A couple of items involving TV:
TV MARKET RANKINGS OUT: The new list of America’s TV markets is out, and the Cleveland/Akron/Canton market continues its slow slide down to the bottom of the top 20.
Northeast Ohio’s dominant TV market is now 17th in the country according to the folks at A.C. Nielsen, the ratings service that’s the keeper of the TV list of designated market areas. That’s down from 16th last season. When your Primary Editorial Voice(tm) was just a youth, we remember that Cleveland was as high as the 11th largest TV market in the country…and it was once in the top 10.
Jumping ahead of Cleveland was a growing sunbelt market, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, which just nudged ahead of this area with a population gain of nearly 16,000 homes. The Cleveland market lost about 4,000 homes.
Both gaining a few thousand homes, Columbus stayed steady at market number 32, and Cincinnati is now right behind it…up from 34 to 33. Dayton also went up one in ranking to market 58.
Toledo lost a place and is now market 71, and Youngstown is now market 103…also losing one place with a slight population drop. Zanesville is market 203, down from 202.
But here’s one to make you scratch your head. The Lima market has fallen through the floor according to the Nielsen folks. It’s down from market 185 to 196! The population loss shown is from 70,940 TV homes to 53,180.
Folks over in west central Ohio will have to fill us in on this – that kind of drop sounds to us like Lima lost part of its territory to another nearby larger market…
MY NETWORK SHENANIGANS: The folks at MyNetworkTV have finally confirmed what’s on their own website’s affiliate lists – the new mini-network has found homes in both Toledo and Dayton.
Broadcasting and Cable and MediaWeek report that MNTV will air in Toledo on current UPN affiliate WNGT-LP/48 “UPN 48”, and that the network will air in Dayton on a subchannel on the digital side of Sinclair’s FOX affiliate in the market, WRGT/45.
OMW reported earlier that for whatever reason, Cincinnati WB-to-become-MyNetworkTV affiliate WSTR/64 has an analog translator on Channel 66 in Dayton.
Since Sinclair owns WSTR, the translator and WRGT, the affiliation is not a surprise. We’re just surprised it took them this long to announce WRGT’s MyNetworkTV digital affiliation. Maybe they just hadn’t figured out about programming the subchannel until now…
As for WNGT, it’s at least a sign that the Toledo station will continue as a general entertainment independent for now – at least from 8-10 PM weeknights.
The station’s ownership status has been in question for some time. It’s been in bankruptcy receivership, and Cornerstone Church’s Matrix Broadcast Media filed an application to take over the station last October.
Cornerstone owns CCM WDMN/1520 “Dominion 1520” in the Toledo market, and still owns Toledo rimshot WKNL/96.9 (formerly WXQQ) Wauseon, which it operated as a dance format station until turning its programming over to the K-Love folks…
Speak Your Mind