Nielsen has released the local television market universe estimates for 2008 which will be effective September 22nd for the 2007-2008 TV season. These determine market sizes for each city based on the number of TV Homes in Designated Market Areas (DMA).
This year, many of the increases are in the Southern and Western regions of the United States. Of the 51 markets that moved up in rank, more than half are located in the Sunbelt. These changes are consistent with the U.S. Census Bureau's most recent annual population estimates, which indicate increased population growth in these areas.
The Cleveland-Akron-Canton DMA remains #17 with an estimated 1,533,710 TV homes, or a 1.36% percentage of US TV homes.
These estimates, which are projected to January 1, 2008, will be used in meter market samples beginning with the data of Sept. 22, 2007, and in diary samples with the publication of the October/November surveys.
Notable changes in the rankings:
GAINERS
*Dallas-Fort Worth moved up 1 to #5, surpassing San Francisco
*Atlanta moved up 1 to #8, surpassing Washington, D.C.
*Phoenix moved up 1 to #12, surpassing Tampa-St. Petersburg
*Charlotte moved up 1 to #25, surpassing Indianapolis
*Harlingen-Weslaco, Texas, moved up 3 to #88
*Boise, Idaho, moved up 5 to #113
*Palm Springs, Calif., moved up 5 to #144
*Anchorage, Alaska, moved up 4 to #150
*Harrisonburg, Va., moved up 3 to #178
*Lima, Ohio, moved up 11 to #185
LOSERS
*Memphis moved down 3 to #47
*Dayton, Ohio, moved down 4 to #62
*Youngstown, Ohio, moved down 3 to #106
*Traverse City-Cadillac, Mich., moved down 3 to #116
*Wichita Falls, Texas-Lawton, Okla., moved down 3 to #149
*Bluefield-Beckley-OakHill, W.Va., moved down 5 to #155
*Wheeling, W.Va.,-Steubenville, Ohio, moved down 4 to #159
*Hattiesburg-Laurel, Miss., moved down 3 to #168
To view the complete list of markets from #1 to #210: CLICK HERE
Courtesy: Nielsen