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TV Ratings Reference

Nielsen Local Television Market Universe Estimates For 2011-12

Categories: TV Ratings Reference

Written By

August 18th, 2012

When responding to a comment yesterday I realized the last time we posted this information was almost 4 years ago, so I figured an update was in order.

The numbers for the 2012-13 season should be available in about a month and I will post them if I manage to remember.

Update: Here is a list of all the local broadcast television stations in the US.

Local Television Market Universe Estimates
Estimates as of January 1, 2012 and used throughout the 2011-2012 television season
Estimates are effective September 24, 2011
Rank Designated Market Area (DMA) TV Homes % of US
1 New York 7,387,810 6.444
2 Los Angeles 5,569,780 4.858
3 Chicago 3,493,480 3.047
4 Philadelphia 2,993,370 2.611
5 Dallas-Ft. Worth 2,571,310 2.243
6 San Francisco-Oak-San Jose 2,506,510 2.186
7 Boston (Manchester) 2,379,690 2.076
8 Washington, DC (Hagrstwn) 2,360,180 2.059
9 Atlanta 2,292,640 2.000
10 Houston 2,185,260 1.906
11 Detroit 1,842,650 1.607
12 Seattle-Tacoma 1,811,420 1.580
13 Phoenix (Prescott) 1,811,330 1.580
14 Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota) 1,788,240 1.560
15 Minneapolis-St. Paul 1,721,940 1.502
16 Miami-Ft. Lauderdale 1,583,800 1.381
17 Denver 1,548,570 1.351
18 Cleveland-Akron (Canton) 1,514,170 1.321
19 Orlando-Daytona Bch-Melbrn 1,465,460 1.278
20 Sacramnto-Stkton-Modesto 1,388,570 1.211
21 St. Louis 1,253,920 1.094
22 Portland, OR 1,190,010 1.038
23 Pittsburgh 1,171,490 1.022
24 Raleigh-Durham (Fayetvlle) 1,143,420 0.997
25 Charlotte 1,140,900 0.995
26 Indianapolis 1,109,970 0.968
27 Baltimore 1,097,310 0.957
28 San Diego 1,077,600 0.940
29 Nashville 1,024,560 0.894
30 Hartford & New Haven 1,006,280 0.878
31 Kansas City 939,740 0.820
32 Columbus, OH 932,680 0.814
33 Salt Lake City 927,540 0.809
34 Milwaukee 907,660 0.792
35 Cincinnati 896,090 0.782
36 San Antonio 880,690 0.768
37 Greenvll-Spart-Ashevll-And 860,930 0.751
38 West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce 788,020 0.687
39 Birmingham (Ann and Tusc) 738,790 0.644
40 Las Vegas 737,300 0.643
41 Harrisburg-Lncstr-Leb-York 729,440 0.636
42 Grand Rapids-Kalmzoo-B.Crk 722,150 0.630
43 Norfolk-Portsmth-Newpt Nws 718,750 0.627
44 Oklahoma City 712,630 0.622
45 Albuquerque-Santa Fe 710,050 0.619
46 Greensboro-H.Point-W.Salem 691,200 0.603
47 Austin 686,830 0.599
48 Louisville 674,050 0.588
49 Memphis 669,940 0.584
50 Jacksonville 669,840 0.584
51 Buffalo 645,190 0.563
52 New Orleans 643,660 0.561
53 Providence-New Bedford 620,010 0.541
54 Wilkes Barre-Scranton-Hztn 590,740 0.515
55 Fresno-Visalia 574,800 0.501
56 Little Rock-Pine Bluff 571,630 0.499
57 Richmond-Petersburg 559,390 0.488
58 Albany-Schenectady-Troy 551,120 0.481
59 Tulsa 529,100 0.461
60 Mobile-Pensacola (Ft Walt) 527,930 0.460
61 Knoxville 527,790 0.460
62 Ft. Myers-Naples 504,240 0.440
63 Dayton 493,600 0.431
64 Lexington 488,850 0.426
65 Charleston-Huntington 465,030 0.406
66 Roanoke-Lynchburg 455,860 0.398
67 Wichita-Hutchinson Plus 454,590 0.397
68 Flint-Saginaw-Bay City 451,880 0.394
69 Green Bay-Appleton 445,760 0.389
70 Tucson (Sierra Vista) 442,020 0.386
71 Honolulu 434,730 0.379
72 Des Moines-Ames 431,300 0.376
73 Spokane 426,690 0.372
74 Toledo 426,280 0.372
75 Springfield, MO 423,010 0.369
76 Omaha 415,510 0.362
77 Columbia, SC 404,830 0.353
78 Portland-Auburn 401,370 0.350
79 Rochester, NY 398,790 0.348
80 Huntsville-Decatur (Flor) 394,010 0.344
81 Paducah-Cape Girard-Harsbg 393,330 0.343
82 Champaign&Sprngfld-Decatur 386,160 0.337
83 Shreveport 386,150 0.337
84 Syracuse 386,090 0.337
85 Madison 378,290 0.330
86 Chattanooga 366,790 0.320
87 Harlingen-Wslco-Brnsvl-McA 361,820 0.316
88 Waco-Temple-Bryan 353,190 0.308
89 Cedar Rapids-Wtrlo-IWC&Dub 344,150 0.300
90 Colorado Springs-Pueblo 343,160 0.299
91 El Paso (Las Cruces) 336,570 0.294
92 Savannah 335,080 0.292
93 Jackson, MS 334,530 0.292
94 Baton Rouge 333,010 0.290
95 Burlington-Plattsburgh 323,750 0.282
96 Tri-Cities, TN-VA 323,640 0.282
97 South Bend-Elkhart 322,090 0.281
98 Charleston, SC 311,260 0.271
99 Greenville-N.Bern-Washngtn 307,610 0.268
100 Davenport-R.Island-Moline 307,050 0.268
101 Ft. Smith-Fay-Sprngdl-Rgrs 301,120 0.263
102 Johnstown-Altoona-St Colge 294,770 0.257
103 Myrtle Beach-Florence 289,060 0.252
104 Evansville 287,880 0.251
105 Lincoln & Hastings-Krny 280,310 0.244
106 Tallahassee-Thomasville 272,520 0.238
107 Tyler-Longview(Lfkn&Ncgd) 271,400 0.237
108 Reno 271,020 0.236
109 Ft. Wayne 267,710 0.234
110 Youngstown 263,850 0.230
111 Augusta-Aiken 262,560 0.229
112 Boise 261,810 0.228
113 Sioux Falls(Mitchell) 261,530 0.228
114 Springfield-Holyoke 257,080 0.224
115 Lansing 252,890 0.221
116 Peoria-Bloomington 247,850 0.216
117 Fargo-Valley City 246,780 0.215
118 Macon 245,910 0.214
119 Montgomery-Selma 245,100 0.214
120 Traverse City-Cadillac 244,050 0.213
121 Eugene 241,270 0.210
122 SantaBarbra-SanMar-SanLuOb 230,830 0.201
123 Yakima-Pasco-Rchlnd-Knnwck 230,010 0.201
124 Lafayette, LA 229,320 0.200
125 Monterey-Salinas 223,620 0.195
126 Bakersfield 221,920 0.194
127 Columbus, GA (Opelika, AL) 215,410 0.188
128 La Crosse-Eau Claire 213,660 0.186
129 Corpus Christi 203,550 0.178
130 Amarillo 195,650 0.171
131 Chico-Redding 194,590 0.170
132 Wilmington 190,730 0.166
133 Columbus-Tupelo-W Pnt-Hstn 189,910 0.166
134 Rockford 184,360 0.161
135 Wausau-Rhinelander 181,280 0.158
136 Topeka 177,710 0.155
137 Monroe-El Dorado 177,410 0.155
138 Columbia-Jefferson City 176,470 0.154
139 Duluth-Superior 173,710 0.152
140 Medford-Klamath Falls 170,670 0.149
141 Beaumont-Port Arthur 168,420 0.147
142 Wichita Falls & Lawton 160,540 0.140
143 Lubbock 160,160 0.140
144 Salisbury 159,640 0.139
145 Palm Springs 158,440 0.138
146 Erie 157,730 0.138
147 Sioux City 157,060 0.137
148 Anchorage 155,600 0.136
149 Joplin-Pittsburg 153,910 0.134
150 Albany, GA 151,620 0.132
151 Odessa-Midland 146,040 0.127
152 Minot-Bsmrck-Dcknsn(Wlstn) 145,480 0.127
153 Rochestr-Mason City-Austin 145,450 0.127
154 Terre Haute 142,780 0.125
155 Bangor 141,580 0.123
156 Bluefield-Beckley-Oak Hill 137,380 0.120
157 Binghamton 136,730 0.119
158 Wheeling-Steubenville 133,120 0.116
159 Panama City 132,120 0.115
160 Idaho Fals-Pocatllo(Jcksn) 128,940 0.112
161 Sherman-Ada 128,790 0.112
162 Biloxi-Gulfport 128,150 0.112
163 Gainesville 124,730 0.109
164 Abilene-Sweetwater 115,630 0.101
165 Missoula 114,590 0.100
166 Yuma-El Centro 112,850 0.098
167 Hattiesburg-Laurel 111,560 0.097
168 Billings 109,940 0.096
169 Dothan 109,080 0.095
170 Clarksburg-Weston 108,980 0.095
171 Quincy-Hannibal-Keokuk 104,790 0.091
172 Utica 104,750 0.091
173 Rapid City 100,120 0.087
174 Elmira (Corning) 96,600 0.084
175 Lake Charles 94,850 0.083
176 Jackson, TN 94,650 0.083
177 Watertown 93,090 0.081
178 Harrisonburg 91,620 0.080
179 Alexandria, LA 90,160 0.079
180 Marquette 85,230 0.074
181 Jonesboro 81,300 0.071
182 Bowling Green 79,990 0.070
183 Charlottesville 74,630 0.065
184 Grand Junction-Montrose 72,970 0.064
185 Laredo 72,060 0.063
186 Meridian 70,190 0.061
187 Greenwood-Greenville 67,730 0.059
188 Lafayette, IN 67,260 0.059
189 Butte-Bozeman 66,910 0.058
190 Great Falls 66,190 0.058
191 Twin Falls 65,800 0.057
192 Parkersburg 63,120 0.055
193 Bend, OR 62,620 0.055
194 Eureka 61,180 0.053
195 Cheyenne-Scottsbluff 56,640 0.049
196 Casper-Riverton 56,460 0.049
197 San Angelo 55,570 0.048
198 Mankato 53,720 0.047
199 Ottumwa-Kirksville 47,810 0.042
200 St. Joseph 46,690 0.041
201 Lima 39,350 0.034
202 Fairbanks 37,010 0.032
203 Zanesville 33,140 0.029
204 Victoria 31,540 0.028
205 Presque Isle 29,850 0.026
206 Helena 28,050 0.024
207 Juneau 25,500 0.022
208 Alpena 17,100 0.015
209 North Platte 15,180 0.013
210 Glendive 4,180 0.004
NSI Total U.S. 114,649,310 100.000

-
Copyright © 2011 The Nielsen Company
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(20) Comments - Add Yours!

  1. Willians
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 8:59 AM

    Great!

  2. silvit
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 9:27 AM

    Do you have the 18-49 estimates too?

  3. RJ
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 9:27 AM

    Thanks for posting! I never realized how low on the list my market was.

  4. silvit
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 9:29 AM

    ^ Obviously the “new” estimates. I remember last year they were posted at the beginning of September.

  5. Bill Gorman
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 9:47 AM

    “Do you have the 18-49 estimates too?”

    “^ Obviously the “new” estimates. I remember last year they were posted at the beginning of September.”

    I don’t believe we have ever seen 18-49 numbers by TV market, but if you were talking about the national 18-49 numbers (like these among others), those should be available in the next few weeks for the 2012-13 season and we will post them then.

  6. Stefan
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 9:53 AM

    Will you also get a new Cable Coverage Estimates list?

  7. silvit
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 10:13 AM

    @Bill

    Yes, I was talking about the national estimates. Thanks for the answer. :-)

  8. Bill Gorman
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 10:58 AM

    “Will you also get a new Cable Coverage Estimates list?”

    We do need to update that as well. I will put that on the To Do list.

  9. AppleStinx
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 11:00 AM

    I would take a baseball bat to someone’s knees to find out to what degree market size influences Nielsen’s allocation of peoplemeters. The top 26 markets alone account for 50% of homes; the top 66 for 75%; the top 117 for 90% of homes.

  10. Douglas from Brazil
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 11:12 AM

    Nielsen does only measure in 210 cities in the U.S.?
    So when we say 1.0 rating adults 18-49 is the numbers only come from those cities listed?
    Sorry for my misunderstanding but didn’t get clear for me.
    ThanX.

  11. Bill Gorman
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 11:13 AM

    “I would take a baseball bat to someone’s knees to find out to what degree market size influences Nielsen’s allocation of peoplemeters. The top 26 markets alone account for 50% of homes; the top 66 for 75%; the top 117 for 90% of homes.”

    Put the baseball bat down slowly.

    It’s pretty much entirely determined by market size.

    Our ancient numbers over which markets are covered (which while 5 years old, have not likely changed much) were that people meters were in 56 markets, and all those markets were no smaller than market #63.

  12. AppleStinx
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 12:02 PM

    Thank you, Bill! I knew we could count on you to save some knees. :grin:

  13. Bill Gorman
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 12:22 PM

    “Nielsen does only measure in 210 cities in the U.S.?
    So when we say 1.0 rating adults 18-49 is the numbers only come from those cities listed?
    Sorry for my misunderstanding but didn’t get clear for me.
    ThanX.”

    Lots of great information on ratings here. Particularly the video from ESPN.

    http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/numbers-102/

  14. Robafry
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 3:25 PM

    Douglas From Brazil, TV markets in the US (known as DMAs) are geographical areas that cover more than one city. For instance, the New York TV market includes not only New York City but also the cities of Newark, New Jersey; White Plains, New York, Paterson, New Jersey and many others. TV markets are an amalgamation of counties that get the majority of their non-cable viewing from TV stations of a home market.

  15. Bill Gorman
    Posted August 18, 2012 at 8:35 PM

    Cable network coverage estimates now updated through July, 2012.

    http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/08/18/cable-network-coverage-estimates-as-of-july-2012/145322/

  16. Kurt
    Posted August 19, 2012 at 6:19 AM

    Bill,

    I didn’t see Turner Classic Movies (TCM) on your cable network list. Can it be added?

  17. salaciouscrumb
    Posted August 19, 2012 at 7:24 AM

    On that cable list is that houses that can get the channel or do get the channel ?

    Some houses might have a provider that has a certain channel but they might have a tier that doesnt include that channel so does that still count them ?

  18. Bill Gorman
    Posted August 19, 2012 at 7:34 AM

    @Kurt, sorry, that’s all we will get.

    @salaciouscrumb, it’s the households that actually get each network, but thats a clarification I will add when I get to my computer. I have added that clarification to the original post.

  19. AppleStinx
    Posted August 19, 2012 at 7:43 AM

    Curiosities regarding coverage estimates for the cable news channels (2012 vs 2011):
    - Fox Business Network expanded, and is in 10.256 million additional households
    - CurrentTV coverage is up by 1.043 million households
    - CNBC, CNN, HLN and FNC all had their respective coverage reduced in line with the 1.200 million reduction in the Total U.S. estimates.
    - MSNBC, the channel most likely to be available only in premium packages, had coverage reduced by a mere 194 thousand households, and actually enjoyed a slight increase percentage-wise.

  20. Chris
    Posted August 19, 2012 at 9:42 AM

    @AppleStinx

    MSNBC, for the most part, is in the basic cable package on about 95% of television providers. The only exceptions I can think of are some Comcast systems (which is ironic because Comcast is MSNBC’s parent).

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