WTOP-FM in D.C. remains top-billing radio station in US
WTOP-FM in Washington, D.C., continued its winning streak in 2023 and remains the top-billing radio station in the United States, according to BIA’s newly released Investing in Radio 2024, 1st Edition. If you’re keeping count, that’s 13 times in the last 14 years that WTOP-FM has been #1 on the list.
It’s owner, Hubbard Radio, owns additional stations in the D.C. 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 D.C. market in 2023. Hubbard’s stations collectively account for 30.1% of revenue in the D.C. radio market.
Below are the top-ten radio stations nationwide by revenue in 2023, which reflects only over-the-air revenue:
Other items from the BIA report:
- 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-10 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.
