May 12, 2026 News@CountryAircheck.com

The Mouse That Built Me: The CMA and Disney have extended their broadcast relationship through 2032 for The CMA Awards, and the CMA Fest and CMA Country Christmas annual specials. The six-year extension on the companies' existing 20-year relationship adds a live Disney+ stream to this year's 60th Annual CMA Awards (11/18), alongside the ABC telecast. The CMAs were previously available to stream on Hulu the day after the broadcast. "As I prepare to retire at the end of the year, ensuring CMA is strongly positioned for the future has remained one of my highest priorities, and I’m incredibly proud of what we've built together," says CMA CEO Sarah Trahern.

Rocket City Rise: Here are select Nielsen Audio Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) ratings for March 2026 (three-month rolling average, 1/8-4/1/26) compared with January and February. Ranks (in parentheses) are among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.

Chattanooga, TN (Market 93)	WUSY Audacy 13.0 (1) - 10.7 (1) - 8.6 (1) WUUQ Bahakel Classic Country 3.8 (5) - 3.8 (4) - 3.3 (5t) WOGT Cumulus Does not subscribe.
Huntsville, AL (99)	WDRM iHeartMedia 8.3 (1) - 11.0 (1) - 11.9 (1) Largest share since Winter 2017. WWFF Cumulus Does not subscribe.
Jackson, MS (125)	WMSI iHeartMedia 2.8 (9) - 3.7 (8) - 4.0 (6) Largest share since Oct. 2024. WUSJ New South 3.8 (7) - 3.4 (9) - 3.3 (8) WHJT New South Classic Country 2.1 (11) - 2.0 (11) - 2.0 (10)
Madison, WI (88)	WMAD iHeartMedia 6.5 (3) - 5.9 (3) - 5.9 (2t) WWQM Mid-West Family 1.7 (13) - 2.5 (11) - 3.1 (8) WJVL Big Radio N/A - N/A - 1.4 (12t)

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Reve-News: iHeartMedia reported Q1 revenue of $884.2 million, up 9.3% from the prior year's $807.1m. Adjusted EBITDA was down 11.4 at $92.6m. Broadcast radio revenue was $361.4m (+6.1%), digital revenue (excluding podcasting) was $179.9m (+11.6%) and podcast revenue was $147.2m (+26.9%). "We believe that 2026, helped by the additional revenue that comes from the mid-term election cycle, will be a significant year in terms of adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow generation for iHeart," says Chairman/CEO Bob Pittman. See full release here.

Iconography: Cumulus is selling Classic Country WWFF/Huntsville, AL to religious broadcaster Radio Training Network as part of a reported $2.45m deal that includes several other signals in the Southeast. Cumulus flipped WWFF from Adult Hits to "Nash Icon 93.3" in 2014 (CAT 11/17/14). The current lineup includes Jack Womack, Marty McFly, Sam I Am, Mojo and Dave Myers, as well as weekend syndicated shows from Kix Brooks, John Ritter and Steve Harmon. Radio Training Network currently owns and operates 12 Christian-formatted stations in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, the Carolinas and Missouri.

Cries, Cries, Cries: The chart year is halfway over. Please respect our privacy during this difficult realization. In last night's (5/11) Country Aircheck Weekly, Morgan Wallen and Ella Langley lead the midyear airplay report, Langley launches her Dandelion Tour and Chanel West Coast shares five of her favorite country songs.

Tour Support: Ashley Cooke's The Baby Blues World Tour kicks off Sept. 17 in Cleveland and continues through Feb. 25 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Joining on select dates are Timmy McKeever, McCoy Moore, Just Jayne, Aniston Pate and Hannah McFarland. Tickets go on sale Friday (5/15) here, and $1 of every ticket sold will go towards the Ashley Cooke Fund to benefit The Onsite Foundation's Creatives Support Network.

To celebrate the release of Signs (out 9/18), Luke Bryan will play Nashville's Bridgestone Arena Sept. 24. Luke Bryan & Friends tickets go on sale Friday (5/15) here.

Chris Cagle has added 17 dates to his Play It Loud 25th Anniversary Tour. Find shows and tickets here.

Re-Signage: Singer/songwriter Kaylin Roberson renewed her publishing deal with Peermusic Nashville. Her credits include cuts with Bailey Zimmerman, Hannah McFarland and Michael Ray, and sync placements on Hunting Wives and A Grand Ole Opry Christmas.

Stories Of The Week: Search for news and people in the archives at countryaircheck.com.

Openings were added to the Country Aircheck Job Board.
Max Media/Cape Girardeau, MO's Jack Swart was upped to GM. (5/11)
Sean "Slim" Widmer joined KDRK/Spokane, WA to track middays. (5/11)

Bits & Pieces: Riley Green has signed on to occupy one of the big, red chairs on the next season of NBC's "The Voice," sharing on social media, "I guess y’all can start calling me coach … see ya this fall."

In other Riley Green news, he recently appeared with the Savannah Bananas, performing a snippet of "There Was This Girl" before hitting a single against the Party Animals. Watch here.

Former RCA and Capitol Nashville solo artist and longtime Garth Brooks band member Ty England is running for the U.S. Senate from his home state of Oklahoma under his full name, Gary Ty England, and the slogan "Country Strong, All Day Long." He's best know for his 1995 top five single, "Should've Asked Her Faster."

ICYMI: During last night's (5/11) American Idol finale, hosts Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie performed "Deep Dive Woman," Bryan debuted "Fish Hunt Golf Drink" and joined contestant Julián Kalel for "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere," Underwood and Mötley Crüe teamed up for “Home Sweet Home” and “Kickstart My Heart," Lee Ann Womack and winner Hannah Harper sang "I Hope You Dance" and Brad Paisley performed "I'm Gonna Miss Her" with Lucas Leon.

Country Aircheck Today Top 5: Here are the Top 5 songs for May 11, according to Mediabase.

CODY JOHNSON/The Fall (CoJo/Warner/WRN) 4336 points
TUCKER WETMORE/Brunette (Back Blocks/Mercury) 3972 points
ELLA LANGLEY/Be Her (Sawgod/Col. NY/Triple Tigers) 3682 points
RILEY GREEN/Change My Mind (Nash. Harbor) 3556 points
LUKE COMBS/Sleepless In A Hotel Room (Columbia) 3499 points

Country Aircheck Top Point Gainers: Here are the top point gainers for May 10-11, compared with the same days last week, according to Mediabase.

KENNY CHESNEY/Carry On (Hey Now) +1739 points
CODY JOHNSON/The Fall (CoJo/Warner/WRN) +1249 points
LUKE COMBS/Be By You (Columbia) +833 points
ELLA LANGLEY/Be Her (Sawgod/Col. NY/Triple Tigers/Big Loud) +634 points
JOSH ROSS/Hate How You Look (Core/Mercury) +596 points

Tomorrow's Birthdays (5/13): Morgan Wallen, Darius Rucker, Ray Kennedy, Tammy Lively, Neal Coty, Shane Allen, Jack Christopher, Shelly Easton, the late Lari White.

My Kinda Paddy: Virgin Music Group's Gareth with WWYZ/Hartford's Damon Scott and Amanda Jo Parker (top) and the label's John Mayer and WGNA/Albany, NY's Matty Jeff (bottom).

Signage: Singer/songwriter Taylor Jones (c) celebrates her publishing deal at BMG with the company's Layne Faltinsky and Chris Oglesby.

Re-Signage: Big Loud/Songs & Daughters' Lauren Watkins renews her publishing deal with Big Loud Publishing. Pictured (l-r) are BLP's Kimberly Gleason, Warner Chappell's Bethany Mako, Big Loud's Seth England, Watkins, BLP's Katie Flynn and Big Loud's Sara Knabe.