Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
From what I can gather, there are 210 DMAs in the country and they're based on television viewing habits of local broadcasts, with a 50% and up viewing share used as the threshold to determine media markets. So if 55% of households in a MD county primarily watch Baltimore stations, that county is in the Baltimore DMA, even if it's geographically closer to D.C.
Obviously, this is based on television viewing habits, and not geography per se, so there are quirks like split counties of a traditional MSA or huge swaths of territory under one DMA. But for the purposes of this thread, which is about media profile, I find these rankings pertinent. DMAs are just one aspect of media profile, especially in the age of social media, but they're not to be discounted as irrelevant, either.
Last edited by qworldorder; 09-12-2015 at 07:44 PM..
Location: Watching half my country turn into Gilead
3,530 posts, read 4,175,298 times
Reputation: 2925
Here's more on the actual methodology used by Nielsen, which is based on polling/meters--and not without its detractors, who view the methodology as hopelessly antiquated. Nielsen has apparently responded in June of this year with several reforms (read the last link from this past March).
Yes I'm a Grand Rapids homer, yes I'm bias. I do think it's a great example of a city that punches UNDER it's weight. It's city ranking is 124th, yet it's media market is 40th. The great majority of people (especially on this site) are oblivious to it. I'm not sure why exactly. Possibly because of it's out of the way peninsula location most don't just pass through it. Perhaps it's the fact that it has an MI attached to the end of it, and people just assume that it's an emptied out manufacturing center. People have no idea that it's core is exploding with billions in construction and it has been for more than a decade. Or that it has some of the highest population/economic growth rates in the midwest. (Yes I get that's not a very ambitious regional tout, though if it makes a difference it has a larger metropolitan area than Tucson and is growing at a faster rate). If it had a larger city footprint, or was able to even annex more land that might put it in a different light.
Another city that seems to have a similar issue is Hartford CT. I'd say being the state capital of CT It is definitely better known. Although most people don't seem to realize it's really a city in the Richmond-Louisville-Buffalo tier.
Unfortunately numbers talk, but often the story they tell is misleading. It's even worse when people use a decieving and artificially high metric to intentionally mislead. The unfortunate truth is that if cities like Grand Rapids and Hartford were able to cover a land area similar to their peers this would be a different conversation. I am with the OP in his mission to dispel the CSA myth. Although I do believe there are certain instances (very few) where it IS the appropriate metric. In most cases the additional counties added to a CSA can't even be considered exurban. They are simply rural counties with a marginally populated central city, that are not commute heavy enough to be lumped in the main metro for obvious distance reasons.
Mjlo, I hear you. However, keep in mind, Grand Rapids covers other nearby good-sized cities, such as Kalamazoo, and Battle Creek. If you watch these "Grand Rapids" stations you will see those cities listed on their ID's. This explains the higher media ranking compared to metro population.
That being said, my dad's side of the family all came from Grand Rapids, so I am very familiar with this area. It really is kind of a cool media market, you can hear some radio from Chicago (mostly on AM), but other than that there is little outside influence. So Grand Rapids media has always been pretty good, from WOOD radio and tv, to the great top 40's of yesteryear, WGRD and WLAV. Plus other great stations, both on the radio and tv side. I have always thought Grand Rapids was influenced by Chicago and Detroit media, but never had to compete with them. This created a nice media environment.
If you're using sports examples, which a lot are, there is only one choice: Green Bay, population 100,000, up in the northwoods, close to nothing else, influencing little beyond football. No other pro sports city comes anywhere close in terms of the small size/big reputation ratio.
If you're using sports examples, which a lot are, there is only one choice: Green Bay, population 100,000, up in the northwoods, close to nothing else, influencing little beyond football. No other pro sports city comes anywhere close in terms of the small size/big reputation ratio.
I agree with this, aren't they also the default team for the major metropolitan area of Milwaukee? If they were not would they still exist as they do?
Right, like San Jose and other big cities lacking an NFL team, but I'm not sure why that would matter in terms of the OP: "What U.S.metro has the most disproportionate media profile for its size?"
If you argue based on pro sports, the only real answer is Green Bay.
Location: Watching half my country turn into Gilead
3,530 posts, read 4,175,298 times
Reputation: 2925
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheese plate
If you're using sports examples, which a lot are, there is only one choice: Green Bay, population 100,000, up in the northwoods, close to nothing else, influencing little beyond football. No other pro sports city comes anywhere close in terms of the small size/big reputation ratio.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjlo
I agree with this, aren't they also the default team for the major metropolitan area of Milwaukee? If they were not would they still exist as they do?
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheese plate
Right, like San Jose and other big cities lacking an NFL team, but I'm not sure why that would matter in terms of the OP: "What U.S.metro has the most disproportionate media profile for its size?"
If you argue based on pro sports, the only real answer is Green Bay.
When I thought of this thread watching Pitt/NE, I immediately thought of Green Bay, so you guys are all right. Concerning the sports side of media profile, Green Bay easily is tops in this thread.
I think the more intriguing questions then are, are sports the strongest media boost for cities? Is Green Bay's sports profile more disproportionate than other cities' overall media profile (Las Vegas, New Orleans, Orlando, etc.)?
Buffalo - 2 major sports teams with a city of under 300k.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
