was #1 6+ for the fourth book in a row (7.5-7.8). SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY N/T KPBS was back at #2 (6.5-6.4), while GROUPO IMAGEN Spanish AC XLTN (RADIO LATINA 104.5FM) rose two places to #3 with its best showing in over a year (5.0-5.6). AUDACY AC KYXY dipped to #4 (5.3-5.3), while iHEARTMEDIA Hot AC KMYI (STAR 94.1) remained at #5 (5.0-5.0). LOCAL MEDIA Rhythmic AC XHRM (MAGIC 92.5) landed its smallest share in over a year as it fell from #3 to #7 (5.3-4.3). It was paired with TELEVISAUNIVISION Mexican Regional KLNV (QUÉ BUENA 106.5), which moved up a spot (4.2-4.3). KXSN was still the cume leader with a 0.2% decrease (597,200-596,300). The market was down 0.3%.

In JUNE, KXSN and LOCAL MEDIA Alternative XTRA (91X) shared the 25-54 lead. KXSN remained in place with a small increase, while XTRA moved down to #3 as it returned most of last month’s huge increase. In between them was KLNV, which vaulted from #9 to #2 with its largest number since NOVEMBER. iHEARTMEDIA Active Rock KIOZ (ROCK 105.3) dipped to #4 with its lowest mark since we were pretending a snowman was a member of the clergy. KMYI stepped up to #4 with a slight decrease, while XHRM went from #3 to #6.

KXSN was #1 18-34 for the fifth straight survey and hit the double-digit number in the process. KMYI inched to #2 though it gave up a chunk of last month’s increase. XLTN was up two places to #3 with a small increase. It was paired with KPBS, which advanced from #8 with its highest score in over a year. XTRA slipped from #2 to #5. It was partnered with KYXY, down from #4, and KLNV, up from #6.

For the third month in a row, KXSN was #1 18-49. KLNV rose from #5 to #2 and was about a half share off the lead. KMYI inched up to #3 with a slight increase, while XHRM dipped to #4. XTRA fell from #2 to #5 as it lost about half of last month’s rather large increase. KYXY stepped down to #6 with a small decrease.

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CHARLOTTE-GASTONIA-ROCK HILL: Annnd…We’re Back

After taking last month off, UNIVERSITY RADIO FOUNDATION N/T WFAE was back at #1 6+ for the third time in the last four books (5.9-7.0). This relegated iHEARTMEDIA Adult Hits WLKO (102.9 THE LAKE) down to #2 (6.7-6.6). PACIFIC BROADCASTING Classic Hits WXRC (95.7FM THE RIDE) motored down to #3 as it stopped a strong three-book surge (6.6-6.0). It was double parked with iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WRFX (99.7 THE FOX), which advanced from #7 with its best book in over a year (5.2-6.0). iHEARTMEDIA Country WKKT (96.9 THE KAT) repeated at #5 (5.8-5.7), while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WEND (106.5 THE END) fell from a tie at #3 to #10 with its lowest score since MARCH (5.9-4.7). WLKO still wore the cume crown despite a 5.3% decline (554,700-525,100). The market was down 1.5%.

WEND did end a strong three-book surge but the station was #1 25-54 for the fourth straight survey. However, its margin over #2 WRFX shrank from over two and a half shares to less than a half point. WLKO was back at #3 as it regained all of last month’s lost share. WFAE repeated at #4 as it bounced back from a down book. WKKT and BEASLEY Urban Contemporary WPEG (POWER 98) traded spaces with the former up to #5 and the latter down to #6.

Two books ago NORSAN Mexican Regional WOLS (LA RAZA 106.1) was #15 18-34. Last month it vaulted to #2 and this time it landed at #1 and in double figures. WRFX moved up to #2 with a solid increase, while WEND slipped to #3 as it left double-digit land. BEASLEY Classic Hits WKQC (K104.7FM) jumped from #7 to #4 as it regained some of last survey’s massive share loss. WLKO remained at #5 and was partnered with WFAE, which rose from #10 as it recovered from a down book. BEASLEY Pop CHR WNKS (KISS 95.1), in perhaps its last full survey fell from #3 to #7 as it surrendered most of last month’s large increase. It was not alone in that space. BEASLEY Urban AC WBAV (V101.9) slipped from #5 to #7. But wait, there’s more. WXRC stepped up from #8, while NORSAN Spanish Tropical WGSP (LATINA 102.3/107.5) rose from #15. It was #23 just two books ago.

Those sly folks at WRFX stepped up to #1 18-49, which ended the two-book run at #1 for WEND. It dipped to #2 and was a share off the lead. WFAE inched up to #3 as it got back some of last month’s share loss. It was paired with WOLS, which advanced from #8 with a huge share gain. WKQC and WLKO moved their partnership from #6 to #5, They were flat. WPEG slipped to #7 with its smallest share since NOVEMBER, while WNKS fell from #3 to #8.

NASSAU-SUFFOLK (LONG ISLAND): For The Wins

This was the seventh straight 6+ win for AUDACY News WINS (1010 WINS) (7.7-7.0). IHEARTMEDIA AC WLTW (106.7 LITE FM) rocketed from #9 to #2 with its largest Frosty-free share in over a year (4.2-6.0). iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WHTZ (Z100) dipped to #3 with its lowest total since FEBRUARY (6.8-5.9). AUDACY Sports WFAN (SPORTS Radio 101.9FM/66AM) was as flat as the YANKEES without AARON JUDGE as it stepped down to #4 (5.7-5.7). RED APPLE MEDIA N/T WABC-A was back at #5 (5.2-5.5). It narrowly defeated CONNOISSEUR Hot AC WALK (WALK FM), which held steady at #6 but with its best book since FEBRUARY (4.8-5.4). COX MEDIA Pop CHR WBLI slipped three places to #7 (5.3-5.2). Moving from #4 to #1 in the cume parade was WLTW, thanks to a 7.6% increase (367,300-395,200). The market was off by 4.1%.

WHTZ was a solid #1 25-54 for the fifth straight survey. However, it could not build upon its two-book double-digit streak. WALK remained at #2 as it bounced back from a down book, while WLTW inched up to #3 with a rather large share gain. WBLI moved down to #4 with its lowest score since some dude named Jack was invading our personal spaces. It was partnered with two other stations. WFAN was up a spot with a slight increase, while AUDACY Hot AC WNEW (NEW 102.7) rose from #9 as it recovered from a down book.

It was a good month to be WLTW. The station jumped from #5 to #1 18-34, more than doubling its last book and hitting double figures. WALK repeated at #2 with a slight increase but was about three shares in arrears. This stopped the three-book winning string for WBLI, which drifted down to #3 with its first down book since JANUARY. MEDIACO Urban AC WBLS advanced from #11 to #4 as it also more than doubled its previous share. WHTZ slid from #2 to #5, while CONNOISSEUR AC WKJY (K-JOY 98.3) went from #4 to #6. Both stations had noticeable share losses. AUDACY Classic Hits WCBS fell from #5 into a tie at #9 with CONNOISSEUR Country WWWF (103.1 THE WOLF).

WLTW didn’t quite double last month’s share, but it did quite well as it rose from #4 to #1 18-49. This stopped the four-book winning string for WHTZ, which dipped to #2. WALK remained at #3 with a small increase, while WBLI slipped two places to #4. WFAN was back at #5 with a small increase. It was joined there by WNEW, which advanced from #10.

Thanks for slogging along with us. Less than four weeks from now AUGUST will be here. It…just…never…ends.  We’re always open to your thoughts, suggestions, critiques, and complaints about this here missive. A real human will answer this email: sallan@researchdirectorinc.com.

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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 email info@ResearchDirectorInc.com or sallan@ResearchDirectorInc.com.

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