Just to throw an added variable into the mix concerning population and relevance of a city, here's the
list of top TV markets straight from Neilsen (including the exact number of TV homes in each). The list is a year old (updated through 2009-10), but there generally aren't any drastic changes at the top from year to year. I'll list the top 10 plus any others that I noticed that were mentioned in the last page or so along with any position changes from '09 to '10
1. New York
2. Los Angeles
3. Chicago
4. Philadelphia
5. Dallas/Ft. Worth
6. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose
7. Boston
8. Atlanta
9. DC
10. Houston
...
11. Detroit
15. Minneapolis/St. Paul
18. Cleveland/Akron -1
21. St. Louis
23. Pittsburgh
24. Charlotte
26. Raleigh/Durham +1
33. Cincinnati +1
42. Las Vegas
52. Buffalo -1
These numbers seem to bear out both sides of the argument so far. With fewer established suburbs than Northeast and Midwest cities, Raleigh's TV influence (and by extension advertising influence) is still lagging behind many cities that it is technically bigger than. It is, however one of the few cities that moved up a spot. In fact, of the markets ranking 7-30, only 2, Raleigh and Charlotte, increased by 20K+ TV homes. Of coarse, those trends can change at any time (just ask Las Vegas) but things are looking up for NC markets right now.