Pittsburgh now the #30 radio market
April 1, 2022Nielsen has released their 2022 market survey and Pittsburgh falls into the #30. The move should come as no surprise given the region’s population which skews older.
The TV listings in the same report do not include rankings
Lance Venta has the details and link to the survey at RadioInsight.
Pittsburgh is a decaying market. Has been for years. It’s the reason you see so many old photos of Pittsburgh’s buy-gone era,, because this city has no future, so Pittsburgh lives in the shadows of its past. (The photo to the left, is a prime example). I’ve said it so many times, Pittsburgh COULD be such a cool city, but too many Yinzers won’t ever let that happen. The Yinzers are happy with the way things are. Groovy for them, I guess. I am looking on moving out of here, because I am not a person who lives in the past. As I’ve said many times, ya can’t go back, so look forward. Until Pittsburgh gets their act together, it will continue to decay, and it will drop from market 30, to 35, and so on. The aging population is only the tip of the problem.
With all due respect, I’m going to start off with a challenging question. How long have you been saying “I’m looking on moving out of here”? If you’ve been saying it for more than a few months, what’s stopping ya? If you’ve only said it for a few days/weeks/months then make your plan and do it. Otherwise settle in and stick around with us. Sorry to be so snarky, but every time I’ve heard someone say that it’s always words and no action.
You’re not wrong. Pittsburghers do tend to live in the past and I get the frustration with that. But that isn’t the main impetus behind why the market rank is dwindling either.
But if you’re basing the reason Pittsburgh is #30 solely on WHO lives there and not the population, well then you’ve actually failed the entrance exam to work at Nielsen. For instance, with all the time I spent in Columbus, Ohio from 2014 to 2017 I couldn’t understand why they were and still are the 36th market. It’s a test market for many restaurants, it has a zoo four times the size of Pittsburgh, I could go on and on. But what it boils down to is population. Look at Nashville – big music industry town – ranked at #41.
Pittsburgh #30 – Population in the entire DMA – 1,998,700
Columbus #36 – 1,763,300
Nashville #41 – 1,563,200
Granted the entire DMA for a market includes surrounding counties with more sparse populations. Yes those cities might provide more opportunity for people looking for work or entertainment, but the population is how Nielsen makes their assessment. The bad news: Pittsburgh slowly dwindles downward. The good news: While other city’s have growing populations, based on what I remember from previous rankings – Pittsburgh isn’t shrinking that rapidly.
What’s stopping me from moving? Finding a house. I’m not going to live in a tent, just to get out of here. Also, location. I do not want to live in a big city, rather a much smaller town, in the south, (south Georgia, north Florida). Since I could care less about radio, or ever doing it again, the town doesn’t even need a station. Not that I listen these days anyway. And I am well aware that the numbers are bases on population size. That statement alone, makes my case. This is a dying city, and has been for decades, or as I put it, a city in decay. I’ve got a buddy, who used to work at Bob-FM. He complains about it here all the time, but he’ll never, ever leave. They could screw his head, with one of those vice things, like the 3 stooges, and he’d still stay. That’s the Yinzer mentality. Even if you don’t like the place, stay. FYI, I am leaving on April 25, to go down south to go house hunting. God willing, I’ll find something. I always tell people, the best view of Pittsburgh, is the one in the rear view mirror. (Oddly, there’s an episode of Route 66, where they come out of the Fort Pitt Tunnels, heading toward the airport, and Martin Milner looks in his rear view mirror, at the shot of the tunnels, and says, “GOODBYE PITTSBURGH”). A major move is not an easy thing Eric. Ya just don’t fly on the lark. A lot of things go into that mix. A lot of things.
I’d think in terms of actual listening, an older population would be good for local radio and TV ratings, growing up with that technology.
Randy, if you moved to a small town, maybe you could be instrumental in starting a new station there, commercial, LPFM or a hobby project with low power Part-15 radio, like some on these boards run.
I’m a Yinzer, listening to a polka show right now. They are actually singing, right now, Hats off to Pennsylvania by Stanky And His Coal Miners. I think new and old ways have their places, you can’t forget the past.
Boom
Boomer, I never think you should forget the past. We learn from it. (Well, hopefully, anyway). But I don’t think we should live in the shadow of the past. Looking to the future, and trying to make it better, is the only way to go, in my humble opinion. If one lives in the past, well to put it mildly, we get stagnant. As for me ever doing radio again? Doubtful. Working for ABC, pretty much burned that out of me. Radio is a thankless job. Most people in radio get paid squat, and are treated like cattle. Last station that I worked at in this market, was WLTJ. (Q-92 now). I got paid a whopping $9.50 per hour, and they’re still paying part-time people this paltry wage. That also includes Bob-FM. It’s the sister station. A buddy of mine, who worked at Bob, up until a year ago, was still making the same $9.50 per hour. Even when I worked for ABC, I was only getting paid 12 bucks an hour, and that was Atlanta, where the cost of living is a lot higher. If a total stranger came up to me, with stars in their eyes of wanting to be in radio, I’d drive them to Wendy’s and get them an application for employment.
Randy,
I want to clarify your misunderstanding with the Pittsburgh market. I consider myself being a bridge between the Pittsburgh generations of the 20th and 21st century. I worked while in college for different radio stations during the late 80s. At that time, the FCC allowed consolidation which killed the locally owned stations. National media corporations took over and created a one size fits all concept for every city so this killed our unified Pittsburgh character. This killed my aspirations to work in the communication’s industry as you financially can not get by. Population and age are irrelevant in this market and whether or not were ranked high. What unified us was the station’s programing and advertising to provide the audience a higher quality of life.
The values that made Pittsburgh and many rust belt cities was our work ethic in the 20th century. You physically worked hard and then you played hard. I mentioned being a bridge as I first worked in heavy construction “getting the job done”. Now, on the other side, I work with robotics technology and still believe in “getting the job done”. Many transients and the younger generations who move to Pittsburgh do not get this mentality to push hard. I observed many come and go as they want paid for really not working so they fail from what the older generation established.
What really kills me is how empty minded media talent who did not grow up here use the term “Yinzer” as it is cute and funny, but know nothing of the sweat given. There is no empathy for how we lived and is being mocked constantly. It is sad to go down the strip just to see a bunch of T-shirts trivialize it and radio stations especially WDVE mocking us. Actually, this is apart of the Pittsburgh problem with decline. I saw families where the parents and relatives worked hard and let their children have more fun. This meant in the 70’s up to today as station like WDVE promoted being a “Stoner” with the culture; thus, less work ethic and more decline. As a result, reducing a higher quality of life.
I have seen decline all of my life in Pittsburgh, but it is what you make of it with who you surround yourself. Improve that and so much positive will grow for you. Pittsburgh is very loving and if you missed it then you failed and should not look back in your rear view mirror.
Speaking as a fellow who once lived in Flint, Michigan I have to say I find that critique of Pittsburgh to be rather over-the-top. This city has its problems for sure, but is quite fortunate compared to a number of other places I can think of.
And did you see where Detroit (never been; but I’ve heard…) a city that’s not known for its safety, ranks at 13 on the list? It’s certainly not about the who, but how many “whos” there are!
Been there, done that. A lot of the people who have left Detroit just hopped over 8 Mile into Oakland County or some other suburban community. It’s a huge metro that sprawls for about fifty miles three directions. As rough as the City of Detroit has had it that region is actually home to some of the wealthiest suburban communities in America.