Tampa Bay 12th largest media market now

Tampa Bay Business Journal

The Tampa Bay area metro market is moving up in the national Nielsen ratings for television households.

Tampa Bay ranks No. 12 on the list of largest television markets with 1.7 million television households. New York is first with 7.4 million.

The rankings will be used for the 2005-06 television season and help influence advertising rates for broadcasting.

The total number of television households in the country is 110.2 million, up by 0.5 percent from 109.6 million last year. Minority families are increasing, with African-American homes growing by 12.2 percent, Hispanic homes by 10.3 percent and Asian homes by 3.8 percent.

Tampa Bay's upward move is indicative of a national migration of population to southern and western states. According to estimates by the United States Census Bureau, 60 of the fastest growing counties are in the south and 23 are in the west.

Nielsen Media Research annually reports television household estimates each September based on information from a variety of sources, including Claritas, the United States Census Bureau, and Nielsen Media Research's own television samples.

Nielsen Media Research is part of VNU Media Measurement and Information (ASE: VNU), which is headquartered in New York, and provides information services for the media and entertainment industries.