Sports Stations, Team Flagships Score Big On PPM Days 1 and 2. April has always been a big month for professional sports, with the beginning of the Major League Baseball season and postseason activity for both NBA basketball and NHL hockey. The excitement for all three was reflected by share boosts for the flagship stations of teams in each of those leagues, ranked in the top five in eight of the 20 non-embedded PPM markets reporting on Days 1 and 2 in Nielsen’s April survey (covering April 2-29). Together, eight baseball, basketball and/or hockey team flagship stations in Dallas, Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle, Detroit, Minneapolis, San Diego and St. Louis — seven of those with an all sports format, and one news/talk — saw a 10.1-share-point increase from Nielsen’s March survey. The largest of those gains were fueled by the NBA’s Pistons and MLB’s Tigers on Audacy sports “97.1 The Ticket” WXYT-FM Detroit (up 2.2), baseball’s Padres on Audacy’s “97.3 The Fan” KWFN (+2.1), and MLB’s Mariners on Bonneville’s “Seattle Sports 710” KIRO-AM (+1.7). For Days 1 and 2 in these 20 markets, the leaderboard shows AC with five wins, news/talk and sports with three each, two each for urban AC and classic hits, and one each for news, adult alternative, hot AC, soft AC and classic rock. Please note that rankings do not include stations owned by Cumulus Media, which is in the midst of a re-negotiation of its contract with Nielsen which expired Dec. 31, 2025. Washington, DC (8) FEB 26 MAR 26 APR 26 1 WTOP-FM News 15.2 14.3 12.9 2 WAMU-FM News/Talk 11.8 10.8 10.4 3 WGTS-FM Cont. Christ. 4.3 4.6 5.7 4 WHUR-FM Urban AC 7.0 5.8 5.4 5 WASH-FM Adult Cont. 4.6 5.1 5.0 Nielsen APR 26, 6+ Metro Share StationRatings.com (https://stationratings.com/) Hubbard Radio all-news WTOP racks up its 11th consecutive survey at the top in D.C., staying 2.5 points ahead of American University news/talk WAMU, although both experience a second straight share decline. Atlantic Gateway Communications contemporary Christian WGTS/WGBZ makes a 1.1-share gain to move from sixth to third, marking its first time ranking this high since February 2023. Boston (10) FEB 26 MAR 26 APR 26 1 WBUR-FM News/Talk 5.2 5.6 6.6 2 WXKS-FM CHR 4.9 5.2 5.9 3 WBZ-FM Sports 5.3 5.1 5.9 4 WMJX-FM Adult Cont. 6.2 6.2 5.8 5 WROR-FM Classic Hits 5.7 5.3 5.6 Nielsen APR 26, 6+ Metro Share StationRatings.com (https://stationratings.com/) It has been more than 20 years since Boston University’s WBUR was the market’s number one station. The news/talk outlet returns to the top with a 0.7 edge over Beasley Media Group’s “98.5 The Sports Hub” WBZ-FM and iHeartMedia CHR “Kiss 108” WXKS-FM, which tie for second. The Feb.-March champ, Audacy AC “Magic 106.7” WMJX, meanwhile, slips to fourth. Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood (11) FEB 26 MAR 26 APR 26 1 WLYF-FM Adult Cont. 6.3 6.0 7.1 2 WCMQ-FM Classic Hits 5.1 5.5 6.1 3 WFEZ-FM Soft AC 7.0 6.3 5.8 4 WHQT-FM Urban AC 7.2 6.7 5.7 5 WMIA-FM Adult Cont. 4.3 4.9 5.3 Nielsen APR 26, 6+ Metro Share StationRatings.com (https://stationratings.com/) Audacy AC “101.5 Lite FM” WLYF rules for the first time since July 2025, which was the last time a Cox Media Group station wasn’t number one in the market. As “Lite” gains 1.1 share points to take the prize, SBS Spanish classic hits “Zeta 92.3” WCMQ jumps from fifth to second, followed by CMG’s soft AC “Easy 93.1” WFEZ and urban AC sister “Hot 105” WHQT in third and fourth. For the latter, it’s the first time in more than five years it hasn’t finished in Miami’s top two. Seattle-Tacoma (12) FEB 26 MAR 26 APR 26 1 KUOW-FM News/Talk 9.5 8.4 10.6 2 KIRO-AM Sports 3.8 4.7 6.4 3 KISW-FM Rock 5.1 4.7 5.3 4 KJEB-FM Classic Hits 5.6 5.6 5.3 5 KCMS-FM Cont. Christ. 5.4 5.0 5.3 Nielsen APR 26, 6+ Metro Share StationRatings.com (https://stationratings.com/) News/talk pubcaster KUOW-FM keeps its grip on the crown for a fourth straight survey. It’s a comfortable 4.2 share points ahead of Bonneville “Seattle Sports 710” KIRO-AM, flagship of the Mariners, which sees a 36% increase as it moves from a tie for sixth to the runner-up spot. Also re-entering the top five is Audacy’s “Rock 99.9” KISW, up from that same tie for sixth to one for third with both Crista Media contemporary Christian “Spirit 105.3” KCMS and iHeart classic hits “95.7 The Jet” KJEB. Phoenix (13) FEB 26 MAR 26 APR 26 1 KESZ-FM Adult Cont. 8.0 6.7 6.9 2 KSLX-FM Classic Rock 6.8 6.6 6.4 3 KNIX-FM Country 4.5 4.6 5.2 4 KFYI-AM Talk 4.6 5.0 4.8 5 KJZZ-FM News/Talk 3.3 3.9 4.5 6 KOOL-FM Classic Hits 4.5 5.9 4
