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Radio Ratings Roundup, August 2026 Part II
September 9, 2026
We’re back from the shadows again, rested and ready to bring you another fresh batch of ratings goulash. The Ratings Experts from RESEARCH DIRECTOR, INC.—in conjunction with the infallible number crunchers from XTRENDS—are here to separate the wheat from the chaff in an attempt to add perspective to the wacky world of the Personal People Meter, not to be confused with the Purple People Eater.
The book ran from JULY 23RD through AUGUST 19TH. There were no specific holidays, but it was the last gasp of vacation season before schedules returned to whatever passes for normal. Let us begin:
SAN FRANCISCO: Doubling Down
KQED INC. N/T KQED was #1 6+ for the eighth straight survey, the last three of which have been in double figures (10.3-10.2). AUDACY News KCBS was in its customary #2 position but with its smallest share since that little kid would not stop that incessant drumming (8.9-8.1). CONNOISSEUR AC KOIT was again the leading music station (5.0-5.2), while iHEARTMEDIA Soft AC KISQ (98.1 THE BREEZE) was back at #4 (4.6-4.7). There was a threesome at #5. iHEARTMEDIA AC KIOI (STAR 101.3) remained in place (4.2-4.0). CONNOISSEUR Hot AC KMVQ (99.7 NOW) stepped up from #6 (3.8-4.0), while AUDACY Hot AC KLLC (ALICE@97.3) rose from #7 with its highest score in over a year (3.5-4.0). KOIT padded its cume lead with a 6.5% increase (1,046,500-1,114,300). The market grew by 3.3%.
KOIT stepped up to #1 25-54 with its finest Frosty-free share in over a year. This snapped the two-book winning string for KQED, which dipped to #2. KISQ inched up to #3 with a slight decrease, while three stations established a residency at #4. KIOI moved down a spot with its lowest total since JANUARY, while KMVQ moved up from #6 as it bounced back from a down book. KLLC advanced from #8, again with its best outing in over a year. AUDACY Alternative KITS (LIVE 105) slipped to #7 and was tied with iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR KYLD (WiLD 94.9).
For the fifth book in a row KOIT was #1 18-34. It held better than a three-share lead over SBS Mexican Regional KRZZ (LA RAZA 93.3), which remained in place despite a rather large share loss. KMVQ repeated at #3 with a solid increase and was paired with KISQ, which moved up from a tie at #5 as it ended a steep two-book slide. KITS and KYLD remained behind at #5, while KIOI slid from #4 into a tie at #9 with iHEARTMEDIA Classic Hits KOSF (CLASSIC HITS 103.7).
KOIT was #1 for the third straight survey after posting its best Frosty-free share in over a year. KISQ moved from #4 to #2 with its best outing in over a year. The stations were separated by about a share. KYLD rose from #5 to #3 with a slight increase, while a flat KMVQ went from #6 to #4. KITS stepped up to #5 and was paired with KLLC, which advanced from #9. KIOI dropped from #2 to #7, while KQED fell from #3 to #8 with its lowest mark in over a year.
ATLANTA: Do You Believe In Majic?
Well, you should as URBAN ONE Urban AC WAMJ (MAJIC 107.5/97.5) moved up to #1 6+ as it halted a three-book slide (6.5-7.6). This ended the two-book run at #1 for COX MEDIA N/T WSB-A, which dipped to #2 with its smallest share in over a year (6.6-6.0). AUDACY Urban AC WVEE (V103), which was last month’s co-leader, slipped to #3 as it gave back about half of last survey’s increase (6.6-5.9). COX MEDIA Classic Hits WSRV (97.1 THE RIVER) flowed down to #4 with its lowest score in over a year (6.5-5.4). COX MEDIA Urban AC WALR (KISS 104.1) was up to #5 (5.0-5.1), while CITY OF ATLANTA BOE N/T WABE was down to #6 (5.3-4.9). COX MEDIA AC WSB-F (B98.5) maintained its cume lead with a 4.3% increase (738,500-770,100). The market was up by 4.6%.
Over the next three demos we will be skipping over actual functioning radio stations because we must maintain radio silence about their existence.
For the fourth time in the last five books WAMJ was #1 25-54. WVEE’s stay at #1 was short lived as in stepped down to #2. These two stations were well clear of a flat AUDACY Sports WZGC (92.9 THE GAME), which moved up to #3. WALR advanced from #7 to #4 as it recovered from a down book. WSRV slipped from #3 to #5, while WSB-A fell from #5 to #8 with its least talked about share in over a year.
WSRV was your repeat 18-34 winner despite a small share loss. WSB-F was back at a distant #2 with its lowest total in over a year. WALR and WAMJ rose from a tie at #5 to #3 and #4, respectively. Both stations had solid share increases. WVEE slipped from #3 to #5 with a slight increase, while WZGC dropped from #3 into a tie at #7 with AUDACY Hot AC WSTR (STAR 94).
Last month WVEE held about a two-share lead over WAMJ atop the 18-49 leaderboard. Those roles were reversed this time as WAMJ owned a narrow advantage over WVEE. WSRV was back at #3 with a slight decrease, while a flat WSB-F stepped up to #4. Baseball was very, very good for DICKEY BROADCASTING Sports WCNN-A (SPORTS RADIO 680 THE FAN) as it vaulted from #13 to #5 with its best book in over a year. WZGC dipped to #6 and was tied with WALR.
WASHINGTON, DC: Making Headlines
As is usually the case, the top two 6+ stations do not have a playlist. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was #1 for the fourth book in a row (11.3-11.7). The station was in double digits for the 13th time in the last 14 surveys. HUBBARD News WTOP was back at #2 (10.3-9.8), while HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR moved up to #3 with its best outing since FEBRUARY (5.6-6.1). iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH stepped up to #4 (5.5-5.6), while iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) remained behind at #5 (5.5-5.3). ATLANTIC GATEWAY Contemporary Christian WGTS fell from #3 to #7 with its smallest share since DECEMBER (5.7-3.6). WASH was still the cume commander with a 2.4% increase (802,900-822,500). The market was off by 2.8%.
For the eighth straight survey WAMU was #1 25-54. The station also made it back to double figures. WWDC repeated at #2 as it bounced back from a down book, though it was still about two shares off the lead. WTOP was back at #3, while WASH inched up to #4. Both stations had small share increases. WHUR was up to #5 with a slight decrease, while WGTS dropped from #4 to #10 with its lowest mark in over a year. The station was tied with URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WKYS.
WASH was both #1 and in double figures 18-34 for the second book in a row. iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100) stood alone at #2 with its, well, biggest book in over a year. It was about a share off the pace. WWDC dipped to #3 with a slight decrease, while AUDACY Rhythmic CHR WPGC vaulted from #11 to #4 with its best showing in over a year. iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5) cooled off to #5 with its least productive outing in over a year. It was paired with WHUR, which moved up from #6 with a slight increase. iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ fell from #5 to #9 with its smallest share in over a year. It was tied with WKYS.
WAMU was #1 18-49 for the fourth straight survey. A flat WWDC stepped up to #2, while WASH dipped to #3 as it returned some of last month’s huge share increase. WTOP repeated at #4 with a slight decrease, while WHUR was back at #5 as it ended a strong three-book surge.
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PHILADELPHIA: Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
You had better buy a game program to keep track of all the changes in this survey. To begin with, we saw two stations move up to share the 6+ lead. BEASLEY Classic Rock WMGK stepped up from #2 with its best book in exactly a year (7.4-7.8), while iHEARTMEDIA Urban AC WDAS rose from #3 with its highest mark in over a year (7.1-7.8). AUDACY Sports WIP (94WIP SPORTSRADIO) stepped up to #3 (6.4-7.4), while AUDACY News KYW moved from #6 to #4 (5.3-5.6). BEASLEY Album Oriented Rock WMMR dipped to #5 (6.4-5.5). It was joined there by AUDACY AC WBEB (B101), which fell from first place with its smallest share since JANUARY (7.7-5.5). The station still had the most listeners (1,076,300-1,071,400)—a 0.5% drop. The market was up by 1.2%.
The fun continued in the 25-54 space as WIP vaulted from #4 to #1 with its best outing since OCTOBER. iHEARTMEDIA Urban Contemporary WUSL (POWER 99) advanced from #6 to #2 with its highest share in over a year. WDAS stepped down to #3 with a slight decrease, while URBAN ONE Urban AC WRNB (100.3 RnB) rose from #7 to #4 with its best book in over a year. WBEB slid from #2 to #5. WMMR ended a four-book stay at #1 and dropped to #6 with its lowest mark in over a year.
The pandemonium was apparent in the 18-34 arena as iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WRFF (ALT 104.5) leapt from #4 to #1 as it bounced back from a down book. Last month’s co-leaders were BEASLEY Country WXTU (92.5 XTU) and WBEB. They slipped in tandem to #2 with the shared experience of a rather large share loss. They were partnered with WUSL, which was up from a tie at #4. WMGK dipped to #5 with a solid increase, while BEASLEY Adult Hits WBEN (95.7 BEN FM) was down to #6 with a slight increase. It was paired with WRNB, which rose from #10. WMMR fell from #3 to #10.
But wait, there’s more! WUSL vaulted from #5 to #1 18-49 with its best book in over a year. It narrowly defeated WBEB, which stepped down to #2. WRNB advanced from #8 to #3 with its best outing in over a year, while WIP repeated at #4 with a solid increase. Three stations were huddled together at #5. WMMR and WMGK fell from #2 and #3, respectively, while WXTU remained in place.
BOSTON: The Old College Try
For the second book in a row BOSTON UNIVERSITY N/T WBUR was #1 6+. The station also landed its largest share in over a year (6.8-7.9). iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WXKS (KISS 108) stepped up to #2 (6.2-6.3), which pushed AUDACY AC WMJX (MAGIC 106.7) down to #3 (6.5-6.0). iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WZLX was up two places to #4 as it ended a two-book skid (5.0-5.6). BEASLEY Classic Hits WROR dipped to #5 (5.8-5.5), while AUDACY Hot AC WBMX (MIX 104.1) was down to #6 (5.6-5.0). WMJX still attracted the most meters (846,100-822,300)—a 2.8% drop. The market was down 1.0%.
WBMX and WXKS were #1 and #2, respectively 25-54 for the third book in a row. However, the gap between the two stations widened from less than a half share to more than a share. WZLX stepped up to #3 and was ahead of WBUR, which was up to #4, but the slimmest of possible margins. A flat BEASLEY Sports WBZ-F (98.5 THE SPORTS HUB) slipped to #5, while WMJX dipped to #6.
WMJX was #1 18-34 for the tenth book in a row but landed its lowest share in exactly one year. WXKS moved up to #2, while iHEARTMEDIA Rhythmic CHR WJMN (JAM’N 94.5) stood alone at #3. Both stations had down books. WBMX slipped to #4 as it returned all of last month’s huge increase, plus a bit of added value. It was partnered with WROR—up from #5—and AUDACY Adult Hits WBGB (BIG 103), which rose from #6 with its best showing in over a year. Keep an eye on EMERSON COLLEGE AAA WERS. The station vaulted from #16 to #7, more than doubling its previous share in the process.
WXKS was back at #1 18-49 but was joined in that space by WBMX. Both stations suffered large share losses. WBUR was up to #3 with a small increase, while WMJX stepped down to #4 with a noticeable share loss. WROR leapt from #9 to #5 as it recovered from a down book. It held a slim lead over four stations at #6. WJMN fell from #5 to #10.
Two down, two to go. Thanks for participating. We’ll be back shortly with 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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