Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., June 17) -- NBC sings a merry tune while Rangers bulk back up
06/18/13 10:08 AM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom
NBC dominated Monday among the Big Four broadcast networks with its final performance edition of this season’s The Voice and yet another hour of apprentice singing on The Winner Is.
The Texas Rangers also rediscovered their bats and ratings power with a badly needed 8-7 win over first-place Oakland.
The Voice commanded the 7 to 9 p.m. slot with 399,284 D-FW viewers and 169,038 of them in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 demographic. Rangers-Oakland, which ended at 10:13 p.m. on cable’s Fox Sports Southwest, then took over the last hour of prime-time with 268,484 total viewers while The Winner Is called the tune among broadcast networks with 158,337 viewers.
The Rangers also won the 9 to 10 p.m. slot among 18-to-49-year-olds, with 95,682 viewers in this age range. Winner Is had 66,977 to lead the broadcasters.
The Rangers overall averaged 206,526 total viewers, with a peak TV crowd of 344,210 on hand for closer Joe Nathan’s scary save in the 9th. Texas had been on a ratings respirator for the team’s pitiful weekend series against Toronto, with both the Saturday and Sunday games drawing fewer than 90,000 viewers.
Prime-time’s biggest loser Monday was CW33’s comedy-laced 9 p.m. Nightcap newscast, which had 2,065 total viewers and “hashmarks” (no measurable audience) among 18-to-49-year-olds.
Fox also continued its summertime struggles. The network’s most-watched prime-time attraction, a new 7:30 p.m. episode of Goodwin Games, had 61,958 total viewers. Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast, fed a piddling 20,653 viewers from the last 15 minutes of Anger Management, pole-vaulted to 103,263 viewers in finishing second among the Big Four broadcasters opposite CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 repeat (89,495) and a new hour of ABC’s Mistresses (75,726).
Here are Monday’s four-way local news derby results:
WFAA8 won at 10 p.m. in total viewers but Fox4 reigned among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 ran the table at both 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. while adding a 6 p.m. first in the 25-to-54 demographic. WFAA8 had the most viewers at 6 p.m.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
@unclebarkycom
NBC dominated Monday among the Big Four broadcast networks with its final performance edition of this season’s The Voice and yet another hour of apprentice singing on The Winner Is.
The Texas Rangers also rediscovered their bats and ratings power with a badly needed 8-7 win over first-place Oakland.
The Voice commanded the 7 to 9 p.m. slot with 399,284 D-FW viewers and 169,038 of them in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 demographic. Rangers-Oakland, which ended at 10:13 p.m. on cable’s Fox Sports Southwest, then took over the last hour of prime-time with 268,484 total viewers while The Winner Is called the tune among broadcast networks with 158,337 viewers.
The Rangers also won the 9 to 10 p.m. slot among 18-to-49-year-olds, with 95,682 viewers in this age range. Winner Is had 66,977 to lead the broadcasters.
The Rangers overall averaged 206,526 total viewers, with a peak TV crowd of 344,210 on hand for closer Joe Nathan’s scary save in the 9th. Texas had been on a ratings respirator for the team’s pitiful weekend series against Toronto, with both the Saturday and Sunday games drawing fewer than 90,000 viewers.
Prime-time’s biggest loser Monday was CW33’s comedy-laced 9 p.m. Nightcap newscast, which had 2,065 total viewers and “hashmarks” (no measurable audience) among 18-to-49-year-olds.
Fox also continued its summertime struggles. The network’s most-watched prime-time attraction, a new 7:30 p.m. episode of Goodwin Games, had 61,958 total viewers. Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast, fed a piddling 20,653 viewers from the last 15 minutes of Anger Management, pole-vaulted to 103,263 viewers in finishing second among the Big Four broadcasters opposite CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 repeat (89,495) and a new hour of ABC’s Mistresses (75,726).
Here are Monday’s four-way local news derby results:
WFAA8 won at 10 p.m. in total viewers but Fox4 reigned among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 ran the table at both 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. while adding a 6 p.m. first in the 25-to-54 demographic. WFAA8 had the most viewers at 6 p.m.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
WFAA8 readying first-ever 4 p.m. newscast opposite established hours on NBC5 & CBS11
06/17/13 01:00 PM
@unclebarkycom
After two years of resistance, WFAA8 is hiring staffers for its first-ever 4 p.m. local newscast.
Sources say the newscast tentatively will launch in September and likely have a single anchor rather than the co-anchor formats at NBC5 and CBS11 for their 4 p.m. news editions.
The ABC affiliate’s 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts, once a dominant ratings force in D-FW, have struggled in the past two years after a long and prosperous run with The Oprah Winfrey Show as their 4 p.m. table-setter.
During an interview with unclebarky.com in May 2011, WFAA8 president and general Mike Devlin rebuffed suggestions that it might be time for the station to “make its own bed” at 4 p.m. rather than rely on unpredictable and often expensive syndicated programming. Devlin, who now has a standing “no comment” policy regarding all inquiries from this website, said at the time that a 4 p.m. newscast would tax the resources and budget of the station while also saturating the 4 p.m. hour with too much local news.
That thinking now has changed after both Dr. Oz and the past season’s Katie failed to deliver from a ratings standpoint. In the May “sweeps” ratings period, Katie averaged 55,074 viewers to run fourth behind NBC5’s front-running First At Four (89,495), CBS11’s 4 p.m. news (75,726) and Fox4’s syndicated Judge Judy, which averaged 75,726 for its second 4:30 p.m. episode.
Katie moved up to third place, ahead of CBS11, among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).
WFAA8 news director Carolyn Mungo has not returned email requests for comment on the new 4 p.m. WFAA8 newscast or the fate of Katie, which has been renewed for a second season despite performing under expectations in many markets. Katie presumably would move to an earlier time slot on WFAA8 but that’s not a certainty.
The station has a job posting on wfaa.com for “a producer who will plan and create WFAA’s first 4 p.m. newscast.”
Applicants “must be creative, able to producer interactive and smart newscasts and have a good understanding of Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms to incorporate into the newscast,” the job description says.
A 4 p.m. local newscast on WFAA8 would leave Fox4 as the market’s only major TV news provider without a late afternoon edition. But Fox4 already has several more hours of local newscasts than any of its competitors, including a 7 to 9 a.m. extension of Good Day and a 9 p.m. edition that competes against network entertainment programming.
On Thursday of last week, WFAA8 and 19 other stations owned by Dallas-based Belo Corp. were sold to Gannett Co., Inc., which anticipates taking full ownership by the end of this year.
Email comments or suggestions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., June 14-16) -- half a mil and counting for NBA Finals
06/17/13 10:35 AM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom
Game 5 of the NBA Finals, with the Spurs taking a 3-2 lead on the Heat, hit the highest audience level to date in D-FW.
Surpassing the half-million mark for the first time, San Antonio’s 10-point win over Miami on ABC averaged 516,315 viewers with a peak crowd of 715,957 from 9:30 to 9:45 p.m. That beat the previous high of 495,662 viewers for last Thursday’s Game 4.
The game fell off with advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, though, averaging 232,826 viewers in this age range. That’s the first time that more than half the overall audience wasn’t within this key demographic. Game 4 had the most 18-to-49-year-olds -- 283,857.
The Miss USA pageant on NBC ranked as Sunday’s second most-watched attraction opposite the NBA Finals, luring 117,031 total viewers.
Earlier Sunday on NBC, the final round of the U.S. Open averaged a decent-sized 192,758 viewers, peaking at 275,368 between 6:15 and 6:30 p.m. On Fox Sports Southwest, the cratering Texas Rangers’ latest loss slumped in the ratings as well. The game averaged just 75,726 viewers, one of the lowest turnouts of the season and also one of the few times the actual attendance at the ballpark --- 44,052 -- added up to more than half of the TV audience.
Saturday afternoon’s Ranger loss to Toronto had 89,495 viewers. That night’s overtime Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC Sports Net averaged 55,074 viewers with a high point of 75,726 for the action-packed OT period in which the Boston Bruins evened the series with the Chicago Blackhawks.
TXA21’s weekly Friday night Rangers game, another loss, had the biggest TV audience of the weekend with 165,221 viewers. That tied CBS’ Blue Bloods rerun for prime-time’s most-watched program.
Here are Friday’s local news derby results:
CBS11 won at 10 p.m. in total viewers while Fox4 nipped WFAA8 for the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions and likewise ran the table at 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. wins went to CBS11 in total viewers and Fox4 in the 25-to-54 demographic.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
@unclebarkycom
Game 5 of the NBA Finals, with the Spurs taking a 3-2 lead on the Heat, hit the highest audience level to date in D-FW.
Surpassing the half-million mark for the first time, San Antonio’s 10-point win over Miami on ABC averaged 516,315 viewers with a peak crowd of 715,957 from 9:30 to 9:45 p.m. That beat the previous high of 495,662 viewers for last Thursday’s Game 4.
The game fell off with advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, though, averaging 232,826 viewers in this age range. That’s the first time that more than half the overall audience wasn’t within this key demographic. Game 4 had the most 18-to-49-year-olds -- 283,857.
The Miss USA pageant on NBC ranked as Sunday’s second most-watched attraction opposite the NBA Finals, luring 117,031 total viewers.
Earlier Sunday on NBC, the final round of the U.S. Open averaged a decent-sized 192,758 viewers, peaking at 275,368 between 6:15 and 6:30 p.m. On Fox Sports Southwest, the cratering Texas Rangers’ latest loss slumped in the ratings as well. The game averaged just 75,726 viewers, one of the lowest turnouts of the season and also one of the few times the actual attendance at the ballpark --- 44,052 -- added up to more than half of the TV audience.
Saturday afternoon’s Ranger loss to Toronto had 89,495 viewers. That night’s overtime Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals on NBC Sports Net averaged 55,074 viewers with a high point of 75,726 for the action-packed OT period in which the Boston Bruins evened the series with the Chicago Blackhawks.
TXA21’s weekly Friday night Rangers game, another loss, had the biggest TV audience of the weekend with 165,221 viewers. That tied CBS’ Blue Bloods rerun for prime-time’s most-watched program.
Here are Friday’s local news derby results:
CBS11 won at 10 p.m. in total viewers while Fox4 nipped WFAA8 for the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions and likewise ran the table at 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. wins went to CBS11 in total viewers and Fox4 in the 25-to-54 demographic.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
Dale Hansen's "Backyard Party" to benefit City House: there's still time to make it out there
06/14/13 02:08 PM
WFAA8 sports anchor Dale Hansen’s “Backyard Party,” supposedly retired three years ago, is back in play for a worthy cause, City House.
To un-retire it, he’s enlisted the king of the un-retirers -- as you’ll see in the video below. The party is on Saturday, June 15th. And it literally is in Hansen’s sprawling Waxahachie backyard. You can find more information here on tickets, time and location.
Ed Bark
To un-retire it, he’s enlisted the king of the un-retirers -- as you’ll see in the video below. The party is on Saturday, June 15th. And it literally is in Hansen’s sprawling Waxahachie backyard. You can find more information here on tickets, time and location.
Ed Bark
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed.-Thurs., June 12-13) -- top o' the heap for Game 4 of Finals
06/14/13 01:22 PM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom
Although it resulted in another double-digit win -- this time for Miami -- Game 4 of the NBA Finals hit the highest point so far in D-FW.
The Heat’s 16-point win at San Antonio, evening the series at 2-2, ran until 10:40 p.m. and averaged 495,662 viewers. That tops the crowd for Game 2, which had been No. 1 with 468,126 viewers.
Game 4 also pulled in the most advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, averaging 283,857. The Texas Rangers’ home loss to Toronto, even with ratings magnet Yu Darvish on the mound, was no match at all. It had 165,221 total viewers on Fox Sports Southwest.
On Wednesday night, NBC’s marathon Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins averaged 68,842 viewers. That made it an overall fifth among the Big Four broadcast networks and FSS’s Rangers game, which ranked as prime-time’s top draw with 172,105 viewers.
Here are the local news derby results:
Wednesday -- WFAA8 and CBS11 tied for first at 10 p.m. in total viewers but Fox4 won among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions while adding 5 and 6 p.m. wins in the 25-to-54 demographic. WFAA8 had the most viewers at 5 p.m. by a paper-thin margin over Fox4. CBS11 nipped WFAA8 for the most viewers at 6 p.m.
Thursday -- The spoils were divided in a down-sized three-way 10 p.m. face-off, with CBS11 winning in total viewers and Fox4 tops with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Fox4 as usual ran the table at 6 a.m.
The 6 p.m. golds went to CBS11 in total viewers and WFAA8 in the 25-to-54 demographic. At 5 p.m., NBC5 and WFAA8 tied for first in total viewers, with WFAA8 winning outright among 25-to-54-year-olds.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
@unclebarkycom
Although it resulted in another double-digit win -- this time for Miami -- Game 4 of the NBA Finals hit the highest point so far in D-FW.
The Heat’s 16-point win at San Antonio, evening the series at 2-2, ran until 10:40 p.m. and averaged 495,662 viewers. That tops the crowd for Game 2, which had been No. 1 with 468,126 viewers.
Game 4 also pulled in the most advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, averaging 283,857. The Texas Rangers’ home loss to Toronto, even with ratings magnet Yu Darvish on the mound, was no match at all. It had 165,221 total viewers on Fox Sports Southwest.
On Wednesday night, NBC’s marathon Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins averaged 68,842 viewers. That made it an overall fifth among the Big Four broadcast networks and FSS’s Rangers game, which ranked as prime-time’s top draw with 172,105 viewers.
Here are the local news derby results:
Wednesday -- WFAA8 and CBS11 tied for first at 10 p.m. in total viewers but Fox4 won among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions while adding 5 and 6 p.m. wins in the 25-to-54 demographic. WFAA8 had the most viewers at 5 p.m. by a paper-thin margin over Fox4. CBS11 nipped WFAA8 for the most viewers at 6 p.m.
Thursday -- The spoils were divided in a down-sized three-way 10 p.m. face-off, with CBS11 winning in total viewers and Fox4 tops with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Fox4 as usual ran the table at 6 a.m.
The 6 p.m. golds went to CBS11 in total viewers and WFAA8 in the 25-to-54 demographic. At 5 p.m., NBC5 and WFAA8 tied for first in total viewers, with WFAA8 winning outright among 25-to-54-year-olds.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net