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Market Profile
MOTOROLA, ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES AND DELL ARE AMONG THE MAJOR TECH companies that call the Austin, Texas, market home. Situated in the heart of the Texas Hill country, this diverse, scenic city is not only the state capital, but a destination for a growing number of young profess sionals. The median age in Austin is 29.5. About 27 percent of the population works in professional/managerial positions, according to Scarborough Research. Many of those positions are in the high-technology sector, which the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce estimates has an annual economic impact of more than $750 million on the greater Austin area.
With the dot-com and technology industries going bust in the past year, Austin was obviously not immune to the aftermath of the meltdown. An estimated 10,000 of the approximately 100,000 to 150,000 technology-related jobs in Austin were eliminated due to various company layoffs. But as the economy has started to rebound along with a general bolstering of consumer confidence, the market is starting to see signs of a possible turnaround.
While Austin did feel the pinch of decreased ad spending as companies in a wide range of industries slashed their advertising budgets to cut costs, it has weathered the storm better than some other markets. The market's population growth from 465,622 in 1990 to 656,562 in 2000 and the expansion of the Austin television market underscores its continued vitality. Just two years ago, Austin was the 61st DMA in the country, with 472,780 TV households, according to Nielsen Media Research. The market is now No. 54, with 555,840 TV households.
Austin has also been buoyed by the introduction of Nielsen meters last May. Previously, the market relied on Nielsen diary returns for its ratings and viewership estimate information. The new Nielsen meters have shown significantly higher levels of households using television (HUTs) and persons using television (PUTs), which has translated into higher advertising revenues.
"Our market was one of the lowest diary-- return markets in the country," says Danny Baker, vp and general manager of KTBC, the Fox Television owned-and-operated station, and its sister station, low-power independent outlet KVC. The meters showed the television market had many more viewers than the diaries had previously led the Austin's media community to...