Bay Area Battlefield
Tri-market copes with diversity demands
By BroadCasting & Cable Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/14/2004 7:00:00 PM
The Bay Area, famed for cable cars and high tech, is an anomaly. It covers three cities—San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose—and their expansive suburbs, a daunting assignment. Only 13% of the population lives in San Francisco; Oakland and San Jose are each large enough to rank as a top-25 market. But sprawl in the nation's sixth-largest TV market is secondary to the area's new challenge: Nielsen rolled out local people meters (LPMs) Sept. 30. Stations get daily demo ratings, which can swing wildly.
“We're in for a year of transition,” says KNTV General Manager Linda Sullivan.
While coping with LPMs, stations program to an eclectic audience: a highly educated population, thanks to nearby tech paradise Silicon Valley and various universities, including UC Berkley and Stanford. Plus, the ethnic mix is unique: 11% of residents are of Asian decent, 18% of Hispanic origin.
“Addressing the needs of all these viewers is difficult,” admits Mike Antonitis, president and GM of independent KRON.
All this diversity “makes late news a battlefield,” says Tim McVay, GM for Cox Broadcasting's Fox affiliate, KTVU. KRON broadcasts at 9 p.m.; KTVU follows at 10 p.m. The Big Three stations—CBS-owned KPIX, ABC O&O KGO and NBC O&O KNTV—offer 11 p.m. shows. While no one station dominates, there is extraordinary viewer demand for weather and traffic reports. One or two ratings points can separate the top-rated stations across dayparts. In prime time, KPIX is the market leader, buoyed by strong network programming; KGO leads in fringe.
NBC's San Jose-based KNTV is the newest addition in the marketplace. (NBC also owns a Telemundo station there.) KNTV became an NBC station in 2001 after Young Broadcasting's KRON converted to an independent. Distance means KNTV is missing 400,000 homes, but a new transmitter should close the gap by next spring.
Although local broadcasters benefited from the late-1990s Internet boom, they've endured a revenue pinch since the bubble burst. “We're not as vibrant as five years ago, but each successive year has been a bit better,” says Ron Longinotti, president and GM for Viacom's San Francisco duopoly, KPIX and UPN station KBHK. Year-to-date, the local ad market is posting low-single-digit growth, executives say. TV revenues are up to $710 million this year, from $670 million in 2003, per BIA.
Comcast is the dominant cable operator, with a robust 66% cable penetration. And 29% of cable subscribers have upgraded to digital cable, according to Scarborough Research.
“What sets us apart,” says Longinotti, “is our incredible diversity.”
| The Demos | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Bay Area boasts a highly educated, ethnically diverse population. Residents are 39% more likely to have a college degree than adults in the top-75 DMAs. The ethnically diverse population is 18% Hispanic and 11% Asian, both well above averages in the top-75 markets. | ||
| Who | Share of population | Index* |
| Source: Scarborough
Release 1 2004 75 Markets Report (February '03-March '04) *Index is a measurement of consumer likelihood. An index of 100 indicates that the market is on par with the average of the 75 local markets. NM = Not large enough to be measured **Activities engaged in past 12 months |
||
| 18-34 | 31% | 101 |
| 18-49 | 63% | 102 |
| 25-54 | 61% | 105 |
| 35+ | 69% | 100 |
| Married | 52% | 93 |
| Never married | 30% | 119 |
| College grad | 34% | 139 |
| White | 78% | 94 |
| Black | 6% | 54 |
| Hispanic | 18% | 132 |
| Asian | 11% | 427 |
| $100K+ HH | 28% | 182 |
| $50K+ HH | 64% | 131 |
| Below $50K HH | 36% | 70 |
| BY THE NUMBERS** | ||
| Home value $250,000+ | 52% | 253 |
| Digital cable | 29% | 118 |
| Belong to a health club | 25% | 146 |
| Baseball fans | 39% | 118 |
| Go hiking/backpacking | 24% | 188 |
| 10+ hours on the Internet | 25% | 138 |
No related content found.
-
No Top Articles
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
