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The Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson DMA stretches across the South Carolina Upstate and Western North Carolina, serving roughly 1.5 million residents with a blend of local broadcasters, statewide public media, and cross-border newsrooms. Rapid population gains, advanced manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare corridors fuel demand for bilingual coverage, while colleges such as Clemson, Furman, and Wofford contribute sports, arts, and innovation stories that travel across television, radio, and streaming platforms.
Gray Television, Nexstar Media Group, Hearst, Sinclair, and Allen Media anchor the television landscape, running clusters such as WYFF 4, WSPA 7, WHNS FOX Carolina, and WLOS ABC 13. Independent publishers including The Post and Courier Greenville, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, and GVLtoday supply neighborhood coverage, while SCETV and ETV Radio deliver statewide programming from Columbia and local bureaus.
Competition extends into the border counties where Charlotte and Atlanta signals overlap, prompting Upstate stations to invest in franchise bureaus, investigative units, and FAST channels. Community outlets—such as GVL Beat, 864 Living, and Spanish-language services from Norsan Media—retain loyal audiences via social media live streams, newsletters, and FM translators.
OTT platforms powered by local brands—WYFF Now, WSPA+ and FOX Carolina News—supplement YouTube, Roku, and mobile apps, expanding access to breaking weather, factory expansions, and community events. Sports streaming from the Greenville Drive, Greenville Triumph, and Clemson athletics further accelerates cord-cutting trends.
Households with gigabit broadband from Upcountry Fiber, Charter, and AT&T Fiber are twice as likely to rely on connected TVs, while rural counties turn to hybrid solutions such as SCETV’s datacasting and local Facebook Live newscasts. Podcast networks like In The Know Upstate and South Carolina Public Radio’s "South of Spooky" capture commuting audiences shifting from terrestrial radio.
Greenville-Spartanburg residents spend roughly 27 hours each week consuming television and video across broadcast, cable, and streaming bundles, with OTT platforms accounting for nearly one-third of total viewing minutes. Families and retirees sustain loyalty to local newscasts on WYFF, WSPA, and WHNS, while regional college sports and NASCAR coverage continue to draw high linear ratings.
Millennial and Gen Z households lean into FAST channels, YouTube creators, and short-form reels for entertainment, leaning on push alerts from FOX Carolina and WLOS for breaking weather. Faith-based networks and SCETV Passport maintain strong niche audiences in suburban and rural counties where broadband adoption is climbing but still uneven.
Radio remains a commuting staple along the I-85 corridor, with drive-time listeners favoring B93.7, Rock 101, WORD, and La Raza for music, talk, and traffic. Regional sports talk expands in the afternoons as Clemson, South Carolina Gamecocks, and Atlanta pro teams fuel call-in shows.
Podcast adoption rises among younger professionals in Greenville’s downtown tech scene, while music streaming platforms compete with heritage stations for at-work listening. Public radio membership and gospel formats remain resilient, particularly in Anderson, Spartanburg, and Cherokee counties where community events and church networks anchor marketing campaigns.
| Indicator | Latest Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| DMA population | approximately 1.5 million (2024) | Nielsen DMA Rankings |
| DMA market rank | Rank 30 (Nielsen 2024) | Nielsen DMA Rankings |
| Streaming adoption | approximately 68% of households | eMarketer 2024 |
| Cord-cutting rate | approximately 22% annual decline | Cord Cutter News 2024 |
| Local news viewership | approximately 35% of TV audiences | Nielsen Audio 2024 |
Greenville-Spartanburg audiences demonstrate relatively high trust in local news outlets, particularly television news services, with approximately 62% of adults expressing confidence in local journalists. Community broadcasters and public television maintain positive brand recognition, while national media trust remains lower across the region, consistent with broader national trends of declining media confidence.
Sports programming, particularly college football and regional team coverage, maintains strong viewership throughout the DMA. Entertainment programming, local news, and streaming series dominate preferences across demographics, with Hispanic-language and faith-based programming attracting growing audiences in suburban communities. Digital-native content including YouTube channels and social media influencers compete increasingly with traditional programming for younger audiences.
