February Washington Radio Ratings
The following content Is provided by Research Director.
As usual, the top of the 6+ chart was dominated by a pair of stations that do not play songs for a living. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY N/T WAMU was #1 (13.4-12.3).
HUBBARD News WTOP was back at #2 (11.4-11.7).
If you do the math – and we did – that meant that almost a quarter of all listening went to these two stations.
iHEARTMEDIA AC WASH became the leading music station as it moved up to #3 (5.2-6.5).
HOWARD UNIVERSITY Urban AC WHUR slipped to #4 (5.7-5.5). It was not alone as iHEARTMEDIA Alternative WWDC (DC101) moved up a spot with its largest share in over a year (5.1-5.5).
Perhaps there was a reason that a population containing a significant amounts of federal and federal-adjacent employees would make WTOP the leading cume station for the second book in a row (817,400-825,400) – a 1.0% increase.
Fun fact: WTOP nipped WASH in the cume wars by a mere 900 listeners. Market cume was up 2.5%. In the PUMM gestalt, the market rose 1.6% from JANUARY and 8.2% from 2024.
WAMU was back at #1 25-54 as it ended a four-book surge.
WTOP moved up for a share of the demo lead with its fifth up book in a row.
WASH rose two places to #3 as it rebounded from a down book.
WWDC slipped to #4 with a slight increase, while WHUR dipped to #5 with its third down book in a row.
iHEARTMEDIA Classic Rock WBIG (BIG 100) vaulted from #12 to #6 with its highest score in over a year. It was tied with a stationary iHEARTMEDIA Pop CHR WIHT (HOT 99.5). Market PUMM was up 5.5% from last month and 4.6% from the previous year.
Though it was not able to replicate last month’s double-digit feat, WIHT remained on top of the 18-34 chart.
WASH was back at #2, while WTOP repeated at #3. Both stations had down books.
iHEARTMEDIA Country WMZQ bounced back from a down book as it rose from #10 to #4.
WWDC remained at #5 with a solid increase but was forced to share the moment with its balder cluster brother WBIG, which leapt from #11 with its highest score since AUGUST.
AUDACY Classic Hits WIAD (94.7 THE DRIVE) slid from #4 to #7, while URBAN ONE Urban Contemporary WKYS fell from a tie at #5 to #12. Market PUMM increased by 3.3% from the last book and 1.1% from last year.
WTOP had its best 18-49 book in over a year as it rose to #1.
Meanwhile, WASH bounced back from a down book to advance from #5 and a share of first place.
WAMU went from first to third as it halted a three-book surge.
A flat WWDC repeated at #4, while WIHT slipped to #5 with a modest share loss.
What is up with SIGNAL ABOVE Spanish Variety WDCN (DC 87.7FM). This is actually a low-power TV station that has gone from #18 to #10 to #6. It was tied with WHUR. Market PUMM was up by 6.3% from last survey and 8.4% from a year ago.
The Baltimore ratings can be found here.
