and we fall into that category. our original standalone is quite the variety formatted signal, has been for 15 years. owner was born her, went to high school and college here, still lives here and our TSL is through the roof, 2-5 times the rest of the stations (last time *I* saw the names) before we bought our competitor.. my boss who has seen most recent tapscan numbers has said nothings much changedI can't think of any, at least not in the post Docket 80-90 era in any significant market.
I'm sure a handful of small town stations that couldn't afford research have been successful, but they wouldn't likely win in crowded markets.