The Country Music Association has announced finalists for the 2026 CMA Broadcast Awards, recognizing radio stations and on-air personalities across the U.S. and Canada.<\/p>\n
Broadcast Personality of the Year finalists were named in six categories \u2014 weekly national, daily national and major, large, medium and small markets. Radio Station of the Year finalists were named in four market-size categories: major, large, medium and small.<\/p>\n
Categories are established by market size based on population as ranked by Nielsen. Personality entries are judged on aircheck, ratings, community involvement and biographical and impact information, while station entries are judged on aircheck, ratings, community involvement and leadership and impact information. A panel of broadcast professionals representing all market sizes and regions evaluated the entries. Any full-time, on-air personality or station in the U.S. and Canada was eligible, regardless of CMA membership. Winners are not eligible to enter the same category in consecutive years, so 2025 recipients were not eligible in 2026.<\/p>\n
A full list of 2026 CMA Broadcast Awards finalists follows:<\/p>\n
CMA BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR:<\/p>\n
WEEKLY NATIONAL\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican Country Countdown with Ryan Fox\u201d (Ryan Fox) \u2013 Westwood One \/ Cumulus Media\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Country Top 40 with Fitz\u201d (Cory \u201cFitz\u201d Fitzner) \u2013 Hubbard Broadcasting\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCrook & Chase Countdown\u201d (Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase) \u2013 Jim Owens Entertainment\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Highway Hot 30 Countdown with Buzz Brainard\u201d (Buzz Brainard) \u2013 SiriusXM\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSteve Harmon Show\u201d (Steve Harmon) \u2013 Westwood One \/ Cumulus Media\u00a0<\/p>\n
DAILY NATIONAL\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Angie Ward Show\u201d (Angie Ward) \u2013 iHeartMedia\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBackstage Country with Elaina Smith\u201d (Elaina Smith) \u2013 Key Networks\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBig D & Bubba\u201d (\u201cBig D\u201d Derek Haskins, \u201cBubba\u201d Sean Powell, Carsen Humphreville, Jonathan Shaffer, and Garrett Freche) \u2013 Silverfish Media\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Bobby Bones Show\u201d (Bobby Bones, Amy Brown, \u201cLunchbox\u201d Dan Chappell, Eddie Garcia, Morgan Huelsman, \u201cScuba Steve\u201d Spradlin, \u201cMike D\u201d Rodriguez, \u201cRaymundo\u201d Ray Slater, and \u201cPhone Screener Abby\u201d Anderson) \u2013 Premiere Radio Networks \/ iHeartMedia\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKatie & Company\u201d (Katie Neal) \u2013 Audacy\u00a0<\/p>\n
MAJOR MARKET\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Andie Summers Show\u201d (Andie Summers, Jeff Kurkjian, Donnie Black, and Shannon Boyle) \u2013 WXTU, Philadelphia, Pa.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHawkeye and Michelle\u201d (“Hawkeye” Mark Louis Rybczyk and Michelle Rodriguez) \u2013 KSCS, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Lo Show\u201d (Lauren \u201cLo\u201d Sessions) \u2013 KKBQ, Houston, Texas\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael J & Candace in the Morning\u201d (\u201cMichael J\u201d Stuehler and Candace Dold) \u2013 WPOC, Baltimore, Md.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Scotty Kay Show\u201d (Scotty Kay) \u2013 WUSN, Chicago, Ill.\u00a0<\/p>\n
LARGE MARKET\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDeb & Matt in the Morning\u201d (Deborah Honeycutt and Matt Malone) \u2013 WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEagle Mornings with Steve & Karen\u201d (Steve Waters and Karen West) \u2013 WGH, Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, Va.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHeather Froglear\u201d (Heather Froglear) \u2013 KFRG, Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Jesse & Anna Show\u201d (Jesse Tack, Anna Marie, and Jake Thomson) \u2013 WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cScott and Shannen\u201d (Scott Dolphin and \u201cShannen O\u201d Oesterreich) \u2013 WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
MEDIUM MARKET\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cClay and Company\u201d (Clay Moden and Rob Banks) \u2013 WYRK, Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Doc Show with Chewy\u201d (Ken \u201cDoc\u201d Medek and Sean \u201cChewy\u201d Medek) \u2013 WGGY, Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJoey & Nancy\u201d (Joey Tack, Nancy Barger, and Karly Duggan) \u2013 WIVK, Knoxville, Tenn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJulie and DJ in the Morning\u201d (\u201cJulie K\u201d Kansy and \u201cDJ Thee Trucker\u201d Dale Sellers) \u2013 WPCV, Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSteve & Gina in the Morning on Kat 103.7\u201d (Steve Lundy and Gina Melton) \u2013 KXKT, Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa\u00a0<\/p>\n
SMALL MARKET\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Cat Pak Morning Show with Brent and Friends\u201d (Brent Lane and Jordan Glass) \u2013 WYCT, Pensacola, Fla.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHilley & Hart\u201d (Kevin Hilley and Erin Hart) \u2013 KATI, Columbia, Mo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKicks Wake Up Krew\u201d (\u201cDub\u201d Bryan Axelson and Cody Blaine Jackson) \u2013 WKXC, Augusta, Ga.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLiz & Scotty in the Morning\u201d (Liz Del Grosso and Scotty Cox) \u2013 KCLR, Columbia, Mo.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficer Don and DeAnn\u201d (\u201cOfficer Don\u201d Evans and DeAnn Stephens) \u2013 WBUL, Lexington, Ky.\u00a0<\/p>\n
CMA RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR:\u00a0<\/p>\n
MAJOR MARKET\u00a0<\/p>\n
KSCS \u2013 Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas\u00a0<\/p>\n
KSON \u2013 San Diego, Calif.\u00a0<\/p>\n
KYGO \u2013 Denver-Boulder, Colo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WMZQ \u2013 Washington, D.C.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WPOC \u2013 Baltimore, Md.\u00a0<\/p>\n
LARGE MARKET\u00a0<\/p>\n
KFRG \u2013 Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WCTK \u2013 Providence-Warwick-Pawtucket, R.I.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WDSY \u2013 Pittsburgh, Pa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WMIL \u2013 Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
WQDR \u2013 Raleigh-Durham, N.C.\u00a0<\/p>\n
MEDIUM MARKET\u00a0<\/p>\n
KXKT \u2013 Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa\u00a0<\/p>\n
WHKO \u2013 Dayton, Ohio\u00a0<\/p>\n
WLFP \u2013 Memphis, Tenn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WQMX \u2013 Akron, Ohio\u00a0<\/p>\n
WUSY \u2013 Chattanooga, Tenn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SMALL MARKET\u00a0<\/p>\n
KCLR \u2013 Columbia, Mo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WCOW \u2013 La Crosse, Wis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WKML \u2013 Fayetteville, N.C.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WKXC \u2013 Augusta, Ga.\u00a0<\/p>\n
WYCT \u2013 Pensacola, Fla.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Winners will be announced in the coming weeks and recognized during the CMA Awards Pre-Telecast Ceremony. “The 60th Annual CMA Awards” airs live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Wednesday, Nov. 18, (8pm ET, ABC and Disney+, next day on Hulu).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Country Music Association has announced finalists for the 2026 CMA Broadcast Awards, recognizing radio stations and on-air…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,710,61,60,278,43],"class_list":["post-611438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-free","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}