Houston

WHILE MANY OTHER AREAS OF THE U.S. HAVE SUFFERED THE ILL EFFECTS OF THE SOFTening economy this year, Houston has largely remained on track thanks to the continued strength of its oil and energy businesses, led by giants Enron Corp., Reliant Energy and El Paso Corp. Unemployment in Texas' largest market has remained relatively low. But last week's announcement of massive layoffs by Continental Airlines (Houston's second-largest employer, with some 16,000 employees) is likely to have major implications for the local economy. And the pending acquisition of Compaq Computer (the market's third-biggest employer, with about 11,000 staffers) by Hewlett-Packard is also expected to result in bruising job cuts.

So far this year, the resilience of Houston's economy has generated strong demand for inventory on the markets broadcast TV stations. Ken Bielicki, vp/group media director at Fogarty Klein Monroe, a local ad agency, says some advertisers have been surprised that spot TV rates in Houston are not nearly as negotiable as they are in many other markets. "One of the things that we've been struggling with [is that] this market has not been as soft as others," Bielicki says. He notes that a tropical storm that flooded parts of the region in June, causing severe damage, helped stimulate consumer spending in the market. Residents were forced to replace ruined cars, home furnishings and other belongings.

While local TV inventory has been tight, business has been a bit slower this year for the Houston-Galveston radio market, 10th-largest in the country according to Arbitron. "Radio is a little bit soft right now-some stations that are normally sold out are not," says Grace Roman, media director with Love Advertising.

The local radio scene is dominated by Clear Channel Communications, whose eight stations generated nearly $129 million in revenue last year, representing a 38.4 percent market share, according to BIA Financial Network (see Radio Ownership chart on page 18).

Radio One entered the market in summer 2000 by purchasing two highly popular Urban outlets. R&B/Hip-Hop KBXX-FM is the top station in the market among adults 18-34. Sister outlet KMJQ-FM has an Urban Adult Contemporary format that skews older.

While Radio One is largely unchallenged in Urban programming now, local media buyers expect Atlanta-based Cumulus Media, which has announced plans to...