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2018-2019 DMA Rankings (The Reboot)


TheMassMediaGeek

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I wonder if Columbus regained Athens County, Ohio again. It's a football that's tossed between that market and Charleston-Huntington every few years. Still, Parkersburg and Zanesville are physically closer and actually provide better signals than the other, more distant markets that provide the bulk of their stations.

 

Speaking of Zanesville, once WHIZ goes away, that may as well fall into the Columbus DMA, just replace WHIZ with WCMH. They are Muskingum County only and TOTALLY surrounded by the Columbus DMA.

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I wonder if Columbus regained Athens County, Ohio again. It's a football that's tossed between that market and Charleston-Huntington every few years. Still, Parkersburg and Zanesville are physically closer and actually provide better signals than the other, more distant markets that provide the bulk of their stations.

 

Speaking of Zanesville, once WHIZ goes away, that may as well fall into the Columbus DMA, just replace WHIZ with WCMH. They are Muskingum County only and TOTALLY surrounded by the Columbus DMA.

 

I think Paramount or Paxson should have attempted to get WHIZ and move it into the Columbus market to serve as the UPN or Pax affiliate for the market. WWHO would have remained a primary WB affiliate.

 

Columbus also wouldn’t be under the iron grip of Sinclair that it is now - had WWHO remained a WB affiliate (CBS/Viacom bought it from NBC, CBS sold to LIN, and LIN sold to Sinclair.)

 

Has NBC ever considered yanking WHIZ’s affiliation to protect WCMH? I remember reading somewhere they were in danger of losing it when WCMH was O&O and through the first few years of Media General’s control.

 

NBC also pulls small-market affiliations to protect the bigger adjacent market. Recently they did so in Atlantic City to protect WNBC and WCAU.

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I think Paramount or Paxson should have attempted to get WHIZ and move it into the Columbus market to serve as the UPN or Pax affiliate for the market. WWHO would have remained a primary WB affiliate.

 

Columbus also wouldn’t be under the iron grip of Sinclair that it is now - had WWHO remained a WB affiliate (CBS/Viacom bought it from NBC, CBS sold to LIN, and LIN sold to Sinclair.)

 

Has NBC ever considered yanking WHIZ’s affiliation to protect WCMH? I remember reading somewhere they were in danger of losing it when WCMH was O&O and through the first few years of Media General’s control.

 

NBC also pulls small-market affiliations to protect the bigger adjacent market. Recently they did so in Atlantic City to protect WNBC and WCAU.

 

The fact that Zanesville is it's own market (while Atlantic City and Hagerstown weren't) is the only reason WHIZ still exists, and WHIZ is why there is a Zanesville market. Once they sell out, the chance of them being tied to Zanesville is next to nil. Even their former WHIZ-FM frequency (102.5) moved into the Columbus market (where now it's the successor to CD101 when their owners sold out the 101.1 frequency to Ohio State. WHIZ Media still owns the station, but leases it to the operators of it.)

 

It's probably just far enough for the market to have survived all these years. Had Akron just been a little further from Cleveland, and/or WAKR pulling enough strings to separate themselves from Cleveland, Akron/Canton could have been separate too.

 

I know i've asked this before....but was Anniston & Tuscaloosa the last time markets were absorbed into another?

Allbritton buying WCFT and WJSU pretty much eliminated each market, by making them Birmingham's ABC affiliate(s) at the time.

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It seems like they took at least one county from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre given their plunge.

 

I wonder what county SusquValley took ... you would think if they did they would add it to weather maps, etc. The SusquValley is a pretty big market. Yet so is Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

 

-- Matt

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I wonder what county SusquValley took ... you would think if they did they would add it to weather maps, etc. The SusquValley is a pretty big market. Yet so is Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

 

-- Matt

 

I'm going to guess Schuylkill and/or Northumberland. Those counties being part of the NEPA DMA never really made sense.

 

What about New York? I'm guessing that DMA finally got Wayne and/or Monroe counties.

 

upload_2018-10-1_6-40-37.png.a4df2ecf4e1a200ab8c7dd5729d36ae0.png

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I'm going to guess Schuylkill and/or Northumberland. Those counties being part of the NEPA DMA never really made sense.

 

What about New York? I'm guessing that DMA finally got Wayne and/or Monroe counties.

 

[ATTACH=full]6575[/ATTACH]

I live in Monroe County, our cable system has all the S/W-B stations, and 3 each from Philly and New York. WBRE/WYOU also has a bureau in Stroudsburg. If we moved to the NY market, that would be a massive upheaval. And inexplicable considering no one I know ever watches the NY stations here.

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I'm going to guess Schuylkill and/or Northumberland. Those counties being part of the NEPA DMA never really made sense.

 

What about New York? I'm guessing that DMA finally got Wayne and/or Monroe counties.

 

[ATTACH=full]6575[/ATTACH]

 

Very interesting. WGAL always had Northumberland, Schuykill and Chester Counties on weather maps, crawls, and news coverage for some time. Those counties of course can get some of the signal for WGAL OTA. NEPA DMA is one of the biggest east of the Mississippi River. Huge DMA.

 

— Matt

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OKC dropped from #41 to #45, swapping places with the Susquehanna Valley. Tulsa gets bumped up by one from #62 to #61.

I think sooner rather than later I think Oklahoma City will be right at or above the Top 35 and Tulsa will be at least 3 to 5 spots away from the Top 50. It may be a while but, eventually, both cities will get there

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I live in Monroe County, our cable system has all the S/W-B stations, and 3 each from Philly and New York. WBRE/WYOU also has a bureau in Stroudsburg. If we moved to the NY market, that would be a massive upheaval. And inexplicable considering no one I know ever watches the NY stations here.

 

Keep in mind that advertisers drive DMAs. I think this gets lost in the discussion sometimes. As Wayne and Monroe Counties further become bedroom communities for NYC workers, so will go the advertisers. Pike County was already in the New York DMA; it's not a stretch for its neighbors to move, too.

 

Very interesting. WGAL always had Northumberland, Schuykill and Chester Counties on weather maps, crawls, and news coverage for some time. Those counties of course can get some of the signal for WGAL OTA. NEPA DMA is one of the biggest east of the Mississippi River. Huge DMA.

 

— Matt

 

That's by virtue of WGAL's location and history. Early WGAL served a Lancaster market that stretched east to Chester County and north to east-central PA. You'll still see "Drive Safely [Town Name]" signs posted by WGAL in Coatesville. WGAL has always been less concerned with the DMA and more focused on the area they cover geographically.

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Keep in mind that advertisers drive DMAs. I think this gets lost in the discussion sometimes. As Wayne and Monroe Counties further become bedroom communities for NYC workers, so will go the advertisers. Pike County was already in the New York DMA; it's not a stretch for its neighbors to move, too.

 

Then becomes the issues of if the people are really being served by their stations. I know one of the cable operators in Pike County dropped all Scranton/Wilkes-Barre stations a while back. Is it fair for residents of Pennsylvania to have zero access to Pennsylvania media. Is this right especially given that it's half the distance to Scranton than it is to NYC?

 

I think that we need to take a good look at Significantly Viewed once again and clarify some areas. It would help in much of the fringes of some DMA's for one.

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Keep in mind that advertisers drive DMAs. I think this gets lost in the discussion sometimes. As Wayne and Monroe Counties further become bedroom communities for NYC workers, so will go the advertisers. Pike County was already in the New York DMA; it's not a stretch for its neighbors to move, too.

If that's the case, then Lawrence County, PA should move into the Youngstown DMA. The Youngstown stations can cover New Castle adequately. Hell, OTA viewers in New Castle are better off attempting to get the Youngstown stations, which are 15 miles away, than Pittsburgh's, which are 50-60 miles away.

 

Edit due to another thing I want to discuss:

It's true that advertisers are influencing DMAs and even significantly carried. That's why Spectrum hasn't dropped the big-4 Cleveland stations in Trumbull County or dropped WOIO in Youngstown.

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Then becomes the issues of if the people are really being served by their stations. I know one of the cable operators in Pike County dropped all Scranton/Wilkes-Barre stations a while back. Is it fair for residents of Pennsylvania to have zero access to Pennsylvania media. Is this right especially given that it's half the distance to Scranton than it is to NYC?

 

I think that we need to take a good look at Significantly Viewed once again and clarify some areas. It would help in much of the fringes of some DMA's for one.

 

There's a few things being conflated here.

 

First, significantly viewed doesn't equate to must-carry. See the relevant part of the significantly viewed legislation below.

 

upload_2018-10-2_9-25-55.png.87b2682e3447d11791167c4c35e7a2b8.png

Fwiw, WBRE, WNEP, and WYOU are on the Pike County significantly viewed list as of 2016 -- along with WABC, WNBC, WCBS, and WNYW.

 

upload_2018-10-2_9-29-20.png.a2ebcf30f1b773d3adfe5a5a7233cb2e.png

 

If subscribers aren't complaining, the cable systems will add/remove channels as they see fit (i.e., whatever frees up bandwidth and preserves their bottom line). The reality is that residents of Pike County are socially more connected to NYC, and the significantly viewed list seems to support that.

 

Regardless of their distance to SWB, viewers in Pike County seem to prefer the stations in their home DMA.

 

If that's the case, then Lawrence County, PA should move into the Youngstown DMA. The Youngstown stations can cover New Castle adequately. Hell, OTA viewers in New Castle are better off attempting to get the Youngstown stations, which are 15 miles away, than Pittsburgh's, which are 50-60 miles away.

 

Edit due to another thing I want to discuss:

It's true that advertisers are influencing DMAs and even significantly carried. That's why Spectrum hasn't dropped the big-4 Cleveland stations in Trumbull County or dropped WOIO in Youngstown.

 

I mean, again, viewers aren't technically paying for OTA content. Yes, viewers pay for OTA content inasmuch as they pay their cable/satellite/streaming service, and that service pays re-transmission or carriage fees, but OTA content is, on its own, free to the viewer. So, who pays the bills?

 

Advertisers do. Through DMAs, advertisers know what markets they're targeting when they do ad buys on OTA stations. The markets determine rates, the presumed audience, and what those advertising messages are going to be.

 

For Lawrence County, Nielsen/the advertisers consider that viewers there are socially more connected and affiliated with the Pittsburgh market. Regardless of geographic location, the advertisers want viewers there to be served with advertising catered to Pittsburgh. I suppose it works.

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I agree with many of the views expressed so far. There are many improvements that can be made including:

 

1. Take a look at significantly viewed and create requirements for cable and satellite operators to follow. I would require cable and satellite operators to carry every significantly viewed station in a county. DirecTV, Dish, and cable providers now have a few SV stations but not remotely close to 100% according to the FCC’s assessment.

 

I take this viewpoint because I’ve studied DMA maps and have come to a conclusion that they are a mess and have marginalized the rural television viewer. Right now there are viewers in rural Wisconsin that don’t get access to many Packer games because they are in a Minnesota DMA. Viewers in Pennsylvania that are getting ?New York, NY? locals that have no cultural relevance to them. Imagine getting a traffic report on how the Lincoln Tunnel is backed up while you can’t get info on Pennsylvania current affairs.

 

The most important question is: If there was a a Tornado Warning for Pike County, PA do you think that a New York, NY local would preempt programming? The short answer is No.

 

Television providers should follow the FCC’s guidelines and offer all SV stations even if it means carrying two or three affiliates of each major network. Affiliates should offer their station for free outside of their DMA since it offers them additional viewers and therefore advertising revenue while keeping costs low for television providers.

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I agree with many of the views expressed so far. There are many improvements that can be made including:.......

 

1. Take a look at significantly viewed and create requirements for cable and satellite operators to follow. I would require cable and satellite operators to carry every significantly viewed station in a county. DirecTV, Dish, and cable providers now have a few SV stations but not remotely close to 100% according to the FCC’s assessment..

 

What would it actually take to get the boundaries of a DMA modified?

 

Is there an actual review process open to the public?

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*feeling sad* *sighs* same old, same old, in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market.

 

*enraged jealousy* How did Tampa keep ranking higher and higher, and we the Miami keep treated like trash?

 

Now i assume other markets in florida share the same feeling, NCFLmedia too and the Jacksonville market but enough is enough.

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*feeling sad* *sighs* same old, same old, in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market.

 

*enraged jealousy* How did Tampa keep ranking higher and higher, and we the Miami keep treated like trash?

 

Now i assume other markets in florida share the same feeling, NCFLmedia too and the Jacksonville market but enough is enough.

 

I'm curious, how come you get so emotionally invested in these types of things?

 

The DMA system was formed not for the whims of the viewer, but instead, to assist advertisers in determining where their money is best spent, and allows stations to set a rate for advertisers to buy time on their station. Tampa is growing because people are moving there and taking their TVs with them which = $$$ for advertisers. DMAs are measured by estimated television households (i.e. my market, Columbus, is market #34, an upper mid-size market. An estimated 800,000+ people are watching television, yet our 14-county metro has 2,000,000+ living here and it continues to grow.)

 

People just aren't watching television the way they were 30, 20, even 10 years ago. With time, these rankings are going to change.

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