American Marconi Wireless News - Orlando Continues Its Rapid Rise as a Major Media Metro, Surpassing Detroit as the #14 Designated Market Area (DMA) in the U.S.

ORLANDO, FL / ACCESS Newswire / November 5, 2026 / The Orlando DMA is now the 14^th largest media market in the United States, further strengthening Orlando's position as the largest media market without a Major League Baseball franchise. In the latest rankings released by Nielsen, Orlando surpassed Detroit to move up one spot in the overall rankings.

"The numbers make the distinction clear," said Orlando Dreamers MLB Ambassador Barry Larkin. "Among the markets most frequently identified as potential MLB expansion candidates, Orlando is not simply the largest media market. It is the largest by a substantial margin."

Standing at 1.956 million TV homes, Orlando's market size significantly exceeds the other markets most frequently discussed for Major League Baseball expansion. Orlando has 666,470 more TV households than #23 Nashville, making Orlando approximately 52 percent larger. Orlando has 549,390 more TV households than #22 Raleigh-Durham, approximately 39 percent larger; 365,980 more than #19 Sacramento, approximately 23 percent larger; and 670,080 more than #24 Portland, approximately 52 percent larger. Salt Lake City, another expansion hopeful, is not listed in the top 25 media markets.

Orlando's Boom Fueled by Significant Population and Economic Growth

Orlando's rise in the rankings follows several years of explosive population growth. In addition to the Detroit market, the Orlando DMA has recently passed Minneapolis, Denver and Miami to rocket up the rankings. Orlando's population growth intersects with several conditions that professional leagues tend to value: corporate development, business diversity, transportation access, and regional draw.

Orlando is the #1 fastest‑growing metro among the top 30 U.S. markets with almost 3 million residents within a 30-minute drive. Extending out to a 60-minute drive, that number grows to 4.7 million residents. As Florida is the fastest growing state in the nation, the two-hour drive radius (approximately 150 miles) encompasses an astronomical 13 million-plus residents.

Orlando Dreamers Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Jim Schnorf stated, "An Orlando MLB franchise would represent much more than the City of Orlando. It would sit at the center of one of the largest and fastest growing population corridors in the United States, drawing from communities throughout Central Florida and beyond."

Tourism Matters

Unlike any other potential Major League Baseball market, Orlando combines nearly 2 million permanent TV households with the enormous reach of the most visited destination in the United States. Orlando will welcome approximately 80 million visitors in 2026. During peak tourism season, which coincides with the MLB season, Orlando receives in excess of 2 million tourists each week. That massive visitor base creates an audience opportunity that traditional DMA measurements alone cannot fully capture.

"Orlando continually welcomes new potential fans from across the United States and around the world," noted Orlando Dreamers Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Herdliska. "For Major League Baseball, that creates something no competing expansion market can replicate at Orlando's scale: a major permanent television market combined with an annual visitor total that will approach 100 million by 2030 which results in a constantly renewing national and international audience."

Las Vegas is the most recent market to gain a professional baseball team. Ranking as the #40 media market, it has a significantly smaller population than Orlando. With less than 40 million visitors this year, it brings in about half the tourists that Orlando receives. Vegas is thriving as a sports market with prolonged sellouts across sports at some of the highest ticket prices in the industry.

"Las Vegas provides an instructive example of the potential of destination markets in professional sports," said Herdliska. "Orlando brings that concept together with the size and reach of a major American media market. As the region continues to grow, Orlando will greatly amplify the success of the Las Vegas model."

The Orlando MLB Advantage

The case for Major League Baseball in Orlando is much bigger than any single statistic:

• Nearly 2 million TV households, making Orlando the largest media market in the United States without Major League Baseball.
• Approximately 80 million annual visitors, creating a constantly renewing audience of potential fans from across the United States and around the world.
• Approximately 3 million residents within a 30-minute drive of the proposed Orlando Dreamers stadium location.
• Approximately 4.7 million residents within a 60-minute drive, creating an enormous primary regional fan base.
• Over 13 million residents within a two-hour regional footprint, providing MLB access to one of the largest potential regional audiences in professional sports.
• One of America's fastest growing major metropolitan regions, with Orlando recording the fastest population growth rate among the nation's 30 largest metros in 2024.
• A major international destination, with world class tourism, transportation infrastructure and global name recognition.
• A powerful combination of permanent residents and visitors that traditional DMA rankings alone cannot fully measure.

Few markets can match one or two of those advantages, yet Orlando brings them all together in one place.

For Major League Baseball, the opportunity is clear: Orlando offers the scale of a major market, the growth trajectory of an emerging market and the visitor reach of a global destination.

Orlando is not waiting to become a Major League market. By virtually every measure that matters, it already is one.

About Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC

Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC was established to bring Major League Baseball to Orlando and Central Florida. Updates can be found at www.OrlandoDreamers.com.

Contact

Andrew Herdliska
Orlando Dreamers
[email protected]

SOURCE: Orlando City Baseball Dreamers, LLC

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

C.Garcia--AMWN