Orlando

Fast-growing Orlando, Fla., with a 1998 metro population of 1.3 million, is youthful (average age: 34) and bustling with economic diversification. Banking, construction and a sprawling high-tech software node around the University of Central Florida's engineering school and nearby Research Park are adding new muscle to the region's traditional dependence on tourism. More than 38 million out-of-towners venture to Orlando each year to visit Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World and more than 400 other local attractions or to attend meetings and conventions. Visitors stay an average three to four days in the area's 100,000 hotel and motel rooms and pump more than $17 billion annually into the Orlando economy. And many travelers end up sticking around: Metro Orlando is adding more than 5,000 adults to its population each month-nearly 70,000 per year.

In broadcast television and cable, Daytona Beach and Melbourne are considered part of the Orlando DMA. Daytona, 60 miles to the northeast and with a population of 462,000, is much more laid back than Orlando, with a higher percentage of retirees. The city is home to Daytona International Speedway-a major tourist attraction-as well as the headquarters of the NASCAR auto racing circuit and the Ladies' Professional Golf Association.

Thanks to the region's booming tourism business, national advertisers get a sizable bonus when they buy in the market. "We have 100,000 'homes' in Orlando that aren't covered by the [TV] ratings," notes Peter Barr, president of local agency Fry/Hammond/Barr. "When visitors get back to their hotel or motel rooms from Disney World or Universal or wherever, they kick off their shoes and sit back and watch television." Adds Rich Melin, media director at Cramer-Krasselt's Orlando office: "If you're a national advertiser, you don't care if they're watching here, or at home. You're getting the exposure."

The area's radio business is dominated by the Orlando stations operated by Cox, AMFM and Clear Channel, although Daytona Beach has several thriving outlets. Programming formats, which have been relatively stable for years, have seen some recent changes. Last April, AMFM's WOCL-FM (which billed itself as 'Cool') flipped from the traditional Oldies format to AMFM`s Jammin' Oldies and dropped the 'Cool' designation. "What has been called Oldies is music that was popular in the Sixties," says Dan...