ESPN 1000 surges in October PPMs, thanks to Bears and White Sox

Also: 93.9 The Lite, 101.9 The Mix tie for first; Power 105 disputes Hot 97’s claims in NYC’s “Hip-Hop War”

The Chicago White Sox’s successful 2026 season not only paid dividends for regional sports network CHSN, but it also did for its radio home. 

Good Karma Brands’ ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM) surged in the ratings in the October book thanks to the White Sox’s resurgent season, which landed them in the postseason sweeping Houston in the Wild Card round and advancing to play the Cleveland Guardians in the Divisional Round, only to lost three straight after winning the first two. Still, the postseason appearance sent ESPN 1000 skyrocketing in the ratings from seventeenth overall with a 1.9 share to ninth with a 3.3 – a 74 percent increase, the best performance on the frequency since 1992, when the station was known as “Hot Talk” WMVP-AM. Moreover, ESPN 1000 beat rival The Score 104.3 (WSCR AM/FM) for the first time in recent memory, with the latter in sixteenth place. Keep in mind a better picture of the two stations and how they stack up with one another will come into focus once the quarterly male 25-54 numbers are released. 

ESPN 1000’s success is notable given Good Karma dropped Nielsen a few years ago, thus being de-listed from the survey. But ESPN 1000 has resurfaced on the list a few months ago for unknown reasons, so Good Karma assumingly is a Nielsen subscriber again (Cumulus’ three stations in Chicago remain unlisted due to a legal dispute.)

Also contributing to the surge is ESPN 1000 is home to Chicago Bears’ radio broadcasts. With a 6-2 record this season, the team has become a hot ticket thanks to the strong play of QB Caleb Williams and the addition of defensive player Jeffrey Simmons, obtained in a trade with Tennessee. It remains to be seen if ESPN 1000 can keep up the momentum – keep in mind after a similar surge by Crawford’s Power 92 (Hip-Hop WPWX-FM) last summer, the station plummeted back to the bottom of the ratings. But with a hot Bears team, ESPN 1000 should remain competitive. 

Elsewhere, 93.9 The Lite and 101.9 The Mix tied for first overall in October, as we head into the holiday season as Christmas music from WLIT will certainly skew the numbers and demos into their favor. Finishing third was Audacy’s all-news WBBM Newsradio and Triple A WXRT tied for third, while Hubbard’s Classic Rock The Drive (WDRV-FM) finished fifth. WBBM Newsradio’s slipped for the third straight book; the station was flat from October 2025, when Operation Midway Blitz was still taking place in the Chicago area as the drama surrounding the immigration raids skewed the numbers the month before.

101.9 The Mix took top honors in 25-54s for the tenth consecutive time and also finished first in adults 18-49; WLIT was second in both demos. Finishing third in 25-54s was Top 40 Kiss FM 103.5 FM (WKSC-FM) with rival B96 (WBBM-FM) tied for fourth in the demo with the aforementioned ESPN 1000. Kiss 103.5 FM also topped B96 in the adults 18-34 demo, finishing first and second respectively, with The Drive tying iHeartMedia Hip-Hop WGCI, with WLIT fifth and WTMX sixth. 

In New York City, Merulo Media’s Hip-Hop Hot 97 (WQHT-FM) made headlines last month after several radio personalities complained on-air about wow they were treated amid layoffs at the station, which included on-air talents, mixers, producers, and others. Several others noted a few freelancers weren’t paid for their services, according to Radio Insight. The news caught the attention of The Breakfast Club, the nationally syndicated radio show that originates from iHeartMedia’s Hip-Hop outlet Power 105 (WWPR-FM), and they weren’t impressed as Hot 97 morning personality Mero claimed his show was tops in the New York City market. But The Breakfast Club hosts countered they were tops in the market, in September finishing first in all three key radio demos (given the recent apathy over World Series TV ratings on social media, do their listeners really care about this?)

But according to demo numbers reported by Research Director Inc., the bragging didn’t extend to the whole day. iHeartMedia sister station WLTW finished first in all-day September and October 18-34 demo numbers, while another iHeartMedia sister station (Top 40 WHTZ-FM/Z100) took the 18-49 honors in both months, while returning to the top of the heap in 25-54s last month, knocking off WLTW, who held the top slot all-day in September. WWPR’s all day 25-54 and 18-34 numbers fell from fifth in September to eighth last month, while declining to sixth place in adults 18-49.

Hot 97 did not appear in the top ten in any key demo in October.

Overall, Power 105 and Hot 97 were down from September, finishing thirteenth and fourteenth, respectively while Audacy’s all-news WINS finished first with WLTW second. 

So while the two go back and forth on who won what, the bottom line is ratings for both Hip-Hop stations are down and despite each morning show’s popularity – especially The Breakfast Club, as both shows are failing to keep their listeners tuned in throughout the day.