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2009-2010 DMAs Announced
By Michael Page | August 29, 2009
Nielsen has announced its 2009-2010 DMA Rankings, which go into effect next month. Boston will stay at market 7, and all other top 10 markets remain unchanged. Boston’s total TV homes increases from 2,409,080 to 2,410,180. Total TV homes around the country increases from 114,456,650 to 114,866,380.
In the top 20 markets, there are some changes. Seattle jumps up one market to 13, while Tampa slips to 14. Denver moves up two markets to 16, while Miami goes down to 17 and Cleveland goes down to 18.
Other notable changes include:
-Providence/New Bedford slides a market from 52 to 53.
-New Orleans jumps two markets to 51.
-Waco, Texas jumps five to 89.
-Wichita Falls slips four markets to 149.
-Bend, Oregon jumps three to 189.
For a full list, click here.
Topics: National | 19 Comments »
August 29th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Yay, the Providence DMA ranking fell.
Now, all we gotta do is pull Bristol County out of that dump DMA….
August 29th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I agree, Tim! I hate not being in the Boston DMA….It’s so lame.
August 29th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Any word on that front, Tim? I know local officials were pleading with the Senate and Congress to signify Bristol Co. as a Boston DMA. It would surely hurt Providence and certainly help Boston enough to jump one (maybe two?) rankings.
August 29th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
I haven’t heard anything about this news since about late 2008, where I found those articles from the Sun Chronicle. The petitions I’ve seen favor just getting the Boston HD channels back to Bristol County. But what I don’t understand is how they can petition for parts of the county (Taunton area) to get a DMA switch. Wouldn’t the entire county be affected?
Another strange thing is that why Bristol County only gets WCVB from the Boston channels in HD. Is it because WCVB is a nationally recognized station?
August 30th, 2009 at 1:23 am
I have not read the whole DMA list yet, but for one thing, Wichita is NOT 149. As of the 08-09, it was 69. So, 4 places down would be 73. I don’t think it was Wichita Falls, TX, either. Maybe Topeka.
EDIT: Wichita Falls, TX.
Tim, I guesstimate the Providence market would lose about 250,000 TV homes if Bristol County were to vanish from Providence and go back into Boston, meaning Boston can snag Rank 6 or 5, and Providence down to 85 or thereabouts.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:20 am
Tim: I think they just wanted cable providers to show Boston TV stations, while still being part of the Providence market. As you mentioned, the whole county would have to switch DMAs if a change was to be made.
Julian: Good catch, I will change that now. Thank a lot!
August 30th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Eh, one DMA’s loss is another (better) DMA’s treasure.
Seriously, it saddens me to think that we’re not part of the Boston family….lol.
And to even show my bias towards the Boston market, when football season is on CBS, I watch it on WBZ in SD…..rather than WPRI in HD…you have no idea how annoying the WPRI news promos are.
Same thing with Sunday Night Football on NBC….I watch from WHDH and not WJAR….even though WHDH is probably my least favorite of the Boston stations….they’re better than their sister counterpart, WJAR!
August 30th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I agree Tim, I love having a choice of either Boston or Providence stations, but I would rather be part of the Boston DMA. I dont care what happens in Westerly, or Tiverton, or about what is going on at Capital Hill in Providence, it doesnt effect me, however MA stories do! I interned at WPRI so as much as I like them now, I still do not watch them if I can watch Boston news. And I agree, the WPRI promos are annoying, they need to get a better promotions department.
August 30th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
Andy, here’s my take on WPRI and WJAR:
The annoying thing with WPRI promos is that they act like Live Pinpoint Doppler 12 saved nuns from a bus, cured cancer, saved a bunch of dogs from a burning house, and can even give us the exact weather from Lithuania. And having those fake National Weather Service sweep lines on their radar is super annoying.
WJAR is just as bad, if not worse than WPRI. At the time, Ghiorse and Ley were unbearable to watch as chief meteorologists. Ghiorse spoke in that deep, depressing, monotone voice. Ley has to pause 10 seconds between sentences, and then he has to take another 20 to advance the map on the clicker. And Kelly Bates seriously has no idea on what she’s talking about half the time. The annoying thing about WJAR is that they act like they’re the only TV station that’s ever used a VIPIR – WBZ uses a VIPIR, yet they never brag about it.
August 31st, 2009 at 1:44 am
I agree 100%, these station pride themselves on what the name of their radar is. They don’t hesitate to drop the name as much as possible during a newscast either. I mean, yea its great that WPRI has their own Doppler Tower, but the name “Live Pinpoint Doppler 12 Radar” is way too long to say and to listen to, and they have to address even their forecasts as pinpoint doppler 12 futurecast… blah, blah, blah… its annoying to say the least.
I dont know if it is just me, but I feel like Rhode Island news stations cater to a vastly different crowd than the Boston stations. That could be taken either way, positive or negative, it all depends on your view.
August 31st, 2009 at 4:30 am
I don’t think channel 12’s radar is live though. WCVB’s HD Doppler (in Hopkinton) and WBZ’s Live Doppler (I’ve heard it’s at the Worcester Airport, but is that true?) update live, as seen by the sweep line overwriting the radar data. I think WPRI though has a radar in Rehoboth, but I’ve NEVER seen the radar sweep update it live. It’s pretty hard to tell with their mediocre radar graphics. What I do know is that the NWS radars (from Taunton, Albany, and Long Island) are NOT live. But I hate how they all their 7 day forecast a “futurecast”. I normally associate “futurecast” with those forecast maps where you see cloud and radar movements over the day.
Just curious, what did you intern as? An anchor, meteorologist, or a sportswriter?
August 31st, 2009 at 3:11 pm
The Boston stations are far, far superior to the RI ones. I hardly ever even watch them anymore! I am a RI resident, and set up an antenna last year. I can pull in all of the Boston stations in crystal-clear digital/HD. I simply wish that the RI cable companies would at least offer the Boston stations in addition to our own, so that people could decide for themselves. More and more people I speak to around here say just how annoyed they are with the quality of Providence news. I think for the most part, people around here would want a situation like they have in NH – you have a couple local RI stations (maybe just WJAR and WPRI) but for the most part, we would be in the Boston DMA.
August 31st, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Off topic, but I want to say what a pleasure it is to see Anthony Everett on channel 5 news tonight. I know he is only filling in for Ed Harding, but I find him so much more believable, professional, and likable than pomous Ed.
August 31st, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I’m not sure if WPRI’s radar sweep is live but yes it is from Rehoboth where their transmitter is located, but I do know that the NWS service ones are just there for effect only, they do absolutely nothing for them, and thats from the chief himself.
I interned in the production part of it, so I did a lot of camera work during the newscasts. They only have one camera man for all three cameras(they don’t have robotic cameras), and he doubles as a floor manager, so when i was there i helped him out.
September 1st, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I am surprised we did not move down to 8 or 9 because looking at the ratings from this year compared to last year the viewers went down some 10-20 thousand people maybe more for some other networks
September 1st, 2009 at 2:23 pm
The total number of TVs in Boston actually increased for this upcoming year. However, we are growing at a slower rate like Atlanta. So, you are right that we will likely be overtaken in the coming years.
September 1st, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I’m surprised that Detroit isn’t plummeting. The biggest collection of TVs in that city ought to be found in pawn shops.
September 3rd, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Chris: It dropped like a rock, not a lead balloon. (That sorta doesn’t make sense physics-wise, but oh well…) People are moving to far out suburbs, some are just plain moving out.
j36: Top 10 markets don’t budge as quick, or as violent as you think (not even 2 places), unless margins are REALLY close (think 1,000s, not 10,000s), or a major event (catastrophe, we’re talking about) happens.
RI Conversation: Well, for WPRI’s case, LIN TV is pretty strict on branding, think 24 Hour News 8 (either one). And plus, WPRI is the flagship of LIN, LIN is based in Providence. Probably want to establish control like that. WJAR, the powerhouse that used to be… Media General best sell it before it does any more damage…
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