Market Profiles

TV and radio in Minneapolis-St. Paul are off to a strong start in 2013, and there are signs the healthy conditions will continue well into spring and beyond. Gains in auto, home improvement and health insurance are driving the TV market up 10%-15%. Come in late and you’ll pay double the going rate.

Blizzards knocked off programming and knocked out power to many households, which has stations scrambling to make up for low delivery. Pricing’s down.

Hurricane Sandy knocked out power and flooded businesses, but the media economy recovered very quickly. Demand for TV and radio is high, with auto and retail very active.

March mayoral primary is driving demand for inventory, with other categories paying a premium to get on the air. Radio is also busy, with AT&T advertising again.

Sluggish ad spending is typical in most markets during first quarter, but that’s not the case in Orlando, where both TV and radio are seeing spending gains from a number of categories. TV spending was up 10%-15% in January, and it’s expected to be up at least 10% for the remainder of the quarter.

TV is down 10% in first quarter, and the rest of the year isn’t looking much better, despite a healthy economy in the city. The market is not seeing the big increases from automotive and retail that have lifted other cities across the country to start the year. That said, there are a few categories that have become more active in recent weeks and given TV a small boost.

TV demand and pricing are down the first two months of the year but March looks stronger, with key categories such as auto and retail buying up spots.

After a slow start to the year, advertisers are ramping up spending to end the first quarter. Retail and casinos are hot, and primetime is very tight.

The market’s media economy had a strong 2012, boosted by a busy end of year following the November elections, and that momentum has continued into 2013. Pricing on TV is flat to last year, outside of highly rated sports and primetime programming. To start the year there has been high demand from a number of traditionally strong ad categories. Despite the fact that there are no Olympics or big elections, buyers expect a very good year.

Phoenix was one of the markets hit hardest by the recession, which devastated the city’s once-booming real estate market. But Phoenix has also been one of the first markets to fully recover, and that has led to an active and healthy media economy heading into 2013. Auto is driving huge demand for first-quarter inventory, and if you buy at the last minute you’ll be paying a 20% to 25% premium. Radio is also healthy.

Chicago is an active, healthy market heading into 2013, but it’s not sold out and there are deals available on both television and radio. Pricing for 2013 is generally flat year-to-year, and buyers are locking in favorable rates with annual buys.

The Boston media market has been healthy in 2012, and stations hope that will continue into 2013. But right now first quarter is looking like a buyer’s market. There is plenty of TV inventory available for first quarter and pricing is down slightly, in contrast to Boston’s very busy fourth quarter.

The market didn’t see much presidential political spending, but TV and radio are tight as advertisers try to reach the sizeable Hispanic population.

Political came in much lower than expected, and national spending is down by 25%, leading to a decline of 7% to 8%. But radio is up.

A huge amount of political advertising is squeezing out everything else, and the market will stay healthy post-election as retailers scramble to get holiday ads on the air.

A tight race for digital leadership has SourceMedia’s ABC affiliate KCRG and its newspaper, The Gazette, in the lead but closely followed by Quincy-owned KWWL. Local digital competitors have been experimenting with online video, user-generated content and social media to engage their audiences.

The tiny corner of Texas in which Brownsville is situated boasts a huge Hispanic population — the 10th largest in the country — and a heady mix of topics important to Spanish and English speakers, from high school football to education to Mexico’s violent drug war. The region’s local online media outlets are turning to innovation to bridge cutures and drive revenue.

In Portland, Ore., a healthy media economy has led to TV spending increases of 3% to 5% over a year ago, with unit pricing up as much as 10% in high-demand dayparts. Demand is coming from a variety of categories, including automotive, telecom and financial, while the retail and fast food categories have decreased spending versus a year ago.

When Gannett’s The Greenville (S.C.) News launched its hard paywall in July 2010, traffic dwindled and let the newspaper’s TV competitors take the lead in the market’s online media scene. Earlier this year, the paper switched to a metered model in an attempt to win back readers.

Pittsburgh is a healthy media market that is showing slight gains versus a year ago without the flood of political spending that has helped lift other markets. Political will further lift the market as the November elections approach, but so far this year other categories have been driving TV spending, namely auto, telecom and fast food.

Ad spending in Tampa has been healthy all year even without political dollars. With Florida once again a major swing state in the upcoming presidential election, campaign spending will lead to even tighter conditions in the market as the fall election nears.

National advertisers jump in, pushing up pricing for both, with radio facing sell-out conditions. Big spenders: Automotive, financial, retail and hospitals.

Phoenix was one of the markets hit hardest by the housing crisis, but the real estate market is improving, with home values up 25% year-to-year. Likewise, Phoenix’s media economy is healthy again, boosted by a good amount of political spending in first quarter due to an early primary in Arizona.

In Charlotte, N.C., media players are prepping for September’s Democratic National Convention and bulking up their social and mobile offerings. While The Charlotte Observer is the market’s top player, three TV sites — WCNC.com, WSOCtv.com and WBTV.com — are scrapping for prominence in a city where players differ sharply on how to use social media to drive traffic.

Milwaukee is a healthy market in the midst of a lowest-unit-rate political window leading into Wisconsin’s Feb. 21 state primary. Yet unlike many other markets with upcoming primaries, Milwaukee television is not clogged with political ads. Buyers say they can get their clients on the air without too much difficulty.

Digital spending is slightly behind the national average in Steeler Nation, but two newspapers and a market leading ABC affiliate WTAE are making big moves to capitalize on inevitable growth, as local online spending in the Steel City is expected to grow 74% by 2016.

With its glamour and Latino flair, media players in Miami, a market characterized by an audience fragmented by culture and language, rely on different strategies — from hyperlocal to mobile — to draw visitors and prosper. Market leader The Miami Herald, with English and Spanish sites, has turned to hyperlocal, offering some 45 specialized sites based on community and subject matter. And Fox affiliate WSVN has tripled its mobile traffic in the past year.

Denver saw advertising decline during the recession, but it was not hit nearly as hard as other markets, which helped it recover quickly. Now the market is very healthy on both TV and radio heading into what should be an even stronger 2012.

With a towering 3 million-plus uniques in October, Gannett’s carefully nurtured online operation, which combines the efforts of its NBC affiliate KPNX and its Arizona Republic, swamps its nearest competitors, MyFoxPhoenix.com and Scripps’ ABC15.com. Along with winning in audience, AZCentral now generates 20% of Gannett’s total revenues in the sprawling Phoenix DMA.