New York - Sweeps Results for November 2008

[Vlad 276]

WABC-TV, to no surprise continues to keep the title of being number one.

 

And just like I said back in May, their graphics may not be phenomenal, (although it is a lot better than what they had before the sweeps earlier in the year), their digs are not to great nether, with a tacky brown paneling mixing in with a blue background during the sports and weather segments. And a cheap Duratrans image of the New York skyline view from the Jersey Shore... Not to mention the music is a decade old!

 

WABC-TV yet again to no surprise is still the Number 1 Station In The Nation. Whether anyone likes it or not. (And again I don't mean to "rub it all in" for those who simply don't like hearing it, but it is the truth and the facts.) And like I mentioned before New Yorkers are not like us TV news fanatics, they don't watch the news for graphics, they don't watch the news for the anchors (although I will admit, that I do have some friends who claim they only watch it because of Liz Cho and Sade Baderinwa lol), they could even careless about the music, in fact the average person will probably make fun of you if you tell them you listen to news music on your IPod. All in all they are watching the news for what it is and they want the news, and many of us already know that..

 

But for whatever reason WABC-TV just brings it to them in the best way, which is what makes them the choice for New Yorkers. Could it be habit?, Could it be the lead-ins? Could it be the shows that the ABC network airs? I mean so many things play a role into what is making WABC suceed. And of course when they say "Number 1 In the Nation", that certainly is a marketing scheme, its because the metropolitan area in WABC-TV serves is the obviously largest in the Nation. A metro area with over 15 million people, really says a lot, not to mention the 8 million people who live within the city limits alone. So adding that in conjunction with Puerto Rico, who gets the WABC-TV feed along with those who Satellite service that live on the East coast with no local channels will get WABC as their primary channel so so many factors come into play here. And of course we can't forget about some of the international folks who view the channel as well.

 

OVERALL NEW YORK LOCAL:

(Less People Watched TV This Year Than Last Year)

 

WABC-TV / ABC 7

EYEWITNESS NEWS - #1

(Was In First Place Last Year, Less People Watched WABC-TV Year)

 

WCBS-TV / CBS 2

CBS 2 NEWS - #2

(Was In Second Place Last Year, Less People Watched WCBS-TV This Year)

WNBC-TV / 4 NEW YORK

NEWS 4 NEW YORK - #3

(Remains In Third Place, Less People Watched WNBC-TV This Year)

News 4 New York at 5 is in Fourth Place.

 

WNYW-TV / FOX 5

FOX 5 NEWS HD - #4

(Remains In Fourth Place, Less People Watched WNYW-TV This Year)

Fox 5 News at 5 is in Third Place. (Beating WNBC)

Fox 5 News Good Day New York Is In Fifth Place.

 

WPIX-TV / PIX 11

PIX 11 NEWS - #5

(Remains In Fifth Place, Less People Watched WPIX-TV This Year)

Hopefully with the new changes they did and returning to their roots, they will win more viewers.

PIX 11 Morning News Is In Fourth Place, beating WNYW's Good Day New York.

 

WWOR-TV / MY 9

MY 9 NEWS - #6

(Remains In Sixth Place, Less People Watched WWOR-TV This Year)

No Surprise Hear...

OVERALL NETWORK RATINGS:

 

CBS - #1

ABC - #2

FOX - #3

NBC - #4

 

NIELSON CHART:

 

PRESS RELEASE:

'EYEWITNESS NEWS' CONTINUES TO WIN EVERY LOCAL NEWS RACE (5AM, 6AM, 12PM, 5PM, 6PM AND 11PM) BY A COMFORTABLE MARGIN.

NEW YORK, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- WABC-TV is New York's most watched broadcast station in both Households and Adults 25-54 in Nielsen's November 2008 sweep. With a 4.4 rating/10 share in DMA Households, Monday-Sunday Sign-On to Sign-Off, WABC-TV has a 33% lead over its nearest competitor. With each rating point representing 74,338 Tri-State area TV households, Channel 7 attracts a larger audience than any other television station in the country.

WABC-TV leads the market in news broadcasts throughout the day, beginning with the early morning news race. At 5am, WABC-TV's "Eyewitness News This Morning" with Lori Stokes, Ken Rosato and Bill Evans boasts a DMA Household rating that is 78% higher than that of any competitor. At 6am, WABC-TV tops its closest competitor (WNBC-TV) by 20% in DMA Households.

"Eyewitness News This Morning" is equally dominant among Adults 25-54. At 5am, WABC-TV delivers double the rating of any competitor in this demographic, and its 6am rating is 50% greater than that of its closest competitor (WNBC-TV).

At Noon, "Eyewitness News" with Lori Stokes, Ken Rosato and Bill Evans is more than double its competition on WCBS-TV in DMA Households, and draws more than twice as many Women 25-54 viewers.

WABC-TV's "Eyewitness News at 5pm" with Diana Williams, Sade Baderinwa and Lee Goldberg outdelivers 2nd-place WCBS-TV by 59% in DMA Households and 118% among Adults 25-54. WABC-TV's rating among Adults 25-54 is higher than the combined deliveries of WCBS-TV's "CBS2 News at 5," WNYW-TV's "Fox News at 5" and WNBC-TV's "Newschannel 4 at 5." This sweep marks the 54th consecutive ratings period that WABC-TV has finished an outright #1 in DMA Households among local M-F 5pm newscasts.

"Eyewitness News" continues its domination of the competition with the Mon-Fri "Eyewitness News at 6pm" with Bill Ritter, Liz Cho, Lee Goldberg and Scott Clark. WABC-TV's Household rating is 78% higher than that of its closest competitor, WCBS-TV's "CBS2 News at 6pm." Among Adults 25-54, WABC-TV's delivery is more than the combined deliveries of WCBS-TV's "CBS2 News at 5," WNYW-TV's "Fox News at 5" and WNBC-TV's "Newschannel 4 at 5." This sweep marks the 59th consecutive ratings survey period that WABC-TV has finished an outright #1 in DMA Households among local M-F 6pm newscasts.

The Mon-Fri "Eyewitness News at 11pm" featuring Bill Ritter, Liz Cho, Lee Goldberg and Scott Clark completes the total weekday victory for WABC-TV's "Eyewitness News" franchise. WABC-TV wins the 11pm Late News race in DMA Households, topping 2nd-place WCBS-TV by 40%. With a 3.6 rating among Adults 25-54, WABC-TV ranks #1 with an 89% advantage over both WCBS-TV and WNBC-TV at 11pm.

Source: NY Nielsen LPM Live Only Overnights 10/30/08-11/26/08.

On weekend mornings, "Eyewitness News" with Michelle Charlesworth, Phil Lipof and Jeff Smith delivers the key Adult 25-54 demographic better than any of its competitors. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, WABC-TV's newscasts collectively average a 1.0 rating in this demographic, which is 20% better than 2nd-place WCBS-TV.

At 11pm on Sunday nights, "Eyewitness News at 11pm," featuring Joe Torres, Sandra Bookman, Heidi Jones and Marvell Scott, maintains the dominance that WABC-TV's "Eyewitness News" demonstrates during the week. WABC-TV outdelivers 2nd-place WNBC-TV's "Newschannel 4 at 11" by 52% in DMA Households and by 58% among Adults 25-54.

On Mon-Fri 6:30-7pm, "ABC's World News Tonight" with Charles Gibson holds a commanding lead over its network news competitors, with a DMA Household rating that is higher than the combined deliveries of WNBC-TV's "NBC Nightly News" and WCBS-TV's "CBS Evening News."

In Primetime, WABC-TV is #1 with 5 of the top 10 regularly scheduled programs in Households. WABC-TV also boasts 5 of the top 10 regularly scheduled Primetime shows among Adults 25-54, and 7 of the top 10 among Women 25-54. WABC-TV's overall Primetime average of a 3.8 in Adults 25-54 tops 2nd-ranked WCBS-TV by 27%.

"Live with Regis and Kelly" continues its long stretch of dominance in the 9am time period, where it delivers a Household rating twice that of its closest competitor, WNBC-TV's "Today Show 2." Among Women 25-54, "Live" has a commanding 89% lead over its two closest competitors, WNBC-TV's "Today Show 2," and WPIX-TV's "Maury." "Live with Regis and Kelly" joins WABC-TV's syndicated programs "Rachael Ray," "Millionaire," "Oprah," "Jeopardy," and "Wheel of Fortune" in continuing to be the #1 programs in their respective time periods in Households and most key demographics, including Adults and Women 25-54.

WABC-TV, Channel 7, is the ABC, Inc. Owned Television Station in New York City.

 

 

[moishtcha 0]

Very interesting that WCBS-TV is limping along even as it faces a severely competitor in WNBC….

 

THE 5PM NEWSCAST

 

**November 2008**

 

WCBS Judge Judy 4-5pm 4.3/12

WCBS CBS2 News at 5 3.9/9

 

Many years ago, when WCBS-TV had "News 2 at 4" as a lead-in that brought much less ratings, the 5pm newscast had similar ratings. Something is definitely wrong.

 

**November 2000**

 

WCBS News 2 at 4 1.9/5

WCBS News 2 News at 5 3.5/7

 

**Analysis**

The station should be building on its lead-in. Losing 9% of the audience shows that Chris and Kristine are not clicking. But it's not just the ratings. The "happy talk" and banter between the two is forced and awkward. You would think that they would have gelled by now. WCBS might want to have them just read the news without any banter and commentary. In other words, eliminate personality from that newscast.

 

**Questions**

What are the ratings for the 5:30pm to 6:00pm portion of the 5pm newscast?

 

 

THE 11PM NEWSCAST

 

**November 2008**

 

WCBS CBS2 News at 11 M-Su 4.7/9

WNBC NewsChannel 4 at 11 M-Su 4.2/8

 

WCBS CBS2 News at 11 M-F 4.8/9

WNBC NewsChannel 4 at 11 M-F 3.8/7

 

**Analysis**

 

How is it that in spite of much fanfare, heavy promotion, and sweeps stunting, and a severely weakened competitor in WNBC that Chris and Kristine's ratings are less than what Dana & Jim had.

 

 

Shakeup in 2009 at WCBS-TV.

[TrfRptr 3]

WCBS the only station to show year-to-year gains.

 

I doubt they'll change to much.

[DMA 135]

Could we see WCBS overtake WABC at some point, in 2+ years or so? BTW, Vlad, the view on the duratran is from the west band of the Hudson, not the Jersey shore.

[nycprod 0]

I am floored by the steep decline of GDNY. It's down 50% from a year ago. That seems like a devastating blow. The turnover has been jarring and has clearly alienated viewers. Overall Scotto is not a bad choice, but to pair her up with someone as bad as Kelly negates the effort and even takes them back a few steps. I can't imagine what the ad revenue for that show looks like. At one point in '07 GDNY was a pretty competitive number 2 or 3 right behind Today depending on the week, and doing even better in the femal demos always way ahead of WCBS and WPIX. That is not the case now. The 10pm is also suffering in Rosanna's absence. Dari called Fannie Mae 'FRANNIE MAE' three times last week, and repeatedly referenced a 'little boy' in a news story when the video clearly showed it was a girl. As Huff said, they are taking a huge risk in moving Scotto. She's on a sinking ship that has lost all hope of bailing out the hull, while the 10pm risks sliding into a ratings slump as well. You have to think someone is going to get canned for this mess.

[Harry Houdini 0]

Fox should try to go back to their old format with types like Jim Ryan, Gordon Elliott, Hoff, Julie Golden, Price, etc. Then do more stories, etc. using the tri-state area.

 

It worked before and could work again for a third /half of the price of 2, 4 and 7.

[cbs2idiots 21]

My Perspective

 

Fox 5 news at 5 and 10 is unwatchable since Rosanna moved to GDNY. Dari is a horrible interim anchor, they should have used Linda Schmidt instead. Greg Kelly was a lot worse with Jodi Applegate but Rosanna is loosing up the wood beside her. Still he has a far way to go.

 

Looking at the ratings, WABC-TV is way ahead of WCBS and WNBC. WCBS comes in second by default because WNBC hand it on a platter to them. WNBC programming is weak, in other words it sucks. WNBC need to expand their 5:00pm newscast to an hour then the 6pm would have better ratings. I think management is making it there mission to destroy the station to nothing.

[moishtcha 0]

WCBS the only station to show year-to-year gains.

 

I doubt they'll change to much.

 

Newscasts under Chris Wragge & Kristine Johnson are trending downward year to year.

 

CBS 2 News at 5:00PM is DOWN 17% year-to-year.

 

**November 2007**

WCBS CBS2 News at 5 4.7/11

 

**November 2008**

WCBS CBS2 News at 5 3.9/9

 

 

 

CBS 2 News at 11:00PM is DOWN 8% year-to-year.

 

**November 2007**

WCBS CBS2 News at 11 M-F 5.2/10

 

**November 2008**

WCBS CBS2 News at 11 M-F 4.8/9

 

 

Also consider that in November 2006, under Dana Tyler and Jim Rosenfield:

WCBS CBS2 News at 11 M-F 5.4/10

 

Chris Wragge and Kristine Johnson now have a 4.8/9, representing an 11% decline from 2006.

[TrfRptr 3]

2006 is two years ago.

 

Besides, considering the drop of other stations year-to-year I'd say the trends are positive for WCBS to not be losing as many viewers as 4 and 7.

 

I can't imagine another axe of talent. As long as the profit margins aren't suffering (all things considered) they won't make a change.

 

But I could imagine the doom and gloom for WNBC. On the heels of launching a 24hr channel and they are essentially promoting it to whom? Their flicker of an audience?

[commentator12 0]

First and foremost, is it possible that Channel 7 is always number one because they try to keep the same anchors and reporters for as long as possible without playing "musical chairs" and "America's Top Model Newscast" with the News Director, Anchors, and reporter positions?

 

I believe Fox 5 has become a different product over the past few years. It looks like a "WSVN" fast paced news format with the flashy (but cheesy) animations of that Fox Newschannel type logo with the cubed five that is annoying and out of place.

 

Also, the lead ins like "Weather Authority" and "Traffic Authority" is a bunch of corny marketing. Since when did Fox 5 become a government agency? LOL.

 

They need to go back to the roots like Channel 11. Call it Fox 5 but emphasize the WNYW or maybe even rename the station WNEW(if permitted by the FCC). Bring back the Avant Garde font 5 from the seventies and introduce a brand new 10 O clock news and GDNY.

 

They have gone away from the "10 O CLOCK NEWS" format that many viewers in the NY area remember. keep it local! This is why "EYEWITNESS NEWS" is so successful. It's a great name. Branding Fox 5 like the Fox news channel does not work.

 

As for WCBS2, I agree that they are #2 because NBC's cost cutting has left us with the impression that they have given up on local news. The new News4SouthFlorida graphics, small set and the 70" flat screen look nice but I don't think it will work. WCBS needs to stop telling us that they are in HD and get rid of that set. The music and office software graphics(Arial?) are boring.

 

Finally, the change is early but if Channel 11 brings back "ACTION NEWS" moniker, along with most of the great old programming during the circle 11 days by dropping the CW and to start showing great movies; I believe they might just take over first place at 10pm very soon.

 

New York's Movie station, remember?

[moishtcha 0]

2006 is two years ago.

 

There is still a downward trend from 2006 of 11%

There is still a downward trend from 2007 of 8%.

 

Besides, considering the drop of other stations year-to-year I'd say the trends are positive for WCBS to not be losing as many viewers as 4 and 7.

 

For WCBS to celebrate victory because they aren't performing as badly as WNBC isn't saying much. WNBC has so many issues.

 

The trend is worse for WCBS considering that they have little competition from WNBC and can't take advantage of that opportunity.

 

 

I can't imagine another axe of talent.

 

It could just result in a realignment of the anchor pairings on shows.

 

Plus, when you put so many resources (heavy promotion, sweeps style stories, etc.) into the shows that your lead-in anchors cover and the result is a decline even when one of your main competitors has self destructed, it's telling.

 

As long as the profit margins aren't suffering (all things considered) they won't make a change.

 

Advertising revenue is not what it used to be. The station jettisoned higher priced talent to save costs, although they are probably still paying out their contracts. There seems to be a decrease in live shots as well. You can only get the expenses down by so much. At which point, they are going to have to increase revenues by increasing ratings.

[moishtcha 0]

WNBC programming is weak, in other words it sucks.

 

The afternoon syndicated programming from 2pm to 5pm and 5:30pm to 6:00pm is simply not working.

 

WNBC desperately needs a better lead-in at 4pm.

 

They would likely be better off expanding the 5pm newscast to a full hour and eliminating the 7pm newscast.

 

I think management is making it there mission to destroy the station to nothing.

 

They certainly aren't helping things. The new studio, content center concept, and 103" plasma tv are not addressing the critical issues at the station.

 

Could it be that they are trying to lower the ratings as much as possible to eventually get rid of Chuck & Sue's big priced salaries by either firing them or renegotiating contracts.

 

At the price that Chuck and Sue command, WNBC should make them do:

 

Live at 5 (5:00pm - 6:00pm) Monday - Friday

News 4 New York at 6 Monday - Friday

News 4 New York at 11 Monday - Friday

News 4 New York at 11 Sunday

 

Plus... have them do a public affairs show/segements

[Harry Houdini 0]

With NBC laying 500 people today, it can't help them. Unless they unload MSNBC, which is like being in 6th place in a three man race, more cuts should be coming for them. Maybe Matthews will start drinking again now that David Gregory got Tim's job. That will save them some $$$$. Why they would give him a guy a big contract who gets tingles up his leg is beyond me.

[TrfRptr 3]

With NBC laying 500 people today' date=' it can't help them. Unless they unload MSNBC, which is like being in 6th place in a three man race, more cuts should be coming for them. Maybe Matthews will start drinking again now that David Gregory got Tim's job. That will save them some $$$$. Why they would give him a guy a big contract who gets tingles up his leg is beyond me. [/quote']

 

Not to start a war, but have you seen the MSNBC numbers lately? While their daytime numbers are small (but most cable numbers are) they are #2 in the primetime in the 18-49 demo, consistently beating CNN the last two quarters.

 

But NBC just slashed a lot of the Dallas and Burbank staff. I'm not sure if the cuts will affect the local O&O's much...either way, can't help the already low morale at WNBC.

[Harry Houdini 0]

No, I haven't seen the numbers. How are the numbers against J&K plus 8, Fox, 16 Family Cult? 2 hours doesn't make a day. Not to mention they are techinically off the air for about 8 of those hours. At least they used to be.

[TrfRptr 3]

November sweeps http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/original/November%20'08%20(LIVE+SD)%20FINAL%20Year-to-Year%20Programs.pdf

 

In primetime, Monday-Sunday 8PM-11PM MSNBC ranks 8th on all of cable. (FOXNC 3rd, CNN 6th)

 

In total day MSNBC ranks 17th. (FOXNC 4th, CNN 9th)

 

In the 3Q 2008 MSNBC is up 48%, total day viewers up 81% since 3Q 2007.

 

MSNBC hasn't been 'off the air' for years...that I can recall.

 

And you are exactly right, 2hrs doesn't make a day but it makes up probably 80% of their bottom line. Fact is, MSNBC is growing rapidly and the numbers show it in the last year. I don't know exact, but I'm pretty sure two years ago MSNBC was about 35th in total day compared to all other channels.

 

Also, to be fair, John and Kate +8 averages about 2.9 million viewers....O'Reilly averages 2.8. million (total)

[Harry Houdini 0]

[quote=TrfRptr;4790

 

MSNBC hasn't been 'off the air' for years...that I can recall.

 

)

 

MSNBC has been off the air for years. I just turned it on, 1.48 AM, and they have 6 episodes of Locked-Up. Running crime shows is not news. At least show a re-runs of what they have. I guess if you don't watch in prime time, you're not going to watch them at 11pm and later.

[DMA 135]

What does CNN air then...reruns of Larry King or a shitty Special Investigation Unit?

[TrfRptr 3]

MSNBC has been off the air for years. I just turned it on' date=' 1.48 AM, and they have 6 episodes of Locked-Up. Running crime shows is not news. At least show a re-runs of what they have. I guess if you don't watch in prime time, you're not going to watch them at 11pm and later.[/quote']

 

Umm, "off-the-air" is paid programming or color bars. Re-runs of their doc-block and primetime shows (M-Th) is not off-the-air programming, it's just not LIVE programming.

 

FOX runs re-runs of their primetime shows during the week then on weekends they show Red-Eye (not news, but a great show) and re-runs from the weekday programming. So essentially you're getting 2-3 day old news on the weekends during early morning hours.

 

Either way, I'm turning this into a "cable thread" and it's about NY sweeps. My apologies.

[Harry Houdini 0]

Apology accepted.