The Country's Largest Television Markets

[FlaBoy]

Almost a decade later, it was interesting looking at the change.

1   New York, NY   30   7,348,620   6.407
2   Los Angeles, CA   28   5,476,830   4.775
3   Chicago, IL   23   3,463,060   3.019
4   Philadelphia, PA   25   2,942,800   2.566
5   Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX   20   2,713,380   2.366
6   San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA   27   2,488,090   2.169
7   Washington, DC   24   2,476,680   2.159
8   Houston, TX   20   2,450,800   2.137
9   Boston, MA   22   2,424,240   2.114
10   Atlanta, GA   19   2,412,730   2.104
11   Tampa-St.Petersburg-Sarasota, FL   17   1,908,590   1.664
12   Phoenix, AZ   22   1,890,100   1.648
13   Detroit, MI   9   1,853,030   1.616
14   Seattle-Tacoma, WA   17   1,808,530   1.577
15   Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN   20   1,742,530   1.519
16   Miami - Ft. Lauderdale, FL   18   1,696,330   1.479
17   Denver, CO   29   1,630,380   1.422
18   Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, FL   17   1,519,570   1.325
19   Cleveland-Akron, OH   17   1,498,960   1.307
20   Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CA   17   1,379,770   1.203
21   St. Louis, MO   10   1,215,570   1.060
22   Charlotte, NC   12   1,189,950   1.038
23   Pittsburgh, PA   10   1,160,220   1.012
24   Raleigh-Durham, NC   15   1,153,580   1.006
25   Portland, OR   18   1,143,670   0.997
26   Baltimore, MD   10   1,119,480   0.976
27   Indianapolis, IN   19   1,086,310   0.947
28   San Diego, CA   14   1,065,700   0.929
29   Nashville, TN   16   1,011,570   0.882
30   Hartford-New Haven, CT   14   963,950   0.840
31   San Antonio, TX   19   938,660   0.818
32   Columbus, OH   12   920,740   0.803
33   Kansas City, KS-MO   11   919,020   0.801
34   Salt Lake City, UT   26   916,960   0.799
35   Milwaukee, WI   14   895,700   0.781
36   Cincinnati, OH   11   863,800   0.753
37   Greenville-Spartanburg, SC-Asheville, NC   12   845,990   0.738
38   West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, FL   13   824,920   0.719
39   Austin, TX   11   771,210   0.672
40   Las Vegas, NV   18   757,840   0.661
41   Oklahoma City, OK   17   722,140   0.630
42   Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, VA   13   717,170   0.625
43   Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, PA   6   715,110   0.624
44   Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI   13   709,670   0.619
45   Birmingham, AL   14   696,380   0.607
46   Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, NC   9   690,050   0.602
47   Jacksonville, FL   13   688,500   0.600
48   Albuquerque-Santa Fe, NM   30   677,590   0.591
49   Louisville, KY   11   662,170   0.577
50   New Orleans, LA   13   641,620   0.559
51   Memphis, TN   14   633,930   0.553
52   Providence, RI-New Bedford, MA   8   616,280   0.537
53   Buffalo, NY   10   596,710   0.520
54   Fresno-Visalia, CA   19   573,180   0.500
55   Richmond-Petersburg, VA   7   564,510   0.492
56   Wilkes Barre-Scranton, PA   8   554,660   0.484
57   Little Rock-Pine Bluff, AR   12   547,950   0.478
58   Tulsa, OK   15   531,230   0.463
59   Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY   11   529,120   0.461
60   Mobile, AL-Pensacola, FL   15   528,320   0.461
61   Ft. Myers-Naples, FL   11   518,730   0.452
62   Knoxville, TN   11   514,610   0.449
63   Lexington, KY   12   479,420   0.418
64   Dayton, OH   10   466,040   0.406
65   Honolulu, HI   26   442,820   0.386
66   Wichita - Hutchinson, KS   28   439,760   0.383
67   Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA   8   439,620   0.383
68   Green Bay-Appleton, WI   8   438,070   0.382
69   Des Moines-Ames, IA   11   433,950   0.378
70   Charleston-Huntington, WV   13   431,150   0.376

Other Florida Markets:

107   Tallahassee, FL-Thomasville, GA   7   268,390   0.234
154   Panama City, FL   6   141,740   0.124
161   Gainesville, FL   8   126,400   0.110



Wouldn't it make more sense for both quality of the news/resources to combine at least Alachua and Gilchrist into the Jax Metro at some point especially with Lake City, Starke, and Palatka as part of the Jax TV Market? It would also help Jax rise in the TV Market rankings quickly into a top 40 market.

Likewise, how does Flagler County end up with Orlando rather than Jax when these decisions were made years ago?

This is something that is definitely an impediment to Jax moving forward.

[thelakelander]

^Flagler has a closer relationship with Volusia and Volusia is firmly entrenched in Central Florida's market.  Btw, what were the numbers 10 years ago?

[FlaBoy]

For sure. The Daytona Beach/Ormond Beach Area.

06-07 07-08         2007   2008
Rank Rank   Difference   DMA Name   TV Homes   TV Homes
1   1      New York   7,366,950   7,391,940
2   2      Los Angeles   5,611,110   5,647,440
3   3      Chicago   3,455,020   3,469,110
4   4      Philadelphia   2,941,450   2,939,950
6   5   +1   Dallas-Ft. Worth   2,378,660   2,435,600
5   6   -1   San Francisco-Oak-San Jose   2,383,570   2,419,440
7   7      Boston (Manchester)   2,372,030   2,393,960
9   8   +1   Atlanta   2,205,510   2,310,490
8   9   -1   Washington, DC (Hagrstwn)   2,272,120   2,308,290
10   10      Houston   1,982,120   2,050,550
11   11      Detroit   1,938,320   1,925,460
13   12   +1   Phoenix (Prescott)   1,725,000   1,802,550
12   13   -1   Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota)   1,755,750   1,783,910
14   14      Seattle-Tacoma   1,724,450   1,782,040
15   15      Minneapolis-St. Paul   1,678,430   1,706,740
16   16      Miami-Ft. Lauderdale   1,538,620   1,536,020
17   17      Cleveland-Akron (Canton)   1,537,500   1,533,710
18   18      Denver   1,431,910   1,477,280
19   19      Orlando-Daytona Bch-Melbrn   1,395,830   1,434,050
20   20      Sacramnto-Stkton-Modesto   1,368,680   1,391,790
21   21      St. Louis   1,228,980   1,244,370
22   22      Pittsburgh   1,163,150   1,158,210
23   23      Portland, OR   1,117,990   1,150,320
24   24      Baltimore   1,097,290   1,095,490
26   25   +1   Charlotte   1,045,240   1,085,640
25   26   -1   Indianapolis   1,060,550   1,072,090
27   27      San Diego   1,030,020   1,051,210
29   28   +1   Raleigh-Durham (Fayetvlle)   1,006,330   1,039,890
28   29   -1   Hartford & New Haven   1,014,630   1,007,490
30   30      Nashville   944,100   966,170
31   31      Kansas City   913,280   927,060
32   32      Columbus, OH   898,030   905,690
33   33      Cincinnati   886,910   904,340
34   34      Milwaukee   882,990   891,010
35   35      Salt Lake City   839,170   874,650
36   36      Greenvll-Spart-Ashevll-And   826,290   838,270
37   37      San Antonio   774,470   792,440
38   38      West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce   772,140   775,340
39   39      Grand Rapids-Kalmzoo-B.Crk   734,670   739,640
40   40      Birmingham (Ann, Tusc)   723,210   730,430
41   41      Harrisburg-Lncstr-Leb-York   713,960   723,620
42   42      Norfolk-Portsmth-Newpt Nws   712,790   717,440
43   43      Las Vegas   671,630   707,470
45   44   +1   Albuquerque-Santa Fe   662,380   677,740
45   45      Oklahoma City   662,380   676,850
47   46   +1   Greensboro-H.Point-W.Salem   660,570   671,980
44   47   -3   Memphis   664,290   667,890
48   48      Louisville   648,190   657,180
50   49   +1   Jacksonville   639,110   655,470
49   50   -1   Buffalo   639,990   636,700
52   51   +1   Austin   602,340   635,860
51   52   -1   Providence-New Bedford   633,950   626,800
54   53   +1   New Orleans   566,960   600,150
53   54   -1   Wilkes Barre-Scranton   590,170   592,310
55   55      Fresno-Visalia   557,380   568,730
56   56      Albany-Schenectady-Troy   554,970   553,790
57   57      Little Rock-Pine Bluff   539,900   552,400
60   58   +2   Knoxville   523,010   534,410
61   59   +2   Richmond-Petersburg   517,800   526,760
62   60   +2   Tulsa   513,090   519,820
59   61   -2   Mobile-Pensacola (Ft Walt)   524,200   517,410
58   62   -4   Dayton   531,120   511,220
64   63   +1   Ft. Myers-Naples   479,130   491,760
63   64   -1   Lexington   483,520   490,530
65   65      Charleston-Huntington   477,040   476,680
66   66      Flint-Saginaw-Bay City   474,430   469,980
68   67   +1   Roanoke-Lynchburg   445,840   451,580
70   68   +2   Tucson (Sierra Vista)   433,310   446,550
67   69   -2   Wichita-Hutchinson Plus   445,860   446,520
69   70   -1   Green Bay-Appleton   434,760   439,940

[FlaBoy]

If you were to add the Gainesville Market, in another decade with the current growth, you could certainly be around Cincinatti and Milwaukee in size of TV Market which would provide a lot better quality for our region. There would certainly be potential to move into a Top 30 Market spot in 20 years and max out somewhere in the high 20's of course depending on the growth of other regions.

[Dapperdan]

Too bad television markets are going to mean less and less each year. At some point all NFL games will be available to stream and that whole dynamic will be gone. TV Viewership is eroding away as well as more and more people make the move to streaming services that don't dictate times to watch shows. Its nice to see we are moving up but I am just not sure how much longer this will remain relevant.

[RattlerGator]

Regarding over-the-air TV, the northern half and eastern third of Alachua County also watch Jacksonville. I suspect the same for the northeastern third of Marion and northern half of Flagler County. Those numbers aren't included in the Jax numbers but, instead, Orlando. That is a two-sided quirk; Gainesville for TV purposes is a separate market & Ocala isn't, but Gainesville-Ocala (truly one market) isn't listed as one market for TV. When I was in school at UF, we watched Jacksonville TV stations on local cable.

And Ennis -- Memphis, Memphis, Memphis . . . hmmm. A serious slide from 44 to 51 over more than a decade. Definitely not similar to Jax.

[thelakelander]

LOL, what does this have to do with similar sized urban areas?  I would not call Harrisburg, PA or Greenville, SC a similar sized urban area despite them having larger tv markets than Jax.

[JaxJersey-licious]

Determining the size of a metropolitan region through TV market size is quickly becoming as out-of-date a standard as Billboard's Hot 100 charts going exclusively on CD sales and downloads. Think of the changes in viewing habits over the last ten years. So many more households have cut the cord on cable and satellite cutting into local programming and ad  viewers (which by the way is the most important reason size is relevant). On top of that, the old megawatt analog-blasted TV signals from the last decade are now no more and you need to live much closer to the digital TV station making these market boundaries determined by outdated tech laughable. And how they determined which cities belong to which TV market having nothing to do with reality. For instance do you really think cities like San Jose, Sarasota, Palm Springs, Asheville, Ft. Walton Beach, or Winston-Salem have that much "allegiance" to their designated TV market? Since none of these examples rely on their market origin city for employment, transit, primary shopping, print media, minor league team support, etc. as much as areas less than 20 miles away, it gives a lot of these TV markets a deceptive image of their regional impact tacking on disparate cities like this.

A much more accurate indicator of regional area size are the annual U.S. Census metro population estimates, the most recent one just released this month. In case you were wondering, Jacksonville is currently ranked 40th largest (should be 41 since Raleigh and Durham are calculated separately).

https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk

[RattlerGator]

LOL, what does this have to do with similar sized urban areas?  I would not call Harrisburg, PA or Greenville, SC a similar sized urban area despite them having larger tv markets than Jax.

Ennis . . . you know I'm just having some fun with you. However, our Memphis dispute doesn't go back to similar sizes. It goes back to similarity. See the difference? The quirks of TV markets are just that, quirks.

Don't start dancing the Watusi on me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjFeIUUh9tg

;-)

[thelakelander]

Haha, I still say that Memphis is pretty similar. Like Jax, it's a sprawling second tier regional mid-sized metropolitan area with a core city that covers hundreds of miles.  Like Jax, it's also a historic river city and early 20th century regional rail hub, leading to an economy once centered around maritime, manufacturing and distribution.  Like Jax, due to it's prominence in the South during Reconstruction, it's also a center of African-American culture and enlightenment in areas such as jazz and blues.  I'd argue that Jax and Memphis are closer in scale and share more similarities with one another than say Jax does with a recent Sunbelt sprawler like Orlando or Raleigh.

[RattlerGator]

Still a slave to a look far too heavily influenced by history, Ennis -- one of these days you'll give that up. One of these days.

Douglas MacArthur to the 1933 graduating class at West Point:

   A good soldier, whether he leads a platoon or an army, is expected to look backward as well as forward, but he must think only forward.

[FlaBoy]

Haha, I still say that Memphis is pretty similar. Like Jax, it's a sprawling second tier regional mid-sized metropolitan area with a core city that covers hundreds of miles.  Like Jax, it's also a historic river city and early 20th century regional rail hub, leading to an economy once centered around maritime, manufacturing and distribution.  Like Jax, due to it's prominence in the South during Reconstruction, it's also a center of African-American culture and enlightenment in areas such as jazz and blues.  I'd argue that Jax and Memphis are closer in scale and share more similarities with one another than say Jax does with a recent Sunbelt sprawler like Orlando or Raleigh.

Memphis and Jax have a lot in common. Memphis has a little bit more history when it comes to music of course with the rise of Rock'n'Roll occurring there. Jax has a very different feel with the Beaches though which permeates the whole city at this point. I have always thought Tampa and Jacksonville are just very similar, even with the feel of its growth patterns (excluding Pinellas). There is definitely a different Florida feel that is hard to capture in other large metros. Likewise, every day that Memphis is stagnant in growth and Jax Metro grows at a 10% clip, Jax is less like Memphis and more like Tampa.

[thelakelander]

Jax is both like Memphis and Tampa.  We share several characteristics with cities that were of similar size and scale during most of the 20th century.  For example, you can find decent similarities with cities like Norfolk, Louisville, Mobile, etc. as well.

Regarding Tampa, Jax was literally the same size a 100 years ago and both were port cities with economies built around maritime and industry.  However, the Tampa Bay area is also radically different in that there's Pinellas County as well, so there's more than twice as many people with a significantly larger tourism base developed throughout the later half of the 20th century as Jax's population somewhat stalled out.  That leads to the Bay Area having a completely different feel outside of the inner core of Tampa and a radically different economy today.

[RattlerGator]

Jacksonville is more like Tampa than it is Memphis, and it always has been. Nor is it a close call. A hundred years ago, we were the big dog in a state with less than one million residents. A population equal to Hillsborough and Pinellas, combined. Now, those two counties combined easily more than double us. Yes, the Bay Area is much larger but our areas remain very similar -- as long as you understand people are people, not accents (and that difference is exaggerated).

Plus, the growth in Jacksonville may only now be kicking into high gear. Memphis? Hell no.

I do love your dogged refusal to let go of that narrative, though. It's quite familiar. So many Floridians just don't know how to see this city, even when it's in plain sight 24/7/365.

[Tacachale]

I do love your dogged refusal to let go of that narrative, though.

LOL at this.