Southern Style

The official seal of the city of Atlanta features a phoenix, the legendary bird that rises from its ashes. Atlanta has emerged from the ruins of the Civil War and from the civil-rights struggle to become one of the most economically sound regions in the nation. Home to 13 Fortune 500 companies, including Coca-Cola, it's also a significant cable center: HQ for Cox, CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network and The Weather Channel.

The ninth-largest TV market also encompasses parts of three states and harbors nearly 6 million people. The one constant for television in the past decade is the dominance of Cox-owned WSB. One of the best-performing ABC affiliates, it had the top early newscast in May and won every daypart except prime time, while raking in $135 million in ad revenue last year, according to BIA estimates. Total market revenue is estimated to reach $562 million this year, up 8.5% from 2003.

Relatively weak competition helps maintain WSB's status. Meredith's CBS affiliate WGCL has undergone a series of ownership and personnel changes and has not yet gained traction. WXIA, Gannett's NBC station, has only recently begun to recover from a lengthy ratings slide.

Market demographics are also changing rapidly. Six counties in the market rank among the nation's top 10 in Hispanic growth, although Atlanta has only one Spanish-language TV station, Univision-owned WUVG.

In May, Fox O&O WAGA rode the popularity of local singer Diana DeGarmo on American Idol to its first prime time win. Its 10 p.m. newscast edged past WSB's 11 p.m. show (10 rating/15 share vs. 9/17). "The demographic skew of the marketplace very closely mirrors Fox's primary target," says WAGA General Manager Gene McHugh, "and that's helped us." Independent WTBS operates as a local station in Atlanta, although it is known as a "superstation" to national cable audiences.

Comcast controls most of the cable market. Its ad arm, Comcast Spotlight, inserts local ads on more than 40 networks. About 69% of the market subscribes to cable, while 24% takes satellite service.

With no natural boundaries to constrain its growth, Atlanta has become a poster child for urban sprawl. The Chamber of Commerce assembled a task force to develop recommendations to help accommodate an estimated 2.5 million new residents expected by 2030. "There is a growing recognition here that continuing the current trends is a bad idea," says Chamber Vice President Kevin Green. "We cannot afford to let growth happen and just hope for the best."