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Article: A mountainous divide: Blue Ridge barrier bisects this market.(MARKET EYE)
- Article from:
- Broadcasting & Cable
- Article date:
- July 11, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Hyphenated television markets are always challenging because stations have to cover news in two cities and serve different sets of advertisers. But the Roanoke-Lynchburg, Va., market, Nielsen's 67th-largest, presents more obstacles than usual. The cities are about 45 miles apart, separated by the high peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The range "serves as a physical, economic and social barrier," says Randy Smith, president/general manager of ABC affiliate WSET. On the eastern slope, the Lynchburg area is more agricultural. To the west are Roanoke, the market's largest city and regional economic hub, and the New River Valley, a growing region with several ...