It’s been argued that aside from the Super Bowl, February is the least exciting month when it comes to sports overall. The share trends for top-five-ranked sports stations in the 20 markets reporting on Days 1 and 2 of Nielsen’s February 2025 PPM survey, covering Feb. 6-March 5, could back up that claim.
Looking at the seven sports-formatted stations reaching the top five in Nielsen’s January or February books for these markets, combined shares are down 9.3 points, or 17.4%, from January to February. It’s also worth noting that while four of these stations topped their markets in January, just two did in the latest survey.
Meanwhile, adult contemporary again looks like the big winner in February, with top-ranked stations in six markets vs. January’s five. A closer look shows negligible January-February share growth, with top-five-ranked ACs up just 0.6.
For Days 1 and 2, the leaderboard shows: AC with six crowns; news/talk with four; sports, urban AC, classic hits and rock with two each; and all-news and soft AC with one each.
American University news/talk WAMU makes it eight consecutive wins, even as its share is off 0.9 from January, with its lead over regular runner-up Hubbard Radio news WTOP, cut to just 0.6. WTOP’s share rises for a fourth straight survey, up 2.8 points since November. iHeartMedia AC 97.1 WASH moves from fourth to third, up 1.3, while iHeart modern/alternative rock sister “DC101” WWDC-FM and Howard University urban AC WHUR tie for fourth.
Audacy AC “Magic 106.7” WMJX returns to the top, just 0.2 in front of January’s leader, Beasley Media Group’s “98.5 The Sports Hub” WBZ-FM, itself down 2.2 share points. News/talkers iHeart WBZ-AM and pubcaster WBUR hold at third and fourth, while iHeart classic rock WZLX moves from a tie for seventh to fifth, up 0.7.
It’s a 26th win in a row for Cox Media Group urban AC “Hot 105” WHQT, while second-place soft AC sister “Easy 93.1” WFEZ inches closer, now 2.2 share points behind vs. January’s 3.1. Audacy classic hits “102.7 The Beach” WMXJ stays at third, as its AC sister “101.5 Lite FM” WLYF returns to the top five, up 0.7 from January.
University of Washington news/talk pubcaster KUOW-FM holds onto the number-one spot, staying 1.7 points ahead of iHeart classic rock KZOK. Classic Radio, Inc. classical KING-FM moves from fifth to third, up 0.7, with Hubbard AC “Warm 106.9” KRWM and Bonneville news/talk KIRO-FM ranked fourth and fifth.
February’s first-place finish for iHeart AC “99.9 K-EZ” KESZ marks its 19th victory in a row, 1.6 ahead of adult hits sister “95.5 The Mountain” KYOT and Hubbard classic rock KSLX, tied for second. Hubbard’s rocker KUPD and iHeart country KNIX, tied for fourth last time out, now come in fourth and fifth, respectively.
iHeart AC WNIC leads for a fourth straight survey, while Audacy classic hits WOMC and sports sister “97.1 The Ticket” WXYT-FM swap spots from January, the latter down 0.9. Tied for fifth are Audacy news WWJ-AM, and iHeart CHR “Channel 955” WKQI.
iHeart’s “K-FAN” KFXN is the only sports station in the PPM Days 1 and 2 markets to repeat at the top from January, although it still takes a share hit, down 1.8. Classic hits sister “Kool 108” KQQL places second, while news/talk pubcaster KNOW and Hubbard hot AC “KS95” KSTP-FM tie for third. University of Northwestern St. Paul contemporary Christian KTIS-FM returns to the top five, where it spent eight Nielsen surveys at number-one during both 2023 and 2024.
Audacy classic hits “Sunny 98.1” KXSN is a stronger champ in February's survey, up 1.6 points from January and 2.3 ahead of news/talk pubcaster KPBS, while Comunicacion XERSA hot AC “Magic 92.5” XHRM takes third. Breaking into the top five is modern/alternative rock “91X” XETRA, benefiting from its temporary simulcast on 100.7 FM, the former home of Local Media of San Diego adult hits “100.7 Big FM” KFBG, which signed off in January after the station’s sale to Lotus Communications.
The 50-consecutive-win watch for CMG soft AC WDUV continues, with the station now just six surveys away from that magic mark, as it notches a 44th in February. It’s 3.7 points up on Radio Training Network contemporary Christian “The Joy FM 91.5” WCIE, up from fourth to second, while CMG’s classic rock “The Eagle 107.3” WXGL and urban AC “101.5 The Vibe” WTBV finish third and fourth.
Denver’s top three all show notable share growth from the January survey. KSE Radio Ventures classic hits “Kool 105” KXKL stays on top with a 0.9 gain, pushing into 7-share territory for the first time since last August, while Bonneville AC KOSI and iHeart modern/alternative rock “Channel 93.3” KTCL, ranked second and third, are up 0.7 and 1.2, respectively. Rounding out the top five are Bonneville country KYGO and Audacy hot AC “Alice 105.9” KALC.
For the first time since last October, Urban One urban AC “Magic 95.9” WWIN-FM takes the big prize, up 0.9 from January for its first 8-share since September 2024. Magic’s got a 1.1-point lead over the January champ, Hearst’s “98 Rock” WIYY, while Audacy AC “Today’s 101.9” WLIF takes third and Urban One urban contemporary “92Q Jams” WERQ comes in fourth. Re-entering the top five, up 0.8, is iHeart country WPOC.
Hubbard’s KSHE rocks the ratings again, leading for a second straight survey with a 9.6 share, its best showing since March 2024. KSHE extends its lead over iHeart classic hits KLOU to 2.2 points, while Hubbard adult hits “106.5 The Arch” WARH crashes back into the top five, up from seventh to third with a 0.8 share gain.
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