Nielsen Releases September Syracuse Radio Ratings

SYRACUSE — The latest monthly ratings report from Nielsen shows most stations have not changed much since the previous month, but this month’s “top line” report is considerably longer than we’ve seen in recent months.

The top-line ratings are the only numbers Nielsen releases to the general public. The report shows each station’s overall audience share among all persons age 12 and up, averaged across the entire week between 6am and midnight. It also only includes stations which actively subscribe to Nielsen’s full ratings reports. So we don’t get to see how non-subscribing stations did at all, and we don’t get to see how any station performed in any specific daypart or with any specific target demographic. That data is only visible to stations and ad agencies that subscribe to the full report.

With a 10.8 share for the three-month period ending in September, iHeart Country powerhouse B104.7 (WBBS) continues to lead the pack, and also increases its margin over the second-highest ranked station. That’s locally-owned Inner Harbor Media’s The Dinosaur (WSEN-FM), whose classic hits format took a slight drop from a 6.2 to a 5.9.

(Note, we’ve moved the newest ratings to the far left this time, so they’re easier to see without needing to scroll on a mobile device.)

Data updated by Nielsen 10/23/26. Persons 12+, Monday-­Sunday, 6AM–Midnight, Average Quarter-Hour Share.

Subscriber	Format	SEP 26 (JUL-SEP)	AUG 26 (JUN-AUG)	JUL 26 (MAY-JUL)	JUN 26 (APR-JUN)
WBBS-FM	Country	10.8	9.6	9.6	8.2
WSEN-FM	Classic Hits	5.9	6.2	4.7	4.2
WYYY-FM	Adult Contemporary	5.9	6.0	7.4	6.3
WSYR-AM	News Talk Information	5.5	5.1	5.2	5.3
WWHT-FM	Pop Contemporary Hit Radio	4.1	4.1	4.0	4.2
WTKW-FM	Classic Rock	3.7	4.1	4.0	5.5
WOLF-FM	New Country	3.4	3.4	3.1	2.7
WZUN-FM	Classic Hits	3.4	3.2	2.9	2.5
WMVN-FM	Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio	2.8	3.0	2.0	2.3
WKRL-FM	Active Rock	2.2	2.3	2.9	3.0
WKLZ-FM	Contemporary Christian	2.0	1.9	1.8	1.1
WAER-FM	News Talk Information	2.0	1.9	2.0	2.3
WHEN-AM	Urban Adult Contemporary	1.8	1.5	1.6	1.7
WTKV-FM	Classic Rock	0.8	*	*	1.5
WKRH-FM	Active Rock	0.8
WTKV-FM	Classic Rock	0.8
WUMX-FM	Hot AC (Utica)	0.8
WOLF-AM	All Sports	0.6	0.6	0.4	0.2
WKLL-FM	Active Rock (Utica)	0.6
WJPZ-FM	Pop Contemporary Hit Radio	0.4	0.6	0.7	0.8
WTLA-AM	All Sports	0.4
WQSE-FM	Adult Hits	0.2
WGKV-FM	Contemporary Christian	*	0.2	0.2	0.2
WVOA-AM	Religious	*	0.2	0.2	0.2
WRVO-FM	News Talk Information	?	3.0	3.4	3.4
WRVD-FM	News Talk Information	?	0.2	*	0.2
WKLZ-IF+	Contemporary Christian	?	*	0.2	0.2

Although numbers changed a bit here and there, the top several stations largely remained in the same order. However, there are some oddities which seem to require reconciling.

Classic rock stations WTKW and WTKV simulcast the same programming as “TK99 and TK105” and should have one combined listing, but Nielsen listed them separately for no apparent reason. If the 3.7 share of WTKW is combined with the 0.8 credited to WTKV, the total of 4.5 would be enough to claim the #5 spot in the market, outranking iHeart’s top 40 Hot 107.9 (WWHT). But because they are listed separately, WTKW appears to be 6th (behind WWHT) and WTKV appears much farther down the list.

In the same Galaxy Media cluster, which is in the process of being acquired by Albany-based Pamal Broadcasting, KROCK-branded stations WKRL and WKRH are listed separately, despite being a simulcast which should have a single combined listing. This is another case where, if both stations had their individual shares combined, the total would bump them up another notch in the rankings.

It wasn’t an across-the-board situation, either. As expected, iHeart news/talker WSYR simulcasts on the AM (570) and FM (106.9) bands, but audience estimates for both signals are combined into a single line for WSYR-AM.

The Galaxy/Pamal sale also results in a few of the future Pamal stations from the Utica-Rome market appearing in the Syracuse book. Hot AC Mix 102.5 (WUMX) posted a 0.8 share, while the KROCK’s Utica feed (WKLL, with mostly the same programming but different commercials), posted a 0.6 share in Syracuse.

Syracuse University student-run Z89 (WJPZ) had a 0.4, its lowest book out of the past four, tying with ESPN Radio on WTLA.

And for the first time, Inner Harbor Media’s 89.9 The Spot, playing mostly 90s music, scored a 0.2 share. Although Nielsen lists it as WQSE-FM, it’s technically a TV station licensed as WQSE-LD. Because it’s on TV channel 6, the audio happens to be on 87.7 FM.