In the 1980s, the Nielsen Audio company (then known as Arbitron) created over 200 radio markets that would be used for radio ratings, to regulate the concentration of ownership, and to make sure monopolies weren’t being created in the radio industry (among other things). These markets have served their purpose over the last 30 years, but a couple issues still remain in regards to how we define these markets, especially within the local (southern New Hampshire and north-central Massachusetts) regions. The most obvious example of Nielsen’s semi-corrupt marketing system is the Manchester market. Manchester is the largest city in northern New England and arguably the only thing located in the state of New Hampshire that shows any resemblance to a city. However, it is way down at market #200! Why, you may ask? Because the Manchester market only includes the city itself and all of the communities that immediately surround it. Because of this, companies can hypothetically get away with owning 12 stations targeting the city by strategically placing them in what is technically either the Boston, Concord (Lakes Region) or Portsmouth-Dover-Rochester market. 

In reality, the Manchester-Nashua-Concord, New Hampshire market would ideally include ALL of Hillsborough County, the southern/eastern areas of Merrimack County that surround and include Concord (Hooksett, Bow, Pembroke, Canterbury, Henniker, Epsom, Pittsfield, Hopkinton, Loudon, Dunbarton, Webster, Boscawen, Chichester and Allenstown) and the western half of Rockingham County (Atkinson, Auburn, Candia, Chester, Danville, Deerfield, Derry, Fremont, Hampstead, Londonderry, Northwood, Plastow, Raymond, Salem, Sandown and Windham). By implementing this new, expanded definition for the market, it would more accurately represent the listening and commuting patterns of south-central New Hampshire listeners.