The Nielsen ratings service tracks numbers for radio outlets in the U.S., including Denver, the nation's eighteenth-largest market based on a population estimate of 2,853,400, with 174,300 of those residents identified as Black and 602,600 classified as Hispanic; the company lists no other demographic categories. All three sums are up since our previous Denver radio ratings roundup in November 2023.
As for listenership data, Nielsen only shares one number publicly: total listeners ages six and older who tune in to local stations from 6 a.m. to midnight.
By that measure, the ratings winner in December of 2024, the most recent month for which figures are available, was KOSI, the Mile High City's longtime adult-contemporary kingpin. But its dominance carries an asterisk: For the 23rd consecutive year, the station switched to an all-Yuletide-favorites playlist in mid-November — a move that boosts listenership figures thanks to businesses that put the channel on lock throughout holiday shopping season.
The latest Denver digits definitely skew older, as well. In second place behind KOSI is rock-and-pop nostalgist KXKL, better known as KOOL 105, whose December audience share rose by nearly a full point since late 2023. Close behind is Alice, an adult-contemporary purveyor that saw an even more dramatic ratings rise — a 1.7 share annual increase that brought it from twelfth place among Denver's most-listened-to stations to third. No wonder B.J. Harris and Jamie White, the broadcaster's morning team and most prominent stars, were given a new contract in August.
Other ratings winners include public-radio giant KCFR (up from thirteenth on the Denver ratings roster to fifth), album-oriented rocker KBCO (from fourteenth to sixth), Hits 95.7, aka KDHT (from eighteenth to ninth), and KUVO, a public radio station specializing in jazz, whose share more than doubled, taking it from thirtieth position to 21st. In contrast, KRFX/The Fox dipped from fourth to eleventh, KKFN/The Fan fell from sixth to fourteenth, and adult-contemporary long-timer KIMN tumbled from ninth to eighteenth.
An important note: In a previous Westword interview, KOSI program director Jim Lawson acknowledged that six-plus ratings aren't all that important from a dollars-and-cents perspective. "Sales are really set by demographics: women 25-54, men 25-54, persons 18-49, whatever," he explained. "So stations are most interested in that information, which Nielsen doesn't release publicly, because people pay for it. We pay for it, and so do advertising agencies. You have to be a subscriber to their service to see all of that data."
Morning teammates Jamie White and B.J. Harris of Alice helped their station take a big ratings leap.
General Nielsen stats and other market research indicates that radio remains a viable communications medium. According to the firm's research arm, 82 percent of Americans listened to old-style AM or FM broadcasts weekly in 2022.
An October 2024 report from Westwood One contends that "over the last five years, AM/FM radio has overtaken linear TV in ratings. As of 2023, AM/FM radio’s 18-49 ratings were 12 percent greater than TV. Among 25-54s, the gap between TV and AM/FM radio ratings has been steadily closing. Based on TV and AM/FM radio audience forecasts, 2025 will see AM/FM radio overtake TV in the all-important 25-54 demographic by 13 percent and widen its ratings lead over TV among 18-49s by 47 percent."
Audience measurements are expressed as shares, which translate to the percentage of people listening to the radio in the market at a given time. Other key metrics include the unique number of listeners, time spent listening and average quarter-hour share.
Below, Westword has compiled the Nielsen ratings for Denver in December, ranked from largest to smallest share of listeners ages six and older — juxtaposed with data from October 2023. Note that some stations are also represented by HD and AM sister signals.
1. KOSI-FM
Format: Adult Contemporary
Owner: Bonneville International
December 2024 ratings share: 9.3
October 2023 ratings share: 5.5
October 2023 ranking: 3
2. KXKL-FM (KOOL 105)
Format: Classic Hits
Owner: KSE Radio Ventures
December 2024 ratings share: 6.5
October 2023 ratings share: 5.6
October 2023 ranking: 1
3. KALC-FM (Alice)
Format: Adult Contemporary
Owner: Audacy
December 2024 ratings share: 5.7
October 2023 ratings share: 4.0
October 2023 ranking: 12
4. KYGO-FM (98.5 KYGO)
Format: Country
Owner: Bonneville International
December 2024 ratings share: 5.5
October 2023 ratings share: 5.6
October 2023 ranking: 2
5. KCFR-FM (Colorado Public Radio)
Format: News/Talk
Owner: Public Broadcasting of Colorado
December 2024 ratings share: 5.1
October 2023 ratings share: 3.9
October 2023 ranking: 13
6. KBCO-FM (97.3 KBCO)
Format: Alternative
Owner: iHeartMedia
December 2024 ratings share: 4.6
October 2023 ratings share: 3.5
October 2023 ranking: 14
7. KQMT-FM (The Mountain)
Format: Classic Rock
Owner: Audacy
December 2024 ratings share: 4.6
October 2023 ratings share: 4.5
October 2023 ranking: 8
8. KTCL-FM (Channel 93.3)
Format: Alternative
Owner: iHeartMedia
December 2024 ratings share: 4.5
October 2023 ratings share: 4.9
October 2023 ranking: 5
9. KDHT-FM (Hits 95.7)
Format: Contemporary Hits Radio
Owner: iHeartMedia
December 2024 ratings share: 3.8
October 2023 ratings share: 2.4
October 2023 ranking: 18
10. KOA-AM
Format: News/Talk
Owner: iHeartMedia
December 2024 ratings share: 3.8
October 2023 ratings share: 4.5
October 2023 ranking: 7
11. KRFX-FM (The Fox)
Format: Classic Rock
Owner: iHeartMedia
December 2024 ratings share: 3.8
October 2023 ratings share: 5.0
October 2023 ranking: 4
12. KLDV-FM (K-LOVE)
Format: Christian
Owner: CHR Educational Media Foundation
December 2024 ratings share: 3.2
October 2023 ratings share: 4.1
October 2023 ranking: 11
13. KQKS-FM (KS 107.5)
Format: Rhythmic Contemporary Hit Radio
Owner: Audacy
December 2024 ratings share: 3.0
October 2023 ratings share: 2.7
October 2023 ranking: 16
14. KKFN-FM (104.3 The Fan)
Format: All Sports
Owner: Bonneville International
December 2024 ratings share: 2.8
October 2023 ratings share: 4.5
October 2023 ranking: 6
15. KWBL-FM (The Bull)
Format: Country
Owner: iHeartMedia
December 2024 ratings share: 2.8
October 2023 ratings share: 2.7
October 2023 ranking: 18
16. KXPK-FM (La Tricolor 96.5)
Format: Regional Mexican
Owner: Entravision
December 2024 ratings share: 2.8
October 2023 ratings share: 3.3
October 2023 ranking: 15
17. KIMN-FM (Mix 100)
Format: Hot AC
Owner: KSE Radio Ventures
December 2024 ratings share: 2.6
October 2023 ratings share: 4.4
October 2023 ranking: 9
104.3 the Fan is still one of Denver's most popular sports radio stations, but it fell in the rankings in 2024.
Flickr/Rudius Media
Format: Adult Hits
Owner: Entravision
December 2024 ratings share: 2.5
October 2023 ratings share: 4.3
October 2023 ranking: 10
19. KKSE-FM (Altitude Sports Radio)
Format: All Sports
Owner: KSE Radio Ventures
December 2024 ratings share: 2.4
October 2023 ratings share: 2.0
October 2023 ranking: 20
20. KDFD-AM (Freedom 93.7)
Format: News/Talk
Owner: iHeartMedia
December 2024 ratings share: 1.6
October 2023 ratings share: 2.1
October 2023 ranking: 19
21. KUVO-FM (KUVO Jazz)
Format: Jazz
Owner: Rocky Mountain Public Media
December 2024 ratings share: 1.5
October 2023 ratings share: 0.6
October 2023 ranking: 30
22. KVOD-FM (CPR Classical)
Format: Classical
Owner: Public Broadcasting of Colorado
December 2024 ratings share: 1.5
October 2023 ratings share: 1.6
October 2023 ranking: 22
23. KBPI-FM (Rock the Rockies)
Format: Rock
Owner: iHeartMedia
December 2024 ratings share: 1.2
October 2023 ratings share: 1.3
October 2023 ranking: 23
24. KHOW-AM (630 KHOW)
Format: News/Talk
Owner: iHeartMedia
December 2024 ratings share: 1.1
October 2023 ratings share: 1.8
October 2023 ranking: 21
25. KJAC-FM (The Colorado Sound)
Format: Alternative
Owner: Community Radio For Northern Colorado
December 2024 ratings share: 0.8
October 2023 ratings share: 0.7
October 2023 ranking: 29
26. KUNC-FM
Format: News/Talk
Owner: Community Radio for Northern Colorado
December 2024 ratings share: 0.8
October 2023 ratings share: 0.8
October 2023 ranking: 28
27. KVOQ-FM (Indie 102.3)
Format: Alternative
Owner: Public Broadcasting of Colorado
December 2024 ratings share: 0.8
October 2023 ratings share: 0.6
October 2023 ranking: 31
28. KQKS-FM-HD2 (Front Range Country)
Format: Country
Owner: Audacy
December 2024 ratings share: 0.5
October 2023 ratings share: 0.8
October 2023 ranking: 27
29. KQMT-FM-STR (The Mountain)
Format: Classic Rock
Owner: Audacy
December 2024 ratings share: 0.5
October 2023 ratings share: 0.1
October 2023 ranking: 37
30. KUVO-FM-HD2 (KUVO Jazz)
Format: Urban
Owner: Rocky Mountain Public Media
December 2024 ratings share: 0.4
October 2023 ratings share: 0.5
October 2023 ranking: 32
31. KXDP-FM (La Invasora)
Format: Regional Mexican
Owner: Syncom Media
December 2024 ratings share: 0.3
October 2023 ratings share: 1.1
October 2023 ranking: 26
32. KEPN-AM (ESPN Denver 1600)
Format: All Sports
Owner: Bonneville International
December 2024 ratings share: 0.1
October 2023 ratings share: 0.1
October 2023 ranking: 36
33. KKSE-AM (Altitude Sports Radio)
Format: All Sports
Owner: KSE Radio Ventures
December 2024 ratings share: 0.1
October 2023 ratings share: N/A
October 2023 ranking: N/A
34. KRKA-FM
Format: Christian
Owner: CHR Educational Media Foundation
December 2024 ratings share: 0.1
October 2023 ratings share: 0.3
October 2023 ranking: 33
35. KVOQ-FM-STR (Indie 102.3)
Format: Alternative
Owner: Public Broadcasting of Colorado
December 2024 ratings share: 0.1
October 2023 ratings share: 0.3
October 2023 ranking: 34
36: KYGO-FM-HD2 (KYGO Legends)
Format: Classic Country
Owner: Bonneville International
December 2024 ratings share: 0.1
October 2023 ratings share: 0.3
October 2023 ranking: 35
37: KAMP-AM (The BET)
Format: Sports
Owner: Audacy
December 2024 ratings share: 0.1
October 2023 ratings share: N/A
October 2023 ratings share: N/A
