Hudson Westbrook - CAT Header - 020326.jpg

February 5, 2026 News@CountryAircheck.com

What The Forks? Here are select Nielsen Audio Fall 2025 (9/18-12/10) two-book per year diary ratings for subscribing stations compared with their last books (Fall 2024 and Spring 2025). Ranks (in parentheses) are also among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.

Cedar Rapids, IA (199)	KHAK Townsquare 10.0 (1t) - 13.0 (1) - 10.9 (1) KKSY iHeartMedia 4.0 (8t) - 3.9 (7t) - 3.6 (9)
Duluth, MN (202)	KDKE Midwest Classic Country 4.8 (5t) - 7.7 (2) - 4.8 (4t) KKCB Townsquare 5.4 (4) - 4.7 (6t) - 4.8 (4t) KTCO Midwest 4.2 (7t) - 4.1 (8t) - 3.6 (10)
Fargo, ND (183)	KBVB Radio Fargo-Moorhead 6.2 (4t) - 7.1 (2t) - 8.1 (3) Largest share since Fall 2013. KVOX Midwest 5.7 (6t) - 6.6 (4) - 5.6 (6)
Grand Forks, ND-MN (242)	KYCK Leighton 7.1 (3t) - 6.2 (5t) - 9.2 (1t) First No. 1 since Fall 2015. KSNR iHeartMedia 7.1 (3t) - 6.2 (5t) - 7.7 (5t) Largest share since Fall 2012.
Harrisonburg, VA (228)	WSIG Saga Classic Country 9.9 (1t) - 9.2 (1t) - 9.8 (1t) WKCY iHeartMedia 8.8 (3) - 9.2 (1t) - 8.5 (3)
Laredo, TX (190)	KRRG Guerra 8.1 (3t) - 9.9 (3) - 10.5 (3) Largest share since Spring 2020.
St. Cloud, MN (181)	KZPK Leighton 5.3 (2t) - 6.7 (2) - 7.9 (1) Largest share since Spring 2014. WWJO Townsquare 8.7 (1) - 8.0 (1) - 6.6 (2) KDDG Starcom Classic Country 2.9 (7t) - 4.0 (5) - 4.8 (4) Largest share to date. WVAL-AM Tri-County Cl. Country 1.4 (13t) - 1.8 (11t) - 2.2 (12)
Waterloo, IA (221)	KOEL Townsquare 7.3 (2) - 7.5 (2) - 10.5 (1) KPTY-AM NRG Classic Country 2.8 (8t) - 3.7 (7t) - 2.9 (8)
Winchester, VA (196)	WUSQ iHeartMedia 15.6 (1) - 13.3 (1) - 10.6 (1) 51st consecutive No. 1, dating to 2000.

Ginn Rummy: Former TEGNA Head of Sales Enablement & Business Development Matt Ginn has joined iHeartMedia as Division Pres./Community Markets, overseeing 30 markets in the Midsouth, South Carolina, Georgia, Southwest and Texas. He reports to Pres./Community Markets John Karpinski. Additionally, Urban One/Houston Dir./Sales & Business Development Wayne Jones has been hired as Metro Pres./Texas Community Markets, overseeing Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Waco, McAllen and Bryan. He reports to Ginn.

Mountain Range: 7 Mountains Media WPIG/Olean, NY and sister WFVY/Lebanon PA morning hosts Newman and Nancy Ryan have picked up mornings on sister WFGE/State College, PA as well. They succeed JoJo & Lily, who had been simulcast on mornings at WFGE from their home base at sister WFGY/Altoona, PA until their departue last month (CAT 1/5). Nancy & Newman shifted from afternoons to mornings at WPIG (where Newman is also OM) last fall (CAT 11/18/25). 7 Mountains Chief Programming Officer JC Burton is still seeking a morning show for WFGY. Send résumé, aircheck and social media examples to him here.

Texas Coast: Artist Randall King and his longtime Day-To-Day Mgr. Clayton Toney have joined Neon Coast. “They’ve grown something special the right way — on the road, through songs that matter, and with a clear creative vision," says Founder Martha Earls. Adds King, "I'm thankful to Howie Edelman and Scott Gunter at Durango for all they’ve helped us accomplish so far, excited for this new adventure with Neon Coast and thrilled to keep Clayton on board for this next chapter." Toney will continue to be King’s point of contact and now co-manager. Reach him here.

Bienvenue: Former Danny Wimmer Presents VP/Operations Shawn Krauel has joined Opry Entertainment Group (OEG) as VP/Festivals & Amphitheaters, where his responsibilites will include Nashville's Ascend Amphitheater. Industry vet Justin Jordan has been named GM for Ascend, which also named Pete Tamayo Senior OM and Dave Marren Sr. Concerts Booking Mgr. Additionally, former Big Spring Entertainment Talent Buyer Gordon Hughes has been hired as Sr. Booking Mgr./Concerts for OEG's Ryman Auditorium.

Reve-News: SiriusXM reported revenue of $8.56 billion in 2025, off 2% from 2024's $8.7b. The company had a net income of $805m for the year, compared to net loss of $2.08b in 2024, while adjusted EBITDA was off 2% to $2.67b. Q4 revenue was $2.19b, flat from the prior year. Net income for the quarter was $99m, down from $287m the prior year. SiriusXM added 110,000 new self-pay subscribers in Q4, but the full year saw a decline of 301,000, putting the year-end total at 32.8m. Pandora self-pay subscribers decreased by 169,000 in Q4 to end the year at 5.7m. "We’re pleased to have overdelivered on our commitments, finishing the year with a strong fourth quarter, meaningful free cash flow growth, and exceeding our full-year guidance," says CEO Jennifer Witz. Full release here.

Last But Least: Final round voting for the 2026 CRS/Country Aircheck Awards closes at midnight CT tonight (2/5). All votes – one per customer – must have a valid industry email address. (Seriously. Randos get tossed!) Winners will be announced during the New Faces Of Country Music Show at CRS 2026. Vote here now!

Festive All: Red Clay Strays, Journey, Hootie & The Blowfish, Third Eye Blind, BigXthaPlug and Treaty Oak Revival are among the artists performing on the Mustang Stage during Stagecoach April 24-26 in Indio, CA; schedule and tickets here.

Parker McCollum, Ty Myers, George Birge, Julia Cole, Dalton Davis, Filmore, Matt Stell and more are on the lineup for Backstage Access Presents' invite-only inaugural Napa Valley April 14-16.

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

Kevin Callahan, Justin Chase and Brian Michel discuss DTS AutoStage’s in-car listening data in Country Aircheck Weekly.
Townsquare's Buddy Logan departed. (2/4)
Sommer Frisk joined Connoisseur Media. (2/2)
Jon Borris was named Head/Music of 101 Studios. (2/2)

View It For The Gram: The 68th Grammy Awards (2/1) drew 14.4 million viewers, down 6.5% from the 2025 show's 15.4 million. The CBS-TV broadcast still dominated the P18-49 demo with a 3.24 rating and 34 share, according to thetvratingsguide. Next year's show moves to Disney platforms including ABC-TV and Hulu after more than 50 years at CBS.

Country Aircheck Today Top 5: Here are the Top 5 songs for Feb. 4, according to Mediabase 24/7.

JASON ALDEAN/How Far Does A Goodbye Go (Macon Music/Broken Bow) 4146 points
ELLA LANGLEY/Choosin' Texas (Sawgod/Col. NY/Triple Tigers) 4074 points
HUDSON WESTBROOK/House Again (River House/Warner/WAR) 4051 points
MORGAN WALLEN/20 Cigarettes (Big Loud) 3883 points
SHABOOZEY & JELLY ROLL/Amen (Empire/Magnolia/Stoney Creek) 3767 points

Country Aircheck Top Point Gainers: Here are the top point gainers for Feb. 1-4, compared with the same days last week, according to Mediabase 24/7.

HUDSON WESTBROOK/House Again (River House/Warner/WAR) +5287 points
LUKE COMBS/Sleepless In A Hotel Room (Columbia) +2300 points
HARDY f/E. CHURCH, M. WALLEN & T. MCGRAW/McArthur (Big Loud) +1489 points
MEGHAN PATRICK/Golden Child (Riser House) +1182 points
MORGAN WALLEN/20 Cigarettes (Big Loud) +1042 points

Tomorrow's Birthdays (2/6): Richie McDonald (Lonestar), Anita Cochran, Brian "Wookie" Kostek, Allyson Gelnett, Corey Garrison.

DMT-32034-FY25-MG-Country-Cares-Web-Banners-970x415-Kelsea.png

Tim Travel: Warner/WAR's Ingrid Andress (l) and Warner/WRN's Ashley McBryde with Audacy's Tim Roberts at the label's Audacy Summit.

Baby, It's Cole Outside: Speaking of the Audacy Summit, pictured (l-r) are the company's Justin Cole, Broke/Lyric Ridge Records' Julia Cole and Lyric Ridge’s Louie Newman.

WIRK Zone: Columbia's Kameron Marlowe plays WIRK/West Palm Beach, FL's Secret Session. Pictured (l-r) are the station's Moriah Daniels, Marlowe, the station's Chelsea Taylor and Nick Rivers and the label's Ali O’Connell.

Hudson Westbrook - CAT Footer - 020326.jpg