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Nonetheless, Christian radio has indeed grown into an industry, for better or worse. In fact, if the origins of Christian radio closely followed the origins of Contemporary Christian music, the growth and maturity of Christian radio has closely followed mainstream radio. "Christian radio is about five years behind mainstream radio," says Chris Hauser, radio promoter and president of Hauser Promotions and Marketing. Consequently, when mainstream radio expanded across the FM dial and began specializing in specific music formats, Christian radio followed.

Today's dominant specialized format plays Adult Contemporary (AC) Christian radio, typically around the clock.

There is still a disparity in coverage; some cities are served by multiple stations and others, sometimes large metropolitan areas, have no Christian music presence on the radio at all. Of the five largest radio markets in the country, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Dallas-Ft. Worth, all have at least one AC Christian radio presence.

Three major companies dominate the AC radio landscape. K-LOVE, a division of Educational Media Foundation, can be heard on 243 different frequencies in 41 states. WAY-FM's signal is broadcast on 17 frequencies in nine states. Salem Media operates 13 Christian AC stations in 10 states, most under the "Fish" banner.

As these large companies continue to grow, smaller stations celebrate 10- and 20-year anniversaries, faithfully reaching local communities all over the country. Their long-term success is an important reason the bigger players have been able to establish a presence in many major markets, which is not a trivial matter when large or major market stations can cost up to $50 million to start up.

One way to measure the success of these stations is their ratings. Arbitron ratings report the average number of people listening to a given station for a given quarter-hour; a "share" is that number expressed as a percentage of the total number of people listening to the radio during that time. But it's difficult to actually count the number people who are listening to a particular station. Traditionally, select listeners have completed a hand-written "listening diary"—a small, pamphlet-style journal with space for seven days of listening information. Participants record what they listened to and when, as well as where they were when they listened.

While artists and labels care about the number of people listening to a given radio station, they're more interested in the number of people listening to their particular songs. This information is recorded two different ways. Industry giants Billboard and Radio & Records (who recently merged) manage charts that count not only the number of "spins" each song receives, but also "audience impressions"—the number of people listening when a particular song is played. Labels often follow these charts more closely than their artists, but are quick to pass along good news. Smaller radio stations that can't afford expansive research also use the charts to monitor what other stations are playing.

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