# What does it take for a Nielsen DMA to grow in ranks?



## DMAZ (Dec 6, 2016)

Hi, I just signed up. I wonder if there is anyone who knows about Nielsen TV markets and discuss them.

What is going on is that I live in the Erie, Pennsylvania DMA, it ranks #150 currently and years ago ranked #142 with jobs leaving the area and crap. I hate watching the local TV channels. It looks like crap produced by a bunch of college students. It's not fair. Why does NYC or Boston get to have cutting edge and we can't? The way things used to be for my DMA was better until 2-3 decades ago where they decided to stop investing so much in their operation.

I'm so desperately wishing that this stuff turns around for Erie.

I want to know what factors could influence a growing/shrinking Nielsen market.


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## longrider (Apr 21, 2007)

A Nielsen DMA has a designated physical boundary and while it can change that happens very rarely. Going up or down in ranking results from population changes and if people are leaving the area it can go down. As for why you dont have what Boston does is all budget related. The big city stations just have a lot more money.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

The number is irrelevant for local investment. I doubt if station owners are checking Nielson market ratings to decide how much to invest in that area. They are looking at the station's income - which is also affected by all the local issues you mention. Companies closing and jobs going away means less money for the advertisers to pass on to the station. #150 vs #142 doesn't mean anything when a station cannot afford its staff.

I am in DMA #96 and this year our local Fox station sold its affiliation to the local CBS station and fired all but two of the staff. Some of the news team moved over to the CBS station (the new CBS/FOX produces newscasts for both channels) but they do not need two reporters on each scene (one for each station) as they did when the stations were separate. Some people had to find other employment (including move to other markets owned by the former FOX affiliate or to markets with jobs).

You don't have to be in market #142 or #150 to have a shakeup in local television. There are a lot of markets with two networks on one station (digital sub channels) or co-owned or co-operated setups where resources are shared between local stations. All trying to cut costs and make budget.


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## SamC (Jan 20, 2003)

The basic underlaying factors that grow or shrink a DMA are fundamental economics. If you look at DMAs historically, you see the basic populational shift south and west. 

However, one thing extra is that DMA boundries do shift. You will often see stations vastly over-cover a rural county on the border between it and another DMA to keep people watching their news.


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## DMAZ (Dec 6, 2016)

Where are these historical DMAs? I did Google, but I can't find any that go very far back.

Another question about DMAs. Can a geographic area theoretically carve out it's own DMA/TV/radio market? Say if I hired a company to design and build a cluster of cities and towns in a bare-landed area. at some point can that area ask to have a DMA market carved out for them?


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## RBA (Apr 14, 2013)

DMAZ said:


> Where are these historical DMAs? I did Google, but I can't find any that go very far back.
> 
> Another question about DMAs. Can a geographic area theoretically carve out it's own DMA/TV/radio market? Say if I hired a company to design and build a cluster of cities and towns in a bare-landed area. at some point can that area ask to have a DMA market carved out for them?


With todays shrinking markets stations are trying to hold onto their audiences (DMA) Where I live I am in the Sherman/Denison DMA we have 2 stations channels 10 & 12 each offers 3 subcarriers. We get ABC,CBS,FOX, & NBC as major networks and CW and My network. I also live on the edge of the Dallas/FT Worth DMA so I can get another 60-70 channels of reception from outside my DMA.

In the Erie area you may have access to cable TV and fringe TV stations also you should have DISH and Directv for alternative programming. Internet may also offer some streaming possibilities.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Neilson creates the DMAs. The FCC respects the DMAs as created by Neilson.


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