Airtight races (again) at midpoint of November "sweeps" news races
11/12/10 07:36 AM
By ED BARK
Can WFAA8 reclaim the 10 p.m. ratings crowns it lost to CBS11 in the May ratings "sweeps?"
Will CBS11 in turn sweep D-FW's 6 p.m. newscast competitions for the first time in its history?
We're halfway through the 20-weekday November sweeps, with these races still air-tight and others also a bit too close to call.
It's again a two-race at the marquee 10 p.m. hour, with WFAA8 and CBS11 tied for first in total viewers (214,697 apiece) while WFAA8 has a one-tenth of a rating point lead among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. The margin between the two stations in that demographic is just 3,107 viewers.
WFAA8 vaulted into first after capitalizing on a dominating lead-in Wednesday night from ABC's three-hour Country Music Association awards. But CBS11 overall has been enjoying a lead-in advantage of 62,331 total viewers per night from its network's hit menu of crime dramas.
In the 6 p.m. race, CBS11 leads WFAA8 by two-tenths of a point in total viewers and is tied for first place with Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds.
The early morning 6 to 7 a.m. competitions are both led by Fox4. Runnerup NBC5 trails by 13,851 total viewers and is being hard-pressed by WFAA8, which it leads by just 6,926 viewers. Fox4 is more comfortably in first place with 25-to-54-year-olds, with NBC5 and WFAA8 again in a tight fight for second place.
At 5 p.m., WFAA8 is enjoying a ratings uptick from the lead-in Oprah Winfrey Show, which has been nearly doubling the total viewer ratings for Fox4's second place Judge Judy. WFAA8's newscast leads in total viewers by three-tenths of a point over CBS11. But it continues to struggle at that hour with 25-to-54-year-olds, where Fox4 is on top by three-tenths of a point and WFAA8 is tied for second with CBS11.
The biggest loser so far is the station of The Biggest Loser. NBC5 is running fourth at 5 and 6 p.m. in both ratings measurements and will finish no better than a distant third at 10 p.m., where its lead-in audiences from network programming remain problematic at best.
The Peacock's only realistic hope for a gold medal -- and it's a longshot -- is a first place finish at 6 a.m. in total viewers. But NBC5 has a better chance of dipping to third place in both ratings measurements behind a somewhat resurgent WFAA8.
Can WFAA8 reclaim the 10 p.m. ratings crowns it lost to CBS11 in the May ratings "sweeps?"
Will CBS11 in turn sweep D-FW's 6 p.m. newscast competitions for the first time in its history?
We're halfway through the 20-weekday November sweeps, with these races still air-tight and others also a bit too close to call.
It's again a two-race at the marquee 10 p.m. hour, with WFAA8 and CBS11 tied for first in total viewers (214,697 apiece) while WFAA8 has a one-tenth of a rating point lead among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. The margin between the two stations in that demographic is just 3,107 viewers.
WFAA8 vaulted into first after capitalizing on a dominating lead-in Wednesday night from ABC's three-hour Country Music Association awards. But CBS11 overall has been enjoying a lead-in advantage of 62,331 total viewers per night from its network's hit menu of crime dramas.
In the 6 p.m. race, CBS11 leads WFAA8 by two-tenths of a point in total viewers and is tied for first place with Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds.
The early morning 6 to 7 a.m. competitions are both led by Fox4. Runnerup NBC5 trails by 13,851 total viewers and is being hard-pressed by WFAA8, which it leads by just 6,926 viewers. Fox4 is more comfortably in first place with 25-to-54-year-olds, with NBC5 and WFAA8 again in a tight fight for second place.
At 5 p.m., WFAA8 is enjoying a ratings uptick from the lead-in Oprah Winfrey Show, which has been nearly doubling the total viewer ratings for Fox4's second place Judge Judy. WFAA8's newscast leads in total viewers by three-tenths of a point over CBS11. But it continues to struggle at that hour with 25-to-54-year-olds, where Fox4 is on top by three-tenths of a point and WFAA8 is tied for second with CBS11.
The biggest loser so far is the station of The Biggest Loser. NBC5 is running fourth at 5 and 6 p.m. in both ratings measurements and will finish no better than a distant third at 10 p.m., where its lead-in audiences from network programming remain problematic at best.
The Peacock's only realistic hope for a gold medal -- and it's a longshot -- is a first place finish at 6 a.m. in total viewers. But NBC5 has a better chance of dipping to third place in both ratings measurements behind a somewhat resurgent WFAA8.
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