Media market

A media market, also known as a broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), or television market area, is a geographic region in which the population receives similar television, radio, and other media offerings, including newspapers and digital media. Media markets are used worldwide for audience measurement, advertising planning, and broadcast regulation, although the methods used to define and measure them vary by country and media system. Markets may align with metropolitan areas, span multiple cities or regions, or include rural areas with shared media coverage. Market boundaries may overlap, particularly near regional borders, allowing audiences to access media from neighboring markets.

Markets are identified by the largest city, which is usually located in the center of the market region. However, geography and the fact that some metropolitan areas have large cities separated by some distance can make markets have unusual shapes and result in two, three, or more names being used to identify a single region (such as Wichita–Hutchinson, Kansas; Chico–Redding, California; Albany–Schenectady–Troy, New York; and Harrisburg–Lebanon–Lancaster–York, Pennsylvania).

In the United States, radio markets are generally a bit smaller than their television counterparts, as broadcast power restrictions are stricter for radio than TV, and TV reaches further via cable. AM band and FM band radio ratings are sometimes separated, as are broadcast and cable television ratings. Market researchers also subdivide ratings demographically between different age groups, genders, and ethnic backgrounds, as well as psychographically between income levels and other non-physical factors. This information is used by advertisers to determine how to reach a specific audience. In countries such as the United States, media regions are defined by a privately held institution without government status; in countries such as the United Kingdom, government-run television stations map their own regions.