WTOP streams all-news radio live from Washington, D.C., delivering local, national, and traffic coverage around the clock to the Capital region. Press play on Radio Shuffle and it streams instantly, free, with no account or app download required, the same feed that generates more advertising revenue than any other radio station in the country.
Katharine Graham's mandate to go all-news
WTOP switched to its all-news format on March 9, 1969, a shift ordered by Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, who owned the station at the time and wanted it to drop its mix of newscasts and call-in talk shows entirely in favor of continuous news coverage, according to a look back at 50 years of news on WTOP. That single format decision more than five decades ago set the template the station still runs today, now owned by Hubbard Radio and reaching the Washington metro area with an assist from repeater station WWWT-FM in Manassas, Virginia.
The most valuable minute of airtime in American radio
WTOP is not just a well-known Washington institution, it is the single highest-billing radio station in the entire United States. According to Radio World's coverage of BIA Advisory Services' annual rankings, WTOP topped the national billing list with $66.3 million in over-the-air revenue, marking the 13th time in 14 years it has finished number one nationally, generating 58 percent more revenue than the second-place station. That is a remarkable result for a station operating in a mid-sized market rather than New York or Los Angeles, a testament to how deeply embedded WTOP has become in the daily routine of a region built around government work and long commutes.
Listen free on Radio Shuffle
WTOP streams around the clock, and Radio Shuffle carries the feed live with nothing to install and no subscription required. Press play for the all-news station that turned a 1969 format change into America's most valuable radio brand.