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The late night newscast of WYFF-TV (NBC) is closing in on WSPA-TV (CBS) lead in the four-week television ratings race known as “May sweeps.” For the third consecutive year, “News Channel 7” finished No. 1 among adults 25-54 with a 3.9 rating in late night news, typically aired at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. But that rating is down from a 5.4 rating a year ago.
by Francis B. Allgood
fallgood@scbiznews.com
Published July 12, 2010
Stow away the broom. The late night newscast of WYFF-TV (NBC) is closing in on WSPA-TV (CBS) lead in the four-week television ratings race known as “May sweeps.”
For the third consecutive year, “News Channel 7” finished No. 1 among adults 25-54 with a 3.9 rating in late night news, typically aired at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. But that rating is down from a 5.4 rating a year ago.
The near one and two-full percentage point lead WSPA enjoyed over WHNS-TV (Fox) and “WYFF 4 News,” has narrowed to just 0.1. Fox Carolina’s “10 O’Clock News” and WYFF 4 both finished with a 3.8 share.
“It’s no secret that NBC didn’t have a show in primetime for us,” to piggyback on, said WYFF General Manager Michael Hayes. “For us to have a virtual tie with Fox for the late news is probably one of the more gratifying performances of the rating book.”
By no means the lone factor for increased ratings, local newscasts can benefit from strong “lead in” primetime programs. For example, one of the reasons cited for “The Jay Leno Show,” getting canned on Feb. 9 after less than a six-month run was pressure from some NBC affiliates. WYFF, however, actually saw a slight increase during Leno’s run.
Two nights of “American Idol” on Fox pulling 13.5 and 12.6 ratings and then all CBS programming headlined the top 10 primetime shows locally. Shows “NCIS,” “Big Bang Theory,” and “NCIS: LA” rounded out the top five.
While Fox was down from a 4.5 share in May 2009, Ashli Jerrett says their performance still stands out.
“Fox’s 10 O’Clock News is still there with WYFF and WSPA with strong numbers,” said the media manager at Jackson Marketing Group in Greenville. “It’s definitely something that we’ll keep our eyes on.”
WLOS-TV (ABC) out of Asheville, N.C., finished fourth with a 3.1 rating. WYCW-TV (CW) and WMYA-TV (MNT), both airing 10 p.m. newscasts, finished with a 1.4 and 0.6 rating, respectively.
In the morning time slot, WYFF is still king at 5 a.m. with a 1.9 rating, but the station’s 3.1 rating at 6 a.m. gave way to a stellar 4.2 rating by WLOS, up from a 2.7 rating a year ago. WLOS’ 5 a.m. newscast produced a 1.1 rating.
For WSPA, both its 5 a.m. rating of 1.3 and 6 a.m. rating of 2.6 were increases over May 2009. WHNS finished fourth in both time periods with a 0.6 rating at 5 a.m. and a 1.3 rating at 6 a.m.
In each of the 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts, WYFF took the win, followed by WSPA and WLOS. The most notable shift was WSPA’s 3 rating at 5:30 p.m., a drop from a 4.5 rating in May 2009.
For the noon broadcast, however, WSPA remains king, improving from a 2.7 rating last May to a 3.2 rating for May 2010. WLOS and WYFF finished with a 1.6 and 1.3 rating, respectively.
WSPA has also seen success with its live local talk shows, “Your Carolina” at 10 a.m. and “Scene on 7,” at 7:30 p.m., Jarrett said. A station’s ratings can also be impacted by what they are promoting.
“There’s a lot of push on air for their other products, such as online,” she said. “They may promote their weatherman, text messaging (programs) or first-on-the-scene news stories. Those can have a direct impact on their viewership.”
Overall, Hayes says business is “OK,” particularly compared to last year. He is keeping close tabs on the possible fourth quarter close on Comcast Corp.’s purchase of NBC Universal.
“I’m more optimistic now,” he said. “When you think of Comcast you think of a cable operator, but you don’t think of the programming options they already have. They are in it for the long hall and there’s some very solid shows in development for next year.”
Hayes will be making changes at the anchor desk. Kim McCrary is moving to Indianapolis at the end of July. Beth Brotherton will move to mornings, leaving an open slot for a 5 p.m. anchor.
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