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With a population of about 665,500 as of 1998, Columbus, Ohio, has more people living within its borders than any other city in the Buckeye State (although Cleveland's metro area is larger than that of Columbus, its city population is about 500,000). Columbus is one of the fastest-growing markets in the country. Large companies-including fast-food giant Wendy's International, CompuServe, Red Roof Inns, Bank One and the Limited-all got their start astride the banks of the Scioto River in Columbus. Sports is also big in the state capital, which is home to Ohio State University and, beginning this fall, a new National Hockey League expansion team.
While Columbus proper is booming, many areas outside the city are still largely undeveloped. "Columbus is self-contained," notes Donn Di,hazy, managing partner at RMD Advertising & RMD Public Relations in Columbus. "You go beyond [the city], and you're hitting farms or open fields."
Columbus is often used as a test market by advertisers looking to try out new products and marketing campaigns because of the region's solid demographics and the lack of media spill-in from other markets.
The radio business in Columbus has seen extensive changes over the past several years from consolidation, as station owners merged, changed names and bought and sold off properties. The dust has finally setfled over the past six months, with Clear Channel Communications (whose five stations, including top-rated News/Talk/Information stick IVN-AM, command a 40.7 percent share of the local radio advertising market, according to Arbitron's fall 199 book) having emerged as the clear market leader. But local media buyers say ad rates for radio, as well as other media, are high.
"Overall, this market has been overpriced forever," says Linda Weeks, a media buyer with Lord, Sullivan & Yoder advertising agency. "I think it's more expensive to buy Columbus than to buy Cleveland. This is such a hot growth market, it's simply supply and demand."
One of the biggest stories in Columbus media in recent months has been a highly publicized dispute between Time Warner Cable, the area's largest cable systems operator, and the Wolf family, owner of the Ohio News Network (ONN), a 24-hour regional news cable channel. Wolf, a powerful player in Columbus media, also owns WBNS-TV (Channel 10), the CBS affiliate...