Media in the Tampa Bay area

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The Tampa Bay media market is Florida's second-largest metropolitan area with a variety of print, online and broadcast media outlets serving the region. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the population for the Tampa-St. Petersburg Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) at 3,194,831 according to the 2019 est. The Tampa Bay media market also includes Citrus, Manatee, Sarasota and Polk counties which is over 5,000,000 when combined with the Tampa Bay (MSA). [1] Polk County is also served by media from Orlando.

Contents

Newspapers and Magazines

The first newspaper in Tampa was the Florida Peninsular.

The major daily newspaper serving the area is the Tampa Bay Times . The Tampa Bay Times, which was known as the St. Petersburg Times from 1898 until January 2012, is the largest newspaper by circulation in the southeastern United States at over 400,000, which is over 50% more than Florida's next largest newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel . [2] It distributes a free Monday-through-Friday tabloid called tbt* in most areas of Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties. The Tampa Tribune was Tampa's longest-running newspaper, first published in 1895. The Tribune was one of several local daily newspapers serving Tampa in the early 20th century, but after buying the Tampa Times in 1958, it became Tampa's main morning daily for the next several decades. (The Tribune published the Tampa Times as an afternoon daily until 1982.) In more recent years, "The Trib" published a portfolio of standalone weekly newspapers throughout the region, many of which are still published by the Tampa Bay Times, including the Plant City Courier & Tribune, Brandon News & Tribune, South Shore News & Tribune, Northeast News & Tribune, Carrollwood News & Tribune, South Tampa News & Tribune, Northwest News & Tribune, Central Tampa News & Tribune, The Suncoast News, and the Spanish language CENTRO Tampa . Stiff competition with the St. Petersburg / Tampa Bay Times for subscribers and advertising revenue led to several changes of ownership and rounds of layoffs for the Tampa Tribune during the 2000s, and in May 2016, the Tampa Bay Times bought and folded its main competitor. The Times added some of the Tribune's reporters and columnists to its staff while laying off others as it consolidated operations. [3]

The Tampa Bay area is also served by a variety of regional newspapers and weeklies. La Gaceta is a weekly trilingual (English, Spanish and Italian) newspaper published in Tampa's historic Ybor City since 1922. [4] Two newspapers serve the local black community: the Florida Sentinel Bulletin (Tampa) and The Weekly Challenger (St. Petersburg). Creative Loafing Tampa (also known for a time as the Weekly Planet) is the area's primary alternative weekly. The Oracle serves the University of South Florida and its surrounding community. The Tampa Bay Business Journal is the region's business publication of record. The Osprey Observer is a weekly that serves East Hillsborough County with five separate publications, three of which carry the Osprey Observer moniker and a fourth, The Christian Voice that is distributed through local churches. Some lesser-known papers include Tampa Bay Newspapers TBNWeekly and the Tampa Bay Informer.

Several print magazines serve the Tampa Bay area. Tampa Bay Magazine, established in 1986, is printed monthly and features dining and entertainment content. Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine was established in 2007, and it features content for and about local families.

Several cities outside the Tampa-St. Petersburg core but within the Tampa Bay media market have smaller-circulation daily newspapers with overlapping coverage and distribution areas. They include The Bradenton Herald , Sarasota Herald-Tribune , The Ledger of Lakeland, The News-Chief of Winter Haven (published by The Ledger), the Citrus County Chronicle (based in Inverness), and previously Hernando Today (based in Brooksville) as well as Highlands Today (based in Sebring). Both of the Today newspapers were published by The Tampa Tribune. Hernando Today was shuttered by the Tribune in 2014; Highlands Today was briefly continued by the Times before being sold and merged into the Highlands News Sun.

Television

WUSF-TV studios in Tampa Wusf tv.JPG
WUSF-TV studios in Tampa

The Tampa Bay area is the nation's 11th-largest TV market and largest TV Market(DMA) in the state of Florida, according to Nielsen Media Research, [5] with 1,859,820 TV households.

Fourteen television stations serve the region (network O&O's in bold):

Local cable-only stations include Bay News 9 and Spectrum Sports Florida (operated by Charter Communications)

The Tampa Bay television market is only one of a handful of markets to have duplicate network affiliations (in this case, ABC) in the same market. The reason for this was that WTSP, channel 10 which was the ABC affiliate at the time, had a smaller transmission tower in southwest Pasco County in Holiday. This resulted in a poor to non-existent ABC signal in the southern half of the market. The rest of the network television stations broadcast from a higher tower in the Riverview area of east-central Hillsborough County. When the three (ABC, CBS, and Fox) television stations switched network affiliation, the ABC affiliate now could be picked up in the southern half of the market. At around the same time, WTSP became a CBS affiliate and received a waiver increase their power, but it did not correct the problems with reception in Sarasota County. In 2011, WSTP received a waiver to move their transmitter to the Riverview antenna farm which alleviated their reception issues in Sarasota County. They did need to dampen their signal slightly to the southeast as to not interfere with the station broadcasting on channel 10 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale. With the switch in networks, the Sarasota ABC affiliate (WWSB, Channel 40) now deemed redundant by ABC. WWSB was served a termination notice from ABC, but they petitioned the FCC to maintain the affiliation with ABC and it was granted. WWSB transmits from an antenna near Rye in Manatee County and can be received in all but the far northern counties of the market. It has also been included on several of the cable TV systems as an alternative to WFTS, channel 28 in Tampa. [6]

Radio

The Tampa Bay area is the nation's 19th largest radio market, according to Arbitron Research. [7] More than 70 radio stations exist, split almost evenly between the AM and FM band. Most major programming formats are represented by the corporations of iHeart Media, the biggest owner of radio stations in the area, followed by Cox Media Group and Beasley Broadcasting. The area is also home to at least two non-profit radio stations, WMNF and WUSF. Christian stations include The Joy FM and WBVM. In addition, many Orlando-area stations can be heard in the northern and eastern reaches of the metropolitan area.

These stations were rated by Arbitron in January 2014:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarasota, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Sarasota is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Greater Tampa Bay Area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Sarasota is a principal city of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 U.S. census, Sarasota had a population of 54,842, up from 51,917 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTVT</span> Fox TV station in Tampa, Florida

WTVT is a television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving as the Fox network outlet for the Tampa Bay area. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, WTVT maintains studios on Kennedy Boulevard on Tampa's west side, and its transmitter is located in Riverview.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTTA</span> The CW-owned station in St. Petersburg, Florida

WTTA is a television station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, serving as the Tampa Bay area's local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by The CW's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, alongside Tampa-licensed NBC affiliate WFLA-TV and Sarasota-based low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate WSNN-LD. WTTA and WFLA-TV share studios on South Parker Street in downtown Tampa; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WFLA-TV's spectrum from a transmitter in Riverview, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTSP</span> CBS affiliate in St. Petersburg, Florida

WTSP is a television station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area as an affiliate of CBS. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios on Gandy Boulevard on St. Petersburg's northeast side, just off the Gandy Bridge; its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFLA-TV</span> NBC affiliate in Tampa, Florida

WFLA-TV is a television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside St. Petersburg–licensed CW owned-and-operated station WTTA and Sarasota-based low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate WSNN-LD. WFLA-TV and WTTA share studios on South Parker Street in downtown Tampa; through a channel sharing agreement, the two stations transmit using WFLA-TV's spectrum from a transmitter in Riverview, Florida.

WEDU is a PBS member television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting alongside WEDQ. The two stations share studios on North Boulevard in Tampa and transmitter facilities in Riverview, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWSB</span> ABC affiliate in Sarasota, Florida

WWSB is a television station licensed to Sarasota, Florida, United States, serving the Suncoast portion of the Tampa Bay market as an affiliate of ABC. Owned by Gray Television, WWSB maintains studios on 10th Street in the Rosemary District of Sarasota, and its transmitter is located on Rutland Road in the unincorporated Manatee County community of Rye, about 5 miles (8 km) east-southeast of Parrish. The station also operates a news bureau in Venice, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFTS-TV</span> ABC affiliate in Tampa, Florida

WFTS-TV, branded as ABC Action News, is a television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Bradenton-licensed Ion Television station WXPX-TV. WFTS-TV's studios are located on North Himes Avenue on Tampa's northwest side, and its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Fletcher</span> American broadcast meteorologist

Richard R. Fletcher was a broadcast meteorologist. He was Chief Meteorologist for WTSP in St. Petersburg, Florida, for 28 years. He was a holder of the American Meteorological Society Seal of Approval, having received it in 1978.

WTOG is an independent television station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by the CBS News and Stations group, and maintains studios on Northeast 105th Terrace in St. Petersburg, near the west end of the Gandy Bridge; its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.

WMOR-TV is an independent television station licensed to Lakeland, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Hillsborough Avenue in east Tampa, and its transmitter is located in Riverview. Master control and some internal operations are based at the studios of Orlando NBC affiliate WESH on North Wymore Road in Eatonville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSNN-LD</span> MyNetworkTV affiliate in Sarasota, Florida

WSNN-LD is a low-power television station in Sarasota, Florida, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV. Owned by Nexstar Media Group as sister to NBC affiliate WFLA-TV and CW owned-and-operated station WTTA, the station's Suncoast News Network (SNN) service provides news coverage focusing primarily on the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota Metropolitan Statistical Area. SNN operates in conjunction with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and is headquartered in downtown Sarasota. The station's transmitter is located on Fruitville Road east of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDUV</span> Radio station in New Port Richey, Florida

WDUV is a commercial radio station licensed to New Port Richey, Florida and serving the Tampa Bay Area. Owned by Cox Radio, it broadcasts a soft adult contemporary format. It switches to all-Christmas music for much of November and December. WDUV's studios and offices are in St. Petersburg. The transmitter site is off Dartmouth Drive in Holiday.

WEDQ is a secondary PBS member television station licensed to Tampa, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area. Owned by Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting, it is a sister station to primary PBS member WEDU. The two stations share studios on North Boulevard in Tampa and transmitter facilities in Riverview, Florida.

WWMI is a radio station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay radio market. It is owned by Relevant Radio, a non-profit Catholic broadcasting organization based in Wisconsin. WWMI carries its Relevant Radio network programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSUN-TV</span> Television station in Florida, United States

WSUN-TV, UHF analog channel 38, was a television station located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. Operating from 1953 to 1970, it was the first television station in the Tampa/St. Petersburg television market.

Calkins Media, Inc. was a media company established in 1937. It included daily newspapers and digital sites in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, a weekly newspaper in South Dade, and broadcast stations located in Huntsville, Tallahassee and Sarasota. Corporate and digital headquarters were located in Bucks County.

Jacksonville, Florida is served by local media, as well as regional and national media. As of 2017, Jacksonville is ranked as the 42nd largest television media market in the United States, with 700,890 homes. Radio and television broadcasts are governed by the FCC.

Radio Training Network, Inc. is an American non-profit broadcasting organization that operates several networks of Christian radio-formatted stations, mostly in the Southeast. The network's footprint includes stations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina and South Carolina. The network is based in Port Richey, Florida. Some stations are programmed as "The Joy FM", and several are known as "His Radio".

References

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