Gray TV and Allen Media’s acquisitions of stations in the Upper Midwest from Quincy Media have changed the landscape of regional TV holdings, with Gray now reaching more than half of the households in the region.
A tally of Nielsen Media-defined TV households shows Gray reaches 55.9% of the households in the region after the addition of several markets, with stations in 19 of 22 Upper Midwest markets. The only markets where Gray doesn’t have stations are the region’s three largest: Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and Des Moines.
Meanwhile, Allen has gone from one regional market to five, bringing it up to tenth among regional owners in terms of households reached, with stations in three Wisconsin markets and two Iowa markets.
When looking at ownership of ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC affiliates, Gray’s Upper Midwest TV household reach is followed by FOX at 37.9%, Tegna at 35.7%, Sinclair at 35.4%, Hubbard at 30.6%, and Nexstar at 30.0%. (If CW and ION affiliates without news departments are added in, Sinclair rises to 73.4% regional reach and Scripps rises to 61%).
Here is how the region stacks up by total households reached:
| Owner | Upper Midwest TV Households reached by Big 4 affiliates |
| Gray | 55.9% |
| FOX | 37.9% |
| Tegna | 35.7% |
| Sinclair | 35.4% |
| Hubbard | 30.6% |
| Nexstar | 30.0% |
| CBS | 25.5% |
| Hearst | 24.6% |
| Scripps | 24.5% |
| Allen | 17.8% |
| Weigel | 12.5% |
| Morgan Murphy | 8.5% |
| Forum | 5.9% |
| Red River | 5.9% |
| Standard | 3.9% |
| Rockfleet | 2.4% |
| Rapid | 1.4% |
| Marks | 1.1% |
For purposes of this report, markets with their largest cities in Iowa, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin are included in the Upper Midwest. The Denver, Traverse City, Quincy, and Cheyenne markets also serve parts of the above states but are not included in the household computation.
It’s important to note that some companies hold multiple major network affiliations in some markets.
So, who owns what affiliations? Here’s a full list for each Upper Midwest market:
| Market | % of Upper Midwest Nielsen TV Households | ABC | CBS | FOX | NBC |
| Minneapolis | 25.5% | Hubbard | CBS | FOX | Tegna |
| Milwaukee | 12.5% | Hearst | Weigel | FOX | Scripps |
| Des Moines | 6.2% | Tegna | Hearst | Sinclair | Nexstar |
| Green Bay | 6.2% | Gray | Nexstar | Sinclair | Scripps |
| Omaha | 5.9% | Hearst | Scripps | Sinclair | Gray |
| Madison | 5.5% | Allen | Morgan Murphy | Sinclair | Gray |
| Cedar Rapids-Waterloo | 4.8% | Gray | Sinclair | Sinclair | Allen |
| Quad Cities | 4.0% | Tegna | Nexstar | Nexstar** | Gray |
| Lincoln-Tri Cities | 3.9% | Sinclair &Standard*** | Gray | Sinclair | Gray |
| Sioux Falls | 3.7% | Gray | Nexstar | Gray | Gray |
| Fargo | 3.5% | Forum | Gray | Red River | Gray |
| La Crosse-Eau Claire | 2.9% | Allen | Morgan Murphy | Nexstar | Gray |
| Wausau-Rhinelander | 2.4% | Allen | Gray | Gray | Rockfleet |
| Duluth | 2.3% | Hubbard | Gray | Red River | Gray |
| Bismarck-Minot | 2.3% | Forum | Nexstar | Gray | Gray |
| Sioux City | 2.1% | Nexstar | Sinclair | Sinclair | Gray |
| Rochester-Mason City | 2.0% | Hubbard | Allen | Gray** | Gray |
| Rapid City | 1.4% | Gray | Nexstar | Gray | Rapid |
| Marquette | 1.1% | Marks | Nexstar | Gray | Gray |
| Mankato | 0.7% | Hubbard* | Gray | Gray | Gray |
| Ottumwa-Kirksville | 0.6% | Sinclair | Sinclair | Gray | Gray |
| North Platte | 0.2% | Sinclair* | Gray | Gray | Gray |
**Operated under an agreement with the licensee
***The Lincoln-Tri Cities market has two separate ABC affiliates.
Correction: A version of this article that appeared for several hours after its initial post had the incorrect household reach for FOX.