The 2017-18 Nielsen Local Television Market Universe Estimates are now official, and the Houston-Galveston market has jumped once again.
The market, which was devastated just weeks ago from Hurricane Harvey-related flooding, surged from No. 8 to No. 7. Last year, it jumped from No. 10 to No. 8.
With the leap, Texas’ second-largest market is ahead of Boston, which drops to No. 10 from No. 9; former No. 9 Atlanta, now No. 10; and the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose DMA, which is now at No. 8. The Bay Area dips from No. 6, and may come as a shock to longtime media observers, as the market continues to lose residents due to a high cost of living.
In 2016-2017, the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose DMA population totaled 2,488,090, representing 2.17% of the U.S. population.
In 2017-2018, the market’s population shrank to 2,451,640. Yet, this is representative of 2.19% of the total U.S. population thanks to shifts in other markets.
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the median price paid for a Bay Area home in August 2017 posted its biggest year-over-year gain in 19 months, rising 11.6 percent to $742,000. The newspaper cited a review of home prices by CoreLogic.
The Top 5 remains identical, with New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Dallas-Fort Worth remaining No. 1-No. 5 in the Nielsen DMA rankers.
Just outside the top 10 sits the Phoenix DMA, now at No. 11 and rising from No. 12.
The former No. 11, Tampa-St. Petersburg, falls to No. 13. The new No. 12 is Seattle-Tacoma, rising from No. 14.
Also of note: Portland, Ore., rises from No. 25 to No. 22, and Nashville surges from No. 29 to No. 27.
The 2017-18 Local Television Market Universe Estimates also show that No. 1 New York accounts for 6.3% of all U.S. homes. No. 2 Los Angeles accounts for an additional 4.7% of all U.S. homes.
The estimates are effective as of Sept. 23.
