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May Pandemic Sweeps 2020


Kenneth Kissel

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We should all be seeing ratings bumps throughout selective markets due to COVID-19 Coverage. I'll Start with Pittsburgh Provided by Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette

 

In household ratings, KDKA-TV ticked up at 5 a.m. but saw ratings decline at 6 a.m. Numbers were also down for WPXI-TV and WTAE-TV at 5 and 6 a.m. Rank order remained the same: WTAE first, WPXI second, KDKA third.

But beyond that time period, household news ratings increased for all stations in all time periods. The only notable decline: Third-place “Ellen” at 4 p.m. on WTAE opposite news on KDKA (No. 1 in the time period) and “Judge Judy” on WPXI (No. 2).

 

The 6 p.m. half-hour was an especially tight race with KDKA and WTAE essentially tied for first in household ratings.

 

Ratings released Thursday by Nielsen include both household ratings that reflect a measure of overall popularity and demographic ratings that are the basis for setting advertising rates. TV commercials are generally sold on demos, which can be sliced and diced in assorted ways (men, women, age, income), but viewers ages 25-54 are one of the key demographics used to sell ads in a newscast.

In the demos, newscasts’ trajectories generally mirrored the household ratings with demographic ratings for noon, evening and late news all on the rise for all stations’ newscasts compared to May 2019.

Weekday mornings, WPXI saw its demo ratings tick up at 5 and 6 a.m.

KDKA had first-place demo wins at noon, 4, 5 and 6 p.m. WPXI came in first at 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. (and was a hair’s length behind KDKA in the 6 p.m. half-hour). WTAE was first at 6 a.m.

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No surprises out of Chicago. Morning ratings were down, early evenings were up 40%, and the late broadcasts remained steady.

  • WLS was #1 before 5am, tied in total viewers at 5am (but won the demo), at 1pm, from 4-7pm, and at 10pm.
  • WGN won from 6-10am, 11am and noon, and at 9pm, of course.

https://www.robertfeder.com/2020/05/22/stuck-home-viewers-shift-tv-news-habits-may/

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12 minutes ago, tyrannical bastard said:

That's a surprise, given all of the turnover the station has been through.  Could COVID-19 coverage have turned the corner?

 

Those are household ratings, per the article:

 

Quote

Stations have used the household ratings for bragging rights, but they don't translate into much revenue.  WKRC-TV for years promoted that it’s the "most watched" station for news – but advertisers demand demographic groups, not the number of total viewers, which skew much older. Demographics will be available about the middle of June.

 

I'll be curious to see if demos change anything - especially since WLWT was gaining momentum up until now...  (And has a better product, but that's another topic!)

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3 hours ago, ttvn2000 said:

 

Those are household ratings, per the article:

 

 

I'll be curious to see if demos change anything - especially since WLWT was gaining momentum up until now...  (And has a better product, but that's another topic!)

 

Any Hearst owned station news product beats nearly everyone including the ABC O&Os news products in quality.

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New Orleans: WVUE (Fox 8 News) leads all stations in all weekday newscasts. 

Milwaukee: WISN leads in weekday evening newscasts (5, 6, 10PM); WITI second (9, 10PM); WTMJ third (6PM).

Mornings (at least post-7AM) led by WITI.

WISN leads all weekend evening newscasts.

Greenville, SC: WYFF leads in all newscasts.

Boston: WCVB continues to lead in all weekday newscasts.

Sacramento: KCRA also leads in all household ratings for weekday newscasts. (11PM dominant all week)

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2 hours ago, jero23 said:

 

Any Hearst owned station news product beats nearly everyone including the ABC O&Os news products in quality.

Based on Roadrunner's prior post, it's true with the exception of WDSU, which has always played second fiddle to WWL, and now WVUE....which has now has wrestled away the top spot from WWL even at NOON!  (Probably due to Y&R being in repeats, and of course, the Tegna-itis)

 

I wonder how WMTW is doing these days,  Has Tegna watering down WLBZ and WCSH into Newscenter Maine had any effect on the Portland numbers?  I know it's always been more Portland-centric with the last Bangor newscast going away some time ago, but one must wonder, if the Tegna-fication helps the others....

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3 hours ago, johnnya2k6 said:

Here in Atlanta...I'll let this article speak for itself: https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/local-news-game-show-ratings-jump-since-pandemic-started/r70VoQoATAY2WiEe4LQl9I/

 

In primetime, WAGA saw a 30% increase, while its NewsEdge is beating Jimmy Kimmel and Nightline on WSB!

Can Meredith not move The 700 Club to Peachtree TV? It’s a terrible look for a CBS affiliate to be airing that when it has a sister station now. Or is the contract that iron clad that it has to be on WGCL? Seems to me like Rachael Ray should be on WGCL at 9am and put the 700 Club on Peachtree TV at 8am but I guess that makes too much sense...

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There’s officially a new undisputed #1 in New Orleans.

 

7 hours ago, Roadrunner said:

New Orleans: WVUE (Fox 8 News) leads all stations in all weekday newscasts. 

Milwaukee: WISN leads in weekday evening newscasts (5, 6, 10PM); WITI second (9, 10PM); WTMJ third (6PM).

Mornings (at least post-7AM) led by WITI.

WISN leads all weekend evening newscasts.

Greenville, SC: WYFF leads in all newscasts.

Boston: WCVB continues to lead in all weekday newscasts.

Sacramento: KCRA also leads in all household ratings for weekday newscasts. (11PM dominant all week)

 

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4 hours ago, johnnya2k6 said:

Here in Atlanta...I'll let this article speak for itself: https://www.ajc.com/blog/radiotvtalk/local-news-game-show-ratings-jump-since-pandemic-started/r70VoQoATAY2WiEe4LQl9I/

 

In primetime, WAGA saw a 30% increase, while its NewsEdge is beating Jimmy Kimmel and Nightline on WSB!

One thing for sure WSB as always running away as number 1, but despite WGCL woes 46 is neck to neck with 11 and beating WXIA at 11pm.

Somebody at TEGNA clearly doesn't care about their stations.  WXIA/11Alive is trash.  If WGCL would stop all their antics they definitely could overtake WXIA in most

areas.  TEGNA is trash too btw. Their whole imagine looks like a third grader.

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27 minutes ago, Georgie56 said:

There’s officially a new undisputed #1 in New Orleans.

 

 

 

That was many years in the making too. WDSU is #2 across the board I am guessing?

7 hours ago, tyrannical bastard said:

Based on Roadrunner's prior post, it's true with the exception of WDSU, which has always played second fiddle to WWL, and now WVUE....which has now has wrestled away the top spot from WWL even at NOON!  (Probably due to Y&R being in repeats, and of course, the Tegna-itis)

 

I wonder how WMTW is doing these days,  Has Tegna watering down WLBZ and WCSH into Newscenter Maine had any effect on the Portland numbers?  I know it's always been more Portland-centric with the last Bangor newscast going away some time ago, but one must wonder, if the Tegna-fication helps the others....

 

WMTW has long been one of the weakest Hearst stations though. I'd be surprised if it isn't #3 still.

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13 hours ago, NewsMaster said:

In Cincinnati, WKRC won all weekday newscasts. Looks like it was WKRC in first, WXIX second, WCPO third, and WLWT last.

What is up with Hearst's stations not doing well in the ratings? Especially WLWT and KOCO neither station has done any better under Hearst (Argyle) than they did under prior ownership. Sounds to me like none of the viewers in Cincinnati or OKC is willing to give Hearst a chance.

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8 minutes ago, oknewsguy said:

What is up with Hearst's stations not doing well in the ratings? Especially WLWT and KOCO neither station has done any better under Hearst (Argyle) than they did under prior ownership. Sounds to me like none of the viewers in Cincinnati or OKC is willing to give Hearst a chance.

 

In OKC, I know KWTV has long dominated. It's usually KOCO and KFOR swapping 2nd and 3rd?

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1 minute ago, GoldenShine9 said:

 

In OKC, I know KWTV has long dominated. It's usually KOCO and KFOR swapping 2nd and 3rd?

I believe so but then again we have nobody that seems to care to report TV station ratings anymore in OKC and quite frankly, they haven't in at least a decade.

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4 minutes ago, GoldenShine9 said:

 

In OKC, I know KWTV has long dominated. It's usually KOCO and KFOR swapping 2nd and 3rd?

KOCO has made gains before during the Oprah era it 5pm news was tops which also helped it 6pm news to either #1 or #2. It 10pm was deadbeat #3, but KOCO has been a roller coaster over the years.  It been one of those very competitive markets. 

1 minute ago, oknewsguy said:

I believe so but then again we have nobody that seems to care to report TV station ratings anymore in OKC and quite frankly, they haven't in at least a decade.

Yeah, it seems very few local tv newspapers ever cover the local news beat or ratings.  It seems the local arts sections have gotten the ax as newspapers cover less materials.

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1 minute ago, Breaking News said:

KOCO has made gains before during the Oprah era it 5pm news was tops which also helped it 6pm news to either #1 or #2. It 10pm was deadbeat #3, but KOCO has been a roller coaster over the years.  It been one of those very competitive markets. 

Yeah, it seems very few local tv newspapers ever cover the local news beat or ratings.  It seems the local arts sections have gotten the ax as newspapers cover less materials.

It seems like nowadays the big three stations in OKC are very competitive while KOKH seems to be the laggards in terms of ratings outside of 7-9am, 11am, 5:30 and 9pm.

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22 hours ago, Breaking News said:

Yeah, it seems very few local tv newspapers ever cover the local news beat or ratings.  It seems the local arts sections have gotten the ax as newspapers cover less materials.

This, along with stations not wanting to release the numbers, or they "bend" them to a particular demo to make them look good (by releasing their own press release).

Plus,  the many stations that no longer rely on a measurement service that rhymes  with "Schmielsen"... or they use the better numbers to state their case.

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 I Can't find any detailed May ratings info for Denver.    However from what I can see from Nielsen, in March Denver was the 10th rated market for Teens 12-17 between 9AM-4PM M-F. from 3/16-4/14/20

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On 5/26/2020 at 11:31 PM, GoldenShine9 said:

 

WMTW has long been one of the weakest Hearst stations though. I'd be surprised if it isn't #3 still.

 

I think still being in widescreen SD isn't helping get them out of the basement.

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San Antonio:

KENS 5 wins mornings (4:30-7) in households and A25-54 demos; second at 10PM

KSAT 12 wins evenings (5, 6, 10)

https://www.mysanantonio.com/entertainment/article/KENS-5-morning-show-wins-big-May-TV-ratings-after-15297740.php

 

Other things: 

WOAI third at 10PM

KABB's 9PM newscast is #1 in time slot (w/no news competitors) -- ties with KENS 5 at second in overall late-evening news

KSAT 12's Good Morning SA, Noon News, and SA Live are all #1 in their time slots

 

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Memphis:

WREG claims victory for mornings, midday, afternoons, late-evenings, and weekends.

(for 5, 6PM, they specifically only claim to have the most viewers)

https://wreg.com/news/wreg-news-channel-3-tops-in-memphis-area-tv-ratings/

 

Buffalo:

WGRZ and WIVB essentially tied for first in households/A25-54 demos overall.

https://buffalonews.com/2020/05/28/the-top-local-takeaways-from-a-once-in-a-lifetime-may-sweeps/

 

Salt Lake City:

KSTU (Fox 13 News) is #1 in A25-54 demos for every newscast except:

- Tie at #1 with KUTV 2 News for weekdays during 4:30-6AM 

- #1 at 9PM but only competitors are KJZZ and KUCW; otherwise it's #2 overall compared with late-evening competitors (KSL 5 News at #1 during 10PM)

https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/fox-13-news-viewership-sees-record-growth

For bar graphs/details on competitors, check the powerpoint attached in the article.  (Only A25-54 data)

 

For household viewers, we can use the following from March 2020 for implications on May 2020:

https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/2020/03/08/older-viewers-prefer-ksl/

KSL and KUTV skew older and rank higher on total viewers than KSTU.

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On 5/26/2020 at 11:09 PM, oknewsguy said:

It seems like nowadays the big three stations in OKC are very competitive while KOKH seems to be the laggards in terms of ratings outside of 7-9am, 11am, 5:30 and 9pm.

I don't believe that any of the OKC stations promote themselves as the market leader as KWTV uses its locally owned status, I wonder how much longer, while KFOR claims that they "Look out 4 You." Meanwhile, KOCO & KOKH appear to be among the blacksheep of Hearst and Sinclair respectively.

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