Insight: Religion now most-programmed radio format
For more than two decades, states Inside Radio, “country, news/talk and religion have been the top-three formats based on total stations, with religion a distant third, not hitting the 1,000-station mark until May 2004. From July 2008 to December 2014, news/talk replaced country at the top, before country reclaimed the throne in 2015.
“Since October 2019, when religion hit 2,000 stations, it has gone back and forth with news/talk, ranking second or third, until June 2023, when religion permanently took over the runner-up spot, where it stood until January 2026.
“Religion’s station total has climbed steadily since December, adding 23 new stations, while country has declined steadily over the same period, shedding 16. As a result, religion has pulled ahead with a 22-station edge over country.
“Over the past 12 months, religion has added 83 stations, more than any other format. Only two other formats listed, fourth- and fifth-ranked contemporary Christian and Spanish, have significantly increased their totals in the past year, bringing in 37 and 20 new outlets respectively — this while country shed 31 stations.”
According to one online item, while Christian radio is heavily present on AM radio, it is not exclusively limited to low-rated, niche stations, as it spans the spectrum from local AM to high-powered FM and online platforms.
K-LOVE is the largest Christian radio network in the United States, featuring contemporary Christian music with over 1,000 signals across all 50 states and over 20 million weekly listeners. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), which also operates the Air1 network, it is the second-largest radio network overall in the U.S.
