Home Login RADIO ONLINE RSS Facebook
Advertisement

WTOP-FM Remains 2023's Highest-Billing Radio Station


BIA Advisory Services
BIA Advisory Services

Hubbard Radio's WTOP-FM in Washington, DC has once again continued its winning streak in 2023 and remains the top-billing radio station in the U.S., according to BIA's newly released Investing in Radio 2024, First Edition. If you're keeping count, that's 13 times in the last 14 years that WTOP-FM has been #1 on the list.

Hubbard owns additional stations in the DC market, but WTOP-FM tops them all... with its $66.3 million in over-the-air revenue accounting for nearly 29% of the total radio advertising revenue in the Washington, DC market in 2023. Hubbard's stations collectively account for 30.1% of revenue in the DC radio market.

Below is the Top 10 Radio Stations by Revenue in 2023, which reflects only over-the-air revenue.

  • Over-the-air revenues for the top 10 stations are down an average of 5.0% from 2022. Number 1 WTOP-FM is down the least, 3.9%.

  • Eight of the top ten are FM stations and two are AM. However, Audacy's WINS-FM is replacing WINS(AM) on this list as the stations started simulcasting in late 2022. BIA attributes revenue to the FM station.

  • Hubbard and Beasley Media Group LLC each landed one station in the top ten, while iHeartMedia and Audacy each have four.

  • Four stations program a News format, one is Sports, one is Sports/Talk, and the remaining four have music programming.

  • Five of the top ten are in New York, two are in Los Angeles, and there's one each in Chicago, Washington, and Boston.

  • Two of the FM stations on the list are actually AM/FM simulcast... Audacy's WINS AM/FM and WFAN AM/FM in New York.

Speaking of AM stations, the top ten billing AM radio stations in 2023 were:

  • iHeartMedia's KTRH(AM) in Houston-Galveston made a seemingly miraculous jump up the chart, from #14 to #3. According to BIA's Nicole Ovadia, KTRH reports their revenue numbers to us, and reported the revenue jump, as well as a corresponding decline in revenues for sister station KTBZ-FM.

  • Cox Media Group and Cumulus Media Holdings each landed one station in the top ten, while Audacy has five and iHeartMedia has three.

  • Five stations program News, three program News/Talk, one has a combination of News/Talk/Sports, and one is Sports.

  • Two of the top ten are in Los Angeles, and there's one each in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston-Galveston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Denver-Boulder.

Upcoming BIA blog posts will soon detail the Top 10 Radio Owners by revenue and Top 10 Billing Spanish Language Radio Stations in 2023.

Advertisement

Latest Radio Stories

iHeartMedia Milwaukee Names Dan Lenz Market President
Dan Lenz
Dan Lenz
iHeartMedia names Dan Lenz as named Market President for Milwaukee, effective immediately. In his new role, Lenz will be responsible for all operations in the market from sales to programming. Lenz has been with iHeartMedia since 2017 and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Sales for the More

Audacy's 1080 The Fan Expands to FM Dial in Portland
105.1 The Fan
105.1 The Fan
Audacy is expanding the reach of Sports KFXX-AM (1080 The Fan) to the FM dial, launching simulcast broadcasts on 105.1 FM beginning Monday, July 21. This displaces AC KRSK-FM (Bella 105). In conjunction with the expansion, longtime station host and Oregon native Dusty Harrah is More

Geotargeting Advances Give AM/FM Radio a Digital Edge
Cumulus Media and Westwood One
Cumulus Media and Westwood One
This week's Audio Active Group blog from Cumulus Media | Westwood One explores a growing trend among advertisers: geotargeting. Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard outlines how new technologies are giving AM/FM radio the same hyperlocal precision long associated with digital advertising -- offering brands More
Advertisement

FCC's Trusty Urges Public Media Reform Amid Senate Vote
FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty
FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty
FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty issued a measured statement following the U.S. Senate's controversial vote to eliminate federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), calling the move "an opportunity for innovation" rather than an end to public media. Trusty acknowledged CPB's More

Superadio, Launch AmplifiedVoices to Expand Digital Reach
AmplifiedVocies.com
AmplifiedVocies.com
Superadio Network and American Urban Radio Networks (AURN) have launched AmplifiedVoices.com, a new digital platform aimed at elevating Black culture and storytelling across podcasts and video content. The site will be the central home for the Amplified Voices Podcast Network and the soon-to-debut Amplified More

Country Radio Hall of Fame Celebrates 50th Anniversary
Country Radio Hall of Fame
Country Radio Hall of Fame
To mark its 50th anniversary, the Country Radio Hall of Fame (CRHOF) is launching a week of commemorative events and programming, including the debut of a new 24/7 streaming channel and a three-night songwriter series at Nashville's iconic Bluebird Cafe, all leading up to its annual More

Return to Menu

Advertisement

Subscribe to our Newsletter
Radio news and headlines delivered right to your e-mail box -- and it's free.

Advertisement

Advertisement