Once Again, AC Claims The Most Number-One Stations On PPM Days 1 And 2.

Proving it doesn't have to be the holiday season for adult contemporary stations to unwrap a special gift from Nielsen, the format continues its year-round dominance in the 20 non-embedded markets reporting on Days 1 and 2 of the May PPM survey, covering May 1-28.

For May, the number of markets led by AC stations moved from five to six, with Audacy’s WLYF Miami added to the bunch for the first time in years.

Looking at 2025-to-date for Days 1 and 2, AC is far ahead of other formats when it comes to total markets and surveys at number one, with 29, followed by news/talk’s 17, sports’ 13, and classic hits’ 11.

For Days 1 and 2 in the May survey, the leaderboard shows: AC with six crowns; classic hits, news/talk and sports with three each; soft AC and classic rock with two each; and one each for urban AC and rock.

The last time American University news/talk WAMU delivered a share under 10.0 was April 2022, and it’s posted a 12 share or higher in every survey this year to date except for March. WAMU marks its 11th win in a row, 1.5 ahead of Hubbard Radio news WTOP, which has been second-ranked for all of those surveys and top two since January 2024. Howard University urban AC WHUR and iHeart modern/alternative rock “DC101” WWDC-FM finish third and fourth, while Cumulus news/talk WMAL makes its first top five showing since March 2024.

Audacy AC “Magic 106.7” WMJX makes it a fourth straight survey at number one, a half a share point ahead of iHeart’s news/talk WBZ-AM and classic rock sister WZLX, tied for second. Re-entering the top five are iHeart CHR “Kiss 108” WXKS-FM, with its first appearance there since October 2023, and Boston University news/talk WBUR after two surveys away.

Audacy AC “101.5 Lite FM” WLYF is Miami’s new champ, finishing just a tenth of a point ahead of Cox Media Group urban AC sister “Hot 105” WHQT. CMG soft AC sister “Easy 93.1” WFEZ, which was April’s leader, slips to third, while Audacy classic hits “102.7 The Beach” WMXJ repeats at fourth and Univision Spanish AC “Amor 107.5” WAMR returns to the top five in fifth.

For a fifth consecutive survey, news/talk pubcaster KUOW-FM and iHeart classic rock KZOK are Seattle’s top two, in that order, with KUOW maintaining a 1.6-point lead for a third straight book. Hubbard AC “Warm 106.9” KRWM and iHeart classic hits sister “95.7 The Jet” KJEB rank third and fourth, while Audacy “Rock 99.9” KISW makes its first top five showing since last November.

No change in Phoenix’s top four, as Hubbard classic rock KSLX stays at the summit, 0.7 ahead of iHeart AC “99.9 K-EZ” KESZ, with iHeart adult hits sister “95.5 The Mountain” KYOT and Audacy classic hits “Big 94.5” KOOL-FM still third and fourth, respectively. iHeart country KNIX moves back into the top five, at number five.

Audacy claims three of the Motor City’s top five, as sports “97.1 The Ticket” WXYT-FM, flagship of Major League Baseball’s red-hot Tigers, stays put at the top, while classic hits WOMC places second and country WYCD ranks fourth. iHeart takes the rest, with AC WNIC in third and urban AC “Mix 92.3” WMXD fifth.

Sports radio also rules in the Twin Cities, as iHeart’s “K-FAN” KFXN, flagship for the NBA’s Timberwolves, keeps a winning streak going at the top, powered by the team’s deep postseason run. Hubbard hot AC “KS95” KSTP-FM gains a share point to take second, followed by contemporary Christian pubcaster KTIS-FM and iHeart classic hits sister “Kool 108” KQQL ranked third and fourth. Tied for fifth are Minnesota Public Radio news/talk pubcaster KNOW and Audacy adult hits “104.1 Jack FM” KZJK, the latter making its first top five appearance since 2022.

The top three are unchanged from April, as Audacy classic hits “Sunny 98.1” KXSN remains San Diego’s only top-ranked station this year to date, keeping a 2.3-share-point lead over Comunicacion XERSA hot AC “Magic 92.5” XHRM while news/talk pubcaster KPBS stays at third. Audacy keeps hold of the rest of the top five, with AC KYXY fourth and San Diego Padres flagship “97.3 The Fan” KWFN fifth.

Is it time for WDUV to begin a new winning streak? After being knocked off the throne in April’s survey following 45 consecutive wins, CMG’s soft AC is back on top, 1.5 ahead of the station that replaced it in that last book, Radio Training Network contemporary Christian “The Joy FM” WCIE. Country outlets claim third and fourth, as both iHeart’s “US 103.5” WFUS and Beasley’s WQYK return to the top five.

Bonneville AC KOSI leads again in Denver, with just a 0.3 lead over KSE Radio Ventures classic hits “Kool 105” KXKL, moving to the runner-up spot from a tie for fifth in April. Bonneville country sister KYGO and iHeart modern/alternative rock “Channel 93.3” KTCL tie for third, with iHeart classic rock sister “103.5 The Fox” KRFX finishing fifth.

Baltimore’s top five stays in the same order in April. Urban One urban AC “Magic 95.9” WWIN-FM makes it a fourth straight survey on top, staying ahead of iHeart country WPOC, while Hearst’s “98 Rock” WIYY, Audacy AC “Today's 101.9” WLIF, and Urban One urban contemporary “92Q Jams” WERQ remain at 3-4-5.

There’s been just one number-one station in St. Louis in 2025 to date: Hubbard’s rocker KSHE, with its smallest lead so far this year over the only second-ranked station in the market in 2025, iHeart classic hits KLOU. Just below, Audacy urban AC “96.3 R&B” WFUN-FM places third, followed by iHeart country sister “93.7 The Bull” KSD-FM and Hubbard adult hits sister “106.5 The Arch” WARH.