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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., March 30) -- Empire still rules

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
A prolonged absence didn’t cool the jets for Empire, which returned to Fox Wednesday with dominating, competition-crushing ratings.

Airing in the 8 p.m. slot, Empire drew 545,345 D-FW viewers, with almost half of them (260,407) in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old demographic.

The very distant runner-up at 8 p.m., CBS’ Criminal Minds, had respective totals of 233,719 and 63,514 viewers.

CBS salvaged part of the night with Survivor, which held off Fox’s competing Rosewood at 7 p.m. in both total viewers (269,131) and 18-to-49-year-olds (92,095).

The 9 p.m. hour went decisively to Fox4’s local newscast. It had 368,285 total viewers and 142,907 in the 18-to-49 realm. Those easily are its biggest scores of 2016.

In the early evening, both NBC5 and TEGNA8 preempted their networks’ 5:30 p.m. newscasts for continued severe weather coverage while the now Larry Mowry-less CBS11 aired the CBS Evening News and offered weather update during commercial breaks.

NBC5 led from 5:30 to 6 p.m. with 276,214 total viewers, ahead of the CBS Evening News (219,554) and a lagging TEGNA8 (205,390). It was the same order of finish among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming). Fox4, which continues with local news from 5:30 to 6 p.m., ran last in total viewers but second with 25-to-54-year-olds, ahead of the CBS Evening News and bottom-dwelling TEGNA8.

Here are Wednesday’s four-way local news derby results.

TEGNA8 ran first in total viewers at 10 p.m. while Fox4 won among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 as usual ran the table at 6 a.m. And NBC5 established itself as the go-to severe weather station by comfortably sweeping both the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions after also controlling the 5:30 pm. slot.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon.-Tues., March 28-29) -- The Voice again calls the tune while Fox4's 9 p.m. news also sings loud

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
NBC’s The Voice again brightened the network’s ratings picture with three hours worth of time slot wins on Monday and Tuesday.

In Tuesday’s 7 p.m. hour, The Voice led with 297,461 D-FW viewers while also winning among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds (79,393). NBC’s 8 p.m. episode of Chicago Med likewise swept its slot with 212,472 total viewers and 50,811 in the 18-to-49 age range.

Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast then came up extra-big, drawing slightly more total viewers than The Voice (304,543) while outpointing the NBC sing-along by a wider margin with 95,271 in the 18-to-49 demographic. That made it Tuesday’s overall biggest draw in both ratings measurements.

Over on CNN, a three-hour Republican presidential candidate “town hall” meeting from Milwaukee failed to stir too many juices while likely setting a modern-day campaign record with all 26 questions coming from white potential voters. The opening 7 p.m. hour with Ted Cruz had 77,906 total viewers before Donald Trump’s 8 to 9 p.m. segment bumped that up to 92,071 viewers. John Kasich’s closing hour dropped back to 77,906 viewers.

Monday’s prime-time Nielsens were dominated from 7 to 9 p.m. by The Voice’s 332,873 total viewers and 107,974 within the 18-to-49 motherlode. ABC’s competing two-hour Dancing with the Stars ran second from 7 to 8 p.m. with 254,966 total viewers but fell behind CBS’ Scorpion (254,966 viewers) in the 8 p.m. hour. The second half of DWTS dropped to last among the Big Four broadcast networks with 18-to-49-year-olds. That put it behind The Voice, Scorpion and Fox’s Lucifer.

The 9 p.m. hour went to CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles in total viewers (254,966) while Fox4’s local news was tops with 18-to-49-year-olds (92,095).

Here are the four-way Monday and Tuesday local news derby results.

Monday -- CBS11 drew the most total viewers at 10 p.m. but Fox4 won with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 continued to decimate the competition with twin wins at 6 a.m. and added a 5 p.m. win among 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 had the most total viewers at 5 p.m.

The 6 p.m. golds went to CBS11 in total viewers and NBC5 in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Tuesday -- NBC5 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m. and Fox4 again prevailed with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 notched two more runaway wins at 6 a.m. while NBC5 controlled the early evening competitions with sweeps at both 5 and 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., March 25-27) -- NCAA hoops dominate Saturday, Walking Dead, Little Big Shots again liven Sunday

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The latest season of AMC’s The Walking Dead has just one episode to go. Sunday’s penultimate hour set the table with another big ratings splash while NBC’s Little Big Shots also went boom.

Airing in the 7 p.m. hour, Big Shots drew 318,708 D-FW viewers to edge Walking Dead’s 304,543 from 8 to 9 p.m. An eye-popping 184,191 of Dead’s viewers were in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old age range. No show, sports or otherwise, draws a better percentage of viewers in this key demographic. In contrast, Big Shots had 82,568 viewers in the 18-to-49 realm, still good enough to finish second for the night.

On TBS, underdog Syracuse’s big second half comeback against Virginia in the NCAA basketball tourney averaged 162,895 total viewers before North Carolina’s decisive win over Notre Dame drew 184,142. Unlike Walking Dead, both games drew well less than half their viewers from the 18-to-49 pool.

Fox’s prime-time reprise of Grease Live! hit bottom with just 56,659 total viewers and 9,527 in the 18-to-49 motherlode.

CBS had Saturday’s NCAA tournament pairings, with both games easily winning their time slots in both ratings measurements. The first matchup, with Oklahoma dominating Oregon, averaged 191,225 total viewers before Villanova’s narrow win over Kansas had 240,802. That makes a Final Four of North Carolina (the only remaining No. 1 seed), Syracuse, Oklahoma and Villanova. All of those games will be on TBS.

ABC’s annual Easter season presentation of The Ten Commandments fell short of the ratings promised land but did rank an overall second in its time slot Saturday night with 134,566 total viewers. But Moses vs. the Egyptians lured just 19,054 viewers in the sainted 18-to-49 age range. That put it behind basketball for the entire night and NBC’s Dateline from 7 to 9 p.m. And so it is written. And so it shall be told.

On Friday night, Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast ranked as the single biggest draw in total viewers while CBS’ Syracuse-Gonzaga game had the most 18-to-49-year-olds.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results, with CBS11’s 6 and 10 p.m. editions again giving way to basketball.

TEGNA8 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but Fox4 reigned among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept both the 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. competitions. The 6 p.m. golds went to Fox4 in total viewers and NBC5 in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

NBC5 nighttime weekend anchor Amanda Guerra leaving the station (updated)

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The exodus continues from D-FW television newsrooms, with another surge in recent days.

The latest to leave is NBC5’s Amanda Guerra, who co-anchors the station’s weekend nighttime newscast and also reports on weekdays. Her last day will be March 30th, several sources confirm to unclebarky.com. She has been co-anchoring the 6 and 10 p.m. Saturday newscasts and the 5 and 10 p.m. Sunday editions.

Guerra reportedly is getting out of the TV news business for the time being after joining NBC5 in June 2011 from Oklahoma City’s KOCO-TV. She is a graduate of Dallas’ Ursuline Academy and has a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma. Guerra and NBC5 vice president of programming Brian Hocker so far have not returned messages asking for comment.

(On Sunday, Guerra confirmed her departure to unclebarky.com. On that night’s 10 p.m. newscast, co-anchor Cory Smith said she’s “taking a time out from TV” before a tearful Guerra said, “I’m going to go spend some time with my family.”)

On Friday, NBC5 lost its weekday morning reporter, Ellen Bryan, who is joining the staff of Washington, D.C.’s WUSA-TV. Earlier last week, it became official that CBS11 chief meteorologist Larry Mowry is moving to Chicago’s WLS-TV after eight years in D-FW.

Guerra will be the eighth reporter or anchor (or both) to leave a D-FW news room this year. Since the start of 2014, a total of 48 on-camera personnel have departed the scene. CBS11 still “leads” with 17, with NBC5 now in second place with 12. During that same period, TEGNA8 has had 11 departures and Fox4, eight.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

NBC5 reporter Ellen Bryan is latest to leave D-FW TV news scene

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Departure flights from D-FW television news rooms continue at a steady pace. NBC5 early morning reporter Ellen Bryan is the latest to leave. She’ll be joining CBS affiliate WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C. after just a two-year stay in this market.

Bryan, the former 2011 Miss Ohio, said on her Facebook page Friday that she’s “ready for the next adventure at WUSA in Washington, D.C., but it’s hard to say goodbye to my NBC5 Today family. Thank you for letting me grow and learn from all of you.” Her last day at NBC5 was on Friday. She arrived at the station in April 2014 from the ABC affiliate station in Lexington, KY. Her new Washington, D.C. employer is owned by TEGNA, which also runs Dallas-based WFAA-TV (TEGNA8).

Bryan’s exit pulls NBC5 into a tie with TEGNA8 for the most on-camera newsroom departures since the start of 2014 to the present. Each station has seen 11 employees go elsewhere for a wide variety of reasons, including retirement. CBS11 easily is the clubhouse leader with 18 departures during that period while Fox4 has been comparatively stable with eight. That’s a grand total of 47 in two years, three months.

Since just the first of this year, seven full-time anchors or reporters (or both) have left Fox4, NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., March 24) -- Idol sets the prime-time pace while also propelling Fox4's news

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Sunnyvale’s Dalton Rapattoni climbed another rung into American Idol’s Final Four Thursday night. And while the show is no longer a blockbuster, the ratings were still strong enough to lead all prime-time programming.

Idol drew 276,214 D-FW viewers in the 7 to 9 p.m. slot while also winning the night with 111,150 viewers in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old demographic.

Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast then won its hour with 191,225 total viewers and 69,865 in the 18-to-49 age range.

Over on CBS and TBS, the NCAA basketball tournament’s Sweet 16 got underway with four one-sided games. Oklahoma’s thrashing of Texas A&M on TBS and Kansas’ decisive win over Maryland on CBS drew the biggest overall crowds with roughly 141,648 total viewers apiece. But Kansas-Maryland had the edge among 18-to-49-year-olds.

ABC’s 9 p.m. premiere of The Catch drew 148,730 total viewers and 44,460 within the 18-to-49 motherlode. Those were good enough for respective second and third place finishes from 9 to 10 p.m..

NBC’s 7 p.m. second-to-last episode of You, Me and the Apocalypse again played dead with just 42,494 total viewers and 12,703 in the 18-to-49 realm.

Here are Thursday’s local news derby results, with CBS11 counted out by NCAA hoops at both 6 and 10 p.m.

TEGNA8 won the three-way 10 p.m. race in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 rolled at 6 a.m. with twin wins, beat all of the network morning shows with its 7 to 9 a.m. portion of Good Day and also swept the 5 p.m. competitions.

TEGNA8 likewise ran the table at 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Dungan still seeing the light via his new book Jesus Makes Salsa by the Seashore

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Easter’s near, so let’s get a little religion from what might appear to be an unlikely source -- former longtime WFAA8 chief weathercaster Troy Dungan.

He left the station in July 2007 after 31 years of laid-back forecasts and trademark bow ties. But during his last eight years at WFAA8, Dungan also hosted a 1 p.m. bible study class on Wednesdays after first getting authorization from station management. The Baylor University graduate hadn’t been particularly interested in God until relatively late in life. But a chance meeting with Dr. Larry Poland, the founding CEO of Mastermedia International, put him on a path to Christianity.

“Sometimes it just takes 62 years for a tree to produce its first spiritual crop,” Dungan says in a telephone interview tied to his new book, Jesus Makes Salsa by the Seashore. His one-liner: “I work with a really good ghost writer -- the Holy Ghost.”

The 233-page paperback book is a conversational reboot of some of the Bible’s greatest hits. Dungan used to open his WFAA8 sessions with a 10-minute presentation before asking for prayer requests. The average audience was about 12 WFAA8 staffers, most of them off-camera personnel. Former anchor-reporter Macy Jepson used to attend on occasion, but Dungan’s best friend at the station, anchor Tracy Rowlett, had recently jumped to rival CBS11. And anchor Gloria Campos, a Catholic “Christian believer” with whom he recently had dinner, generally wasn’t due at work early enough to participate.

Salsa By the Seashore is available instantly as an online book for $3.99 via amazon.com. It also can be bought in paperback form for $19.99, but with a two-week turnaround.

“They just print ‘em as they’re ordered,” Dungan says. “The model for this is really kind of changing. I’m not gonna buy a carload of books and then try to push them on people.”

He has done book signings for small groups, though. “It’s not a moneymaker, but I do think it’s worthwhile,” Dungan says. “If God doesn’t have a sense of humor, though, I’m in big trouble.”

The book’s title refers to the time that Jesus made it possible for his disciples to catch a big load of fish after first experiencing empty net syndrome. Dungan writes that the Lord also had bread and condiments ready to roll. “So right there, by the Sea of Galilee that morning, Jesus made the original fish tacos. Would you love to have some of that Jesus salsa? I know I would.”

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Dungan in his domain during earlier years at WFAA8.

Television news is “not particularly a spiritual business,” Dungan acknowledges, and “nobody picked up the baton” after he left WFAA8. “I think I sort of became the unofficial chaplain, but that’s OK.”

He recalls getting just two complaints from station staffers, but neither amounted to much. News director David Duitch (now director of visual journalism at The Dallas Morning News) was “very supportive” from the outset, Dungan says.

He hasn’t done a weathercast since his last one for WFAA8 on July 18, 2007. Dungan says that he and Duitch initially wanted incumbent WFAA8 meteorologist Steve McCauley to succeed him, but “he didn’t want to be that involved in quote, ‘show business.’ “ Pete Delkus eventually got the call, with Dungan very much involved in his hiring before they became a two-headed weather duo for several months during an “anointing process.”

By that time, Dungan says that his quieter style had gone out of vogue during those last years at WFAA8.

“If it drizzles in Collin County, it now leads the news,” he says. “You can cry wolf. I just feel that so often they do that . . . the objective is to scare the hell out of everybody. I think there’s too much hype.”

Dungan’s current favorite meteorologists are Larry Mowry (who’s now officially left CBS11 for WLS-TV in Chicago) and WFAA8’s Colleen Coyle. He’s mainly been a product pitchman after leaving the station, save for a brief reuniting with Rowlett on KTXD-TV’s since defunct The Texas Daily, where they jabbered about the news of the day.

Dungan is in his third year of selling the merits of 50 Floor in TV ads that also include former NBC5/CW33 meteorologist Rebecca Miller. On the day of our interview, the company was putting in floors at the “thank God it’s paid for house” that Dungan and his wife, Janet, have shared for nearly 40 years. Earlier spots for foundation repair and hearing aid companies dried up when the former went out of business and the latter was sold to a consortium.

He otherwise has a tea towel in his kitchen emblazoned with “Home of a Recovering Weatherman.” And if he ever gets the itch, “I call my sponsor and he brings me a glass of wine,” Dungan jokes.

“Tracy and I were blessed to be there (at WFAA8) for what I call the golden days,” he says. These days, as he nears his 80th birthday in November, he’s intent on spreading the word that “you can go from being a useless drip to a fully flowing river of Christian witness to the world.”

That’s what it says on page 128 of his book, at the close of a chapter titled “Drippy Christian Faucets.”

“It’s for His greater glory, not mine,” Dungan adds over the phone. He’s got it down -- chapter and verse.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., March 23) -- severe weather turns out big numbers for Fox4's 9 p.m. news

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The weather outside was pretty frightful Wednesday night, with hail and heavy winds sweeping through parts of North Texas.

First up to bat with its 9 p.m. local newscast, Fox4 collected prime-time’s biggest haul of advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old viewers while ranking second only to CBS’ Criminal Minds in total viewers.

In doing so, the station trampolined off of a meager 8 p.m. lead-in from Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen, which drew 77,906 total viewers and 38,108 in the 18-to-49 age range. Fox4’s news upped those numbers to 290,378 total viewers and 107,974 in the 18-to-49 demographic.

Earlier Wednesday night, CBS’ Survivor took the 7 p.m. hour in both total viewers (212,472) and 18-to-49-year-olds (76,217). Criminal Minds then cleaned up at 8 p.m. with respective totals of 325,790 and 104,798 viewers.

Here are Wednesday’s local news derby results.

TEGNA8 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m., narrowly beating Fox4 and NBC5. Fox4 pulled in the most 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming) while TEGNA8 fell to third ahead of only fourth place CBS11 on what turned out to be chief meteorologist Larry Mowry’s last day at the station after an eight-year stay. (Heading to Chicago, he’s already been removed from CBS11’s News Team on the station’s official website.)

TEGNA8, the only one of D-FW’s four major TV news providers to extend its 10 p.m. newscast a full half-hour, outdrew the first halves of NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and CBS’ Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Fox4 continued its long winning streak at 6 a.m. while the 7 to 9 a.m. portion of its Good Day again beat the competing network morning shows in both ratings measurements.

TEGNA8 performed solidly in the early evening, drawing the most total viewers at 5 and 6 p.m. while adding a 6 p.m. win with 25-to-54-year-olds. Fox4 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

TEGNA8 tabs Alisha Laventure as new weekend morning anchor

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Dallas-based TEGNA8 has hired Alisha Laventure to succeed Carla Wade as the station’s latest weekend morning anchor. She also will report for the station on the weekday morning shift.

She’s scheduled to arrive this summer from News 12 Long Island, according to a staff memo by news director Carolyn Mungo obtained by unclebarky.com.

Venture joined the Long Island station as a general assignment reporter in September 2011 and currently is also the weekend morning anchor and host of Diverse Long Island. The Washington and Lee University graduate also has worked at WMBF-TV in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and been a junior production assistant in affiliate relations for CBS Broadcasting Inc. News 12 Long Island is a non-network affiliated 24-hour news channel where TEGNA8 weekday morning co-anchor Ron Corning and Good Morning America co-anchor Lara Spencer also have worked.

“She is a hard news reporter, and fluent in both Spanish and French,” Mungo said of Laventure in her memo. “Alisha is excited about coming to the Lone Star State!”

Laventure’s predecessor, Carla Wade, worked for three years at TEGNA8 before the station declined to renew her contract in January of this year. Wade succeeded Shon Gables as weekend morning anchor after TEGNA8 dropped Gables in June 2014.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Meteorologist Larry Mowry now officially a part of CBS11's past (updated with comments by Mowry)

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Two weeks after veteran Chicago-based media blogger Robert Feder reported it, ABC-owned WLS-TV has officially announced that meteorologist Larry Mowry will be leaving DFW’s CBS11 after eight years and heading north.

“We are absolutely thrilled Larry is returning to ABC-7 and rejoining our team,” the Chicago station’s vice president/news director Jennifer Graves said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “Not only is he an experienced meteorologist, but he connects to Chicago viewers and is a commanding and reliable presence when severe weather breaks.”

Mowry has been CBS11’s chief meteorologist since January, 2008. At WLS he will do the weather on the station’s Saturday and Sunday morning newscasts while also filling in on other editions, the station said. His first day will be April 11th.

Mowry, a Loudonville, Ohio native, previously worked the weekend shift at WLS in 2004. It’s not a major jump in market size. Chicago is the nation’s third largest TV market and Dallas-Fort Worth is No. 5.

Sources at CBS11 say the station wasn’t willing to pay Mowry the raise he was seeking after his latest contract expired. CBS11 director of communications Lori Conrad told unclebarky.com late Wednesday afternoon, “We wish Larry well. Until his replacement is named, Scott Padgett (currently working weekday early mornings) will be the meteorologist for the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts. Lisa Villegas will be on mornings, including 11 a.m. The 4 p.m. newscast will be handled by Scott two days a week and Jeff Jamison the other three, with Jeff J remaining on weekend evenings/nights and Jeff Ray on weekend mornings and filling in as needed.”

In a direct Twitter message Wednesday night, Mowry told unclebarky.com that “the decision to leave was not money-related. There were many factors. CBS11 has treated me so well over the years. I have nothing but high praise for this station. It is just an amazing opportunity to return to Chicago to a great station.”

Mowry so far has not returned a message asking him to elaborate on the “many factors” involved besides money. It would be unusual, however, to take a much less visible job on weekend mornings in only a slightly larger market if a sizable pay increase wasn’t part of the deal.

Mowry remained on the job at CBS11 Wednesday, taking over most of the 10 p.m. newscast with his extended severe weather coverage. It turned out to be his last day at CBS11, and as usual he excelled. His exit is a significant loss for CBS11, where Mowry had been heavily promoted while establishing long-term credibility as a reliable forecaster during major weather “events.” It can take years to re-establish trust in a chief meteorologist.

In a written goodbye to his CBS11 colleagues, Mowry said. “I’ve read a lot of going away emails in my 8 years here at CBS11. I knew one day I would be writing mine, but not on a night with severe weather.

“It has been an absolute pleasure working here as a meteorologist. The weather as we know is always ‘interesting.’ But what has made my time here wonderful is the amazing people I get to see every day. I appreciate the love and support you have shown me over the years. We have done some great things and been through so much. I will always carry a big part of Texas in my heart on my adventures ahead. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

CBS11’s 6 and 10 p.m. weekday newscasts will now be without three of their four major anchors in just a little over one year’s time. News anchor Kaley O’Kelley joined the station in January 2015 after mainstay Karen Borta was transferred to weekday early morning newscasts. After a contract impasse, longtime sports anchor Babe Laufenberg left CBS11 in January 2015 and eventually was replaced by Keith Russell.

Only news anchor Doug Dunbar remains in place.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon.-Tues., March 21-22) -- The Voice and NCIS split Tuesday's biggest spoils after Voice earlier out-duels Dancing

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
NBC’s biggest prime-time hit, other than NFL football, squared off against two rival ratings big shots on Monday and Tuesday. And The Voice emerged with just a few harmless flesh wounds.

On Tuesday in the 7 p.m. hour, CBS’ NCIS drew the night’s biggest haul of total viewers with 347,038 while The Voice ran a close second with 325,790. Among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, though, The Voice beat NCIS at 7 p.m. by a score of 82,568 viewers to 66,690.

CBS also won in total viewers at 8 p.m. with NCIS: New Orleans (254,966), which likewise had the most 18-to-49-year-olds at that hour (41,284). Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast then took over, rebounding from dismal lead-ins from a night of Fox reruns to win in both total viewers (169,978) and 18-to-49-year-olds (66,690).

FX’s The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, snared the 18-to-49 runner-up spot at 9 p.m. with 47,636 viewers in this age range. That was easily enough to outdraw CBS’ Limitless, ABC’s Beyond the Tank and NBC’s Chicago Fire.

In Monday night’s Nielsens, NBC’s two-hour edition of The Voice won from 7 to 9 p.m. in total viewers with 318,708. ABC’s two-hour return of Dancing with the Stars ran a solid second with 297,461 viewers. Among 18-to-49-year-olds, The Voice cruised with 117,501 to 69,865 for DWTS.

CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles won at 9 p.m. in total viewers with 212,472, but NBC’s Blindspot drew the most 18-to-49-year-olds at that hour (73,041).

Here are the Monday and Tuesday local news derby results.

Monday -- TEGNA8 and CBS11 tied for the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while NBC5 won among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again demolished the competition at 6 a.m., and the 7 to 9 a.m. portion of its Good Day also easily beat the three competing network morning shows.

NBC5 ran the table at 5 p.m. and added a 6 p.m. win in the 25-to-54 demographic. CBS11 had the most total viewers at 6 p.m.

Tuesday -- CBS11 won in total viewers at 10 p.m. and Fox4 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 notched another pair of 6 a.m. wins and again bested the three network morning shows from 7 to 9 a.m.

At 6 p.m., CBS and NBC both went with extra half-hours of their 5:30 p.m. evening newscasts while TEGNA8 and Fox4 remained local. The Peacock’s Nightly News won the full hour in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds while the 6 to 6:30 p.m. portion of the CBS Evening News fell to fourth in both ratings measurements.

The 5 p.m. golds went to NBC5 in total viewers and Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., March 18-20) -- what a weekend

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Weekends don’t get much more eclectic, with TV viewers left to choose from among a wide array of drama-drenched basketball games, a largely live musical about the crucifixion, NBC’s new smash hit Little Big Shots and, of course, The Walking Dead.

Palm Sunday was the biggest staging ground. The 7 p.m. episode of Little Big Shots reigned as the most-watched prime-time attraction with 347,038 D-FW viewers while AMC’s 8 p.m. hour of The Walking Dead as usual ruled among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds (196,893).

Fox’s two-hour pop tune-infused The Passion, with host Tyler Perry presiding from New Orleans, did respectable ratings from 7 to 9 p.m. It drew 212,472 total viewers (more than for any single NCAA tournament game Sunday except Oklahoma-VCU on CBS); 76,217 viewers were in the 18-to-49 age range (better than for any of the NCAA games).

The most dramatic matchup of the day -- and the tournament -- turned out to be Sunday’s only game on obscure TruTV. Texas A&M’s miraculous rally from 12 points down with under 45 seconds to play left Northern Iowa and its fans nearly catatonic. The game then stretched to two overtimes, ending at close to 10 p.m. with A&M the victor. The closing minutes were seen by a peak crowd of 205,390 total viewers. Overall the game averaged 134,566 viewers.

Earlier in the day, on Fox Sports Southwest, 37-year-old Dirk Nowitzki went off for 40 points in the Dallas Mavericks’ overtime home game against Portland. The mid-afternoon start time didn’t help. Still it’s pretty pathetic when just 35,412 viewers are on hand compared to the 49,577 tuned to TXA21’s afternoon pre-season game between the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels. For the record, Dirk came just one point shy of equaling Karl Malone’s 41 points, the most ever scored in a single NBA game by a player in his 37th year.

Another surprise -- from this perspective at least -- came on Saturday night, when just 113,318 total viewers were tuned to ABC’s primo prime-time matchup between the San Antonio Spurs (who remained unbeaten at home) and Golden State Warriors. Three of that day’s four CBS NCAA basketball games drew bigger crowds, led by Indiana vs. Kentucky (198,307).

Friday’s hottest ticket in town, with the rock star Warriors visiting the Mavs, ended up with not-so-hot ratings. The prime-time FSS telecast averaged 70,824 total viewers, a slightly smaller crowd than CBS’ pair of nighttime NCAA games. But the biggest overall draw was ABC’s 8 p.m. episode of Shark Tank (169,978 total viewers) while Fox’s 7 p.m. hour of Sleepy Hollow fared best among 18-to-49-year-olds (47,636).

Here are Friday’s local news derby results, with CBS11’s 6 and 10 p.m. editions again punched out by tournament basketball.

TEGNA8 drew the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but NBC5 won among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again dominated at 6 a.m. with twin wins and the Peacock swept the 5 p.m. competitions. At 6 p.m., NBC5 and TEGNA8 tied for the most total viewers while TEGNA8 was alone on top with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., March 17) -- Idol propels Fox/Fox4 to prime-time sweep

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Opening day of the NCAA basketball tournament made only a slight impression on D-FW viewers, leaving CBS in particular with very smallish audiences in prime-time.

Fox’s 7 to 9 p.m. edition of American Idol, in which Sunnyvale’s Dalton Rapattoni made it to the show’s Final 5 in its final season, led all programming with 332,873 total viewers and 111,150 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old demographic.

Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast then held on for a pair of time slot wins, with 233,719 total viewers and 76,217 in the 18-to-49 realm.

Earlier in the day, the NCAA tournament left both Baylor and Texas Tech for dead. Not that many viewers witnessed the last rites.

Tech’s loss to Butler, exiled to truTV with a late morning start, averaged just 28,330 total viewers. Baylor’s upset defeat at the hands of Yale fired up shortly after 2 p.m. on CBS. It drew 70,824 viewers and was beaten by NBC5’s syndicated Ellen (77,906 viewers) from 3 to 4 p.m. The first hour of the game, which grew its audience in the final half-hour, fell slightly short of Fox4’s syndicated Dr. Oz (63,742 viewers).

In nighttime hours, the two NCAA games on CBS averaged roughly 42,494 total viewers. Even Thursday’s usual prime-time loss leader, NBC’s You, Me and The Apocalypse fared better with 77,906 viewers in the 7 p.m. hour while also beating hoops among 18-to-49-year-olds. The TBS prime-time game between North Carolina and Florida Gulf Coast performed the best overall with 63,742 viewers. It bears repeating. For the most part, this is not basketball country.

Here are Thursday’s local news derby results, with CBS11’s 6 and 10 p.m. editions both rubbed out by NCAA hoops.

TEGNA8 won at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 rolled to two more 6 a.m. wins before NBC5 ruled the early evening terrain with sweeps at both 5 and 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., March 16) -- CBS romps with total viewers, holds its own among younger ones

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
CBS amassed Wednesday’s biggest overall prime-time audiences for a lineup that included the premiere of its Criminal Minds spinoff.

Survivor started off solidly, winning the 7 p.m. hour in both total D-FW viewers (184,142) and advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds (63,514).

The network’s following Criminal Minds also won its time slot in total viewers (269,131) but was beaten among 18-to-49-year-olds from 8 to 8:30 p.m. by ABC’s competing Modern Family. The score was 98,447 viewers to 88,920 before Criminal Minds thumped the second half-hour of Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen while ABC’s black-ish fell to third.

Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders racked up a total viewers win at 9 p.m. with 240,802 while Fox4’s local newscast had a slight edge with 18-to-49-year-olds (63,514 to 60,338).

Elsewhere Wednesday, TEGNA8 continued to make a bed of thorns for its 4 p.m. newscast with the scantly watched 2 to 4 p.m. syndicated trio of Fab Life, The Insider and Inside Edition. All three basically flatlined with 18-to-49-year-olds and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming). Given next to nothing as warm-up acts, TEGNA8’s 4 p.m. news remained third in those measurements (and in total viewers as well) opposite the competing local newsers on NBC5 and CBS11.

Local stations make their own programming buys from 2 to 4 p.m. weekdays. And TEGNA8 has stuck itself with three big losers day in and day out.

Here are Wednesday’s four-way local news derby results.

TEGNA8 and CBS11 tied for the top spot at 10 p.m. in total viewers while TEGNA8 had first place to itself among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 as usual swept the 6 a.m. races and added twin wins at 5 p.m. Both of the 6 p.m. golds went to NBC5.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., March 15) -- The Voice again rules while FNC dominates latest "Super Tuesday" coverage

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
NBC’s The Voice stayed in tune Tuesday, easily drawing prime-time’s biggest crowd while Fox News Channel lead a smaller audience grouping for the latest “Super Tuesday” primary results.

Airing in its usual 7 to 9 p.m. slot, The Voice averaged 361,202 D-FW viewers and also won among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds with 120,677.

The Peacock then got decent sampling for its two-pronged “sneak preview” of the new sitcom Crowded. The first episode drew the most total viewers from 9 to 9:30 p.m. with 205,390. The second slipped to 155,813 viewers and was beaten by the 9:30 to 10 p.m. portion of Fox4’s local newscast (198,307 viewers). It was the same story with 18-to-49-years-olds. Crowded took the first half-hour and Fox4 news, the second.

Again torn asunder was ABC’s new biblical epic, Of Kings and Prophets. Also airing in the 9 p.m. hour, It ran a distant last among the Big Four broadcast networks in both ratings measurements.

FNC easily topped the cable news network battle to report and dissect the night’s dominant performances by Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. It drew the cable universe’s biggest haul of total viewers with 169,978 between 9 and 10 p.m. Runner-up MSNBC also peaked at that hour with 63,7421 viewers while CNN notched its largest audience of 56,659 viewers between 7 and 8 p.m.

Among 25-to-54-year-year-olds (the main advertiser target audience for news programming), FNC topped out with 56,550 between 9 and 10 p.m. MSNBC hit a high point of 35,716 viewers in that same hour; CNN peaked with 23,810 viewers in both the 7 to 8 and 8 to 9 p.m. hours.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results.

TEGNA8 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but Fox4 dominated with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 added to its victory quiver with sweeps of both the 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. races. At 5 p.m., the station won with 25-to-54-year-olds while sharing the total viewers gold with NBC5.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Mon., March 11-14) -- Little Big Shots again goes nuts

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Steve Harvey’s much-publicized Miss Universe gaffe clearly hasn’t hurt him and may have only helped him.

The reigning king of prime-time hosts scored again over the weekend with Sunday’s regular time slot premiere of NBC’s Little Big Shots, which rubbed out all competing programming in the 7 p.m. hour with 439,109 D-FW viewers. LBS, already renewed for a Season 2 after Tuesday’s blockbuster “sneak preview” hour, also beat everything except AMC’s The Walking Dead among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds. TWD prevailed by the relatively close score of 146,082 viewers to LBS’s 130,204.

Harvey also struck gold last summer as the host of ABC’s Celebrity Family Feud, which likewise had big Nielsen numbers and has been picked up for a second season. So is it Harvey or the concepts? Probably a combination of both, but right now he might be able to host paint drying on a fence and pull a sizable rating.

Sunday’s preceding 6 p.m. repeat of LBS also won its time slot with 184,142 total viewers and 47,636 in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic. In contrast, CBS’ expanded 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. NCAA basketball tourney selection show averaged just 70,824 total viewers and 22,230 in the 18-to-49 age range.

Monday’s prime-time parade as usual was dominated by NBC’s 7 to 9 p.m. edition of The Voice, which led all programing with 382,450 total viewers and 120,677 within the 18-to-49 motherlode. The 9 p.m. hour then went to ABC’s “After the Rose” followup to the latest season finale of The Bachelor, which had respective totals of 233,719 and 88,920 viewers.

On Friday, the prime-time leader was CBS’ 9 p.m. episode of Blue Bloods both in total viewers (276,214) and 18-to-49-year-olds (57,163).

Here are the local news derby results for Friday and Monday.

Friday -- TEGNA8 swept the 10 p.m. competitions in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 then took over, running the table at 6 a.m. and 5 p.m., drawing the most 25-to-54-year-olds at 6 p.m. and and tying CBS11 at that hour for the most total viewers.

Monday -- TEGNA8 drew the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while Fox4 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 won in total viewers at 6 a.m., but NBC5 pulled into a rare first-place tie with Fox4 in the 25-to-54 demographic.

The Peacock had the most total viewers at both 5 and 6 p.m. Fox4 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 p.m. while sharing first place with NBC5 at 6 p.m. in that key audience measurement.

LOCAL TV NEWS NOTES: CW33’s early morning Eye Opener program, which runs from 5 to 8 a.m. weekdays, has hired Laila Muhammad as its latest news hosts. She arrives from Tribune-owned WTKR-TV in Norfolk, VA. Originating from CW33 studios in Dallas, Eye Opener also airs on five other Tribune stations.

*** Former CBS11/TXA21 sports anchor-reporter Gina Miller has joined Westlake Village, CA-based SmithGeiger as a “senior consultant.” The company’s website says it provides “ongoing service for many of the most recognized companies in finance, consumer technology and multimedia.” Miller also worked as a sports anchor-reporter at TEGNA8 before joining CBS11/TXA21.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

NBC5 adds Houston's Courtney Gilmore to reporting staff

Courtney-Gilmore-JPG_524816_ver1.0_1280_720

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The newest TV reporter in town is Courtney Gilmore, who will be joining Fort Worth-based NBC5 next month after a nine-year stint at Houston’s NBC affiliate, KPRC-TV.

“She started as an intern, then traffic producer and eventually began her on-air career,” KPRC news director Rhonda LeVelle wrote in a goodbye staff memo obtained by Houston media blogger Mike McGuff. “She’s done just about everything and covered too many big stories to even try to list.”

Gilmore, whose last day at KPRC will be on April 3rd, is a University of Minnesota graduate with a degree in Classical Theatre. She also has a master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary.

“The world is a classroom and I am forever learning,” she says in her KPRC bio.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., March 10) -- tamer Republicans not as hot

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Civility broke out during Thursday’s latest Republican presidential candidate debate, with the ratings suffering accordingly for what frontrunner Donald Trump later called “a very elegant evening.”

Airing from 8 to 10 p.m. on CNN, the four-way encounter averaged 276,214 D-FW viewers and 63,514 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic.

Last week’s verbal fistfight on Fox News Channel turned out to be far more of a crowd-pleaser, drawing 453,274 total viewers and 123,852 in the 18-to-49 age range. A Feb. 25th GOP debate on CNN, where the insults also flew, likewise fared considerably better from a ratings standpoint, with 368,285 total viewers and 95,271 in the key 18-to-49 measurement.

Thursday night’s overall top draw, CBS’ 7 p.m. episode of The Big Bang Theory, pulled in respective totals of 375,367 and 123,852 total viewers. But the debate had more total viewers than Fox’s 7 to 9 p.m. edition of American Idol, which ran third in prime-time with 247,884 viewers. Idol edged the debate among 18-to-49-year-olds, though, drawing 66,690. During the two hours, Dalton Rapattoni of Dallas/Sunnyvale survived to become one of Idol’s final six competitors in the show’s closing season.

The night’s loss leader among the Big Four broadcast networks again was NBC’s 7 p.m. hour of You, Me and the Apocalypse, which had 49,567 total viewers and 28,581 in the 18-to-49 realm.

Here are Thursday’s local news derby results.

Fox4 ran first at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

The station also racked up another pair of wins at 6 a.m. and likewise dominated the 6 p.m. competitions. NBC5 ran the table at 5 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., March 9) -- more noise from The Voice

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Another two hours of The Voice mostly put NBC atop the first two hours of prime-time Wednesday before Fox4’s local newscast took over at 9 p.m.

The Voice drew 325,790 total viewers and averaged 95,271 in the advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-old demographic. In the later measurement, CBS’ 7 p.m. episode of Survivor topped the 18-to-49 Nielsens with 95,271 viewers while the first hour of The Voice drew 82,568.

CBS then drooped to 41,284 viewers in the 18-to-49 range for its latest Victoria’s Secret swim wear special. That knocked it into third place in the 8 p.m. hour behind The Voice (104,798 viewers) and Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen (76,217).

At 9 p.m., Fox4’s local news topped both measurements with 226,637 total viewer and 60,338 within the 18-to-49 motherlode.

NBC’s The Carmichael Show, returning with back-to-back episodes from 9 to 10 p.m., ran second in total viewers for its first half-hour but last among the Big Four Broadcast networks with its 9:30 to 10 p.m. outing. Both episodes ran fourth among 18-to-49-year-olds.

The 9 p.m. Season 2 finale of ABC’s exemplary American Crime logged third place finishes in both ratings measurements. No word yet on whether it will get a third season.

Wednesday’s Democratic presidential candidate debate aired from 8 to 10 p.m. on Univision and CNN. It drew a combined 162,895 total viewers, with CNN pulling in a slight majority of 84,989. But Univision had more viewers than CNN in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic (main advertiser target audience for news programming). Scoreboard: Univision (44,645) and CNN (35,716).

Here are Wednesday’s local news derby results.

CBS11 uncommonly topped the 10 p.m. competitions in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds. A heavily teased “steakhouse stabbing” story by “consumer justice” reporter Cristin Severance may have helped lure more younger viewers than usual. The “victim” suffered a minor arm wound when a waiter inadvertently cut her while carving meat at the table. Her scar now is barely visible after the December mishap, although the woman for the most part acted as though she’d been grossly disfigured and now deserves to be paid for her pain and suffering. In her wrap-up, Severance to her credit got around to telling the restaurant’s side of the story -- which seemed more believable.

Fox4 as usual won decisively at 6 a.m. in both ratings measurements. Also of note: In the generally lesser viewed first one hour and 15 minutes of the local morning shows (4:30 to 5:45 a.m.), CBS11 registered “hashmarks” (no measurable audience).

NBC5 swept the 6 p.m. Nielsens and tied Fox4 for first place at 5 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds. Fox4 nipped the Peacock for the most total viewers at 5 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., March 8) -- Little Big Shots blasts off while ABC takes a bible thumping

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Already rich in the ratings with The Voice, NBC added to its Tuesday night pot of gold with the sneak preview of Little Big Shots.

The Steve Harvey-hosted collection of talented kids dominated the 9 p.m. hour with 417,862 D-FW viewers and 117,501 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old demographic.

Little Big Shots slightly increased the total viewer haul for The Voice (410,779) and matched the juggernaut singing competition in the 18-to-49 age range.

ABC’s 9 p.m. premiere of Of Kings and Prophets, an Old Testament saga of old king Saul and slingshot artist David, toppled with a bigger thud than Goliath in competition with Little Big Shots. It drew just 77,906 total viewers and a wee 12,703 in the 18-to-49 measurement. Fox4’s severe weather-fueled 9 p.m. local newscast ran a solid second with 226,637 total viewers and 79,393 within the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Over in the cable news universe, Fox News Channel’s all-night coverage of the latest batch of presidential primary results drew the biggest overall crowd. FNC averaged 99,154 total viewers from 7 to 10 p.m., followed by CNN (42,494) and MSNBC (35,412).

Among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming), FNC peaked at 29,763 while MSNBC hit a high of 20,834 and CNN lagged with 17,858.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results.

NBC5 won at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds while Fox4 again did likewise at 6 a.m.

The two stations split the 5 and 6 p.m. proceeds. NBC5 drew the most total viewers at both hours and Fox4 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., March 7) -- The Voice blows out The Bachelor

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
It wasn’t even close. NBC’s The Voice drew double the crowd of ABC’s The Bachelor in their latest 7 to 9 p.m. face-off Monday.

The Voice weighed in with 403,697 D-FW viewers and 133,379 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic. The Bachelor wilted, with 169,978 total viewers and 66,690 in the 18-to-49 age range. Fox’s 7 to 9 p.m. lineup of Gotham and Lucifer also beat The Bachelor among 18-to-49-year-olds with respective totals of 82,568 and 69,865 viewers.

On a night of stormy weather, Fox4’s local newscast then took the 9 p.m. hour in total viewers with 233,719. But NBC’s competing Blindspot had the most 18-to-49-year-olds (79,393).

Here are Monday’s local news derby results.

TEGNA8 won at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again ran up the score with twin wins at 6 a.m. before the 7 to 9 a.m. portion of its Good Day beat all three competing network morning shows. The station also drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds at both 5 and 6 p.m.

The total viewer golds at those hours went to NBC5 at 5 p.m. and CBS11 at 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., March 4-6) -- Dead, Downton outpoint Dems

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Well, they’re not the Republicans and they don’t have Donald Trump spouting “Little Marco” and “Lyin’ Ted.”

In an already conservative-leaning market like D-FW, that means substantially diminished ratings for Democratic presidential candidate debates between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Sunday night’s prime-time encounter, originating from embattled Flint, Michigan and airing on CNN, averaged just 77,906 total viewers and 31,757 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old demographic. Thursday night’s GOP insult-fest on Fox News Channel had respective totals of 453,274 and 123,852 viewers.

AMC’s 8 p.m. episode of The Walking Dead led all programming with 262,049 total viewers and another eye-popping haul of 168,312 in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic. PBS’ happy ending-soaked 90-minute finale of Downton Abbey drew 219,554 total viewers and 50,811 within the 18-to-49 age range.

ABC’s second episode of The Family, which aired opposite all three of the above, managed to draw 84,989 total viewers, with 31,747 in the 18-to-49 realm.

In Friday’s prime time tallies, CBS’ Blue Bloods led in total viewers with 169,978 while ABC’s Last Man Standing was tops with 18-to-49-year-olds (41,284).

Here are Friday’s local news derby results.

TEGNA8 and CBS11 tied for the most viewers at 10 p.m. while Fox4 nipped NBC5 for the lead among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions and also added twin wins at 5 p.m.

TEGNA8 drew the most total viewers at 6 p.m. and tied NBC5 for first place among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

CBS11 chief meteorologist Larry Mowry reportedly heading north to Chicago after eight-year stay in D-FW (updated)

larrysmileb

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Larry Mowry, CBS11’s chief meteorologist for the past eight years, reportedly is leaving the D-FW station and relocating to frostier climes.

A report from longtime Chicago media critic Robert Feder says that Mowry’s new home will be ABC-owned WLS-TV in Chicago, which he’s “expected to join” in April. Mowry worked the weekend shift at WLS in 2004.

WLS so far has had no comment and CBS11 director of communications Lori Conrad said early Monday evening, “We decline to comment.” Mowry uncommonly was absent from the station for a few days during the just-concluded February “sweeps” ratings period.

Losing the personable and very capable Mowry would be a substantial blow to CBS11, which last year touted his forecasting skills in a country music-themed “Listen to Larry” campaign. Mowry, who does the weather segments on CBS11’s 5, 6 and 10 p.m. weekday newscasts, lately could be seen giving away free umbrellas in a promotional spot.

Mowry made his CBS11 debut on Jan. 21, 2008, replacing Kristine Kahanek as the station’s head meteorologist. She eventually left the station in spring 2009 and was a featured panelist earlier this month at the Press Club of Dallas-sponsored “Weathering Heights” event.

Mowry came to CBS11 from Orlando, Florida’s WKMG-TV, a CBS affiliate station.

The apparent move to Chicago will be a slight bump up in market size for Mowry. D-FW is the country’s fifth largest market while Chicago ranks No. 3.

Feder’s report said that Mowry’s hiring comes as 32-year WLS veteran Jerry Taft relinquishes his 10 p.m. weather segment to the newly hired Cheryl Scott. WLS also has three other meteorologists on its staff.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed.-Thurs., March 2-3) -- latest Republican fight night is another smash

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The circus came to town again Thursday night, and the ratings went through the Big Top.

Fox News Channel’s four-way Republican presidential candidate debate, featuring repeated name-calling and Donald Trump bragging about the size of his manhood, squashed all competing programming, including Fox’s American Idol.

Airing from 8 to 10 p.m., the debate averaged 453,274 D-FW viewers and 123,852 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic.

Idol, which ran from 7 to 9 p.m., took the runner-up spot with 269,131 total viewers and 92,095 in the 18-to-49 age range. Sunnyvale’s Dalton Rapattoni climbed another rung on the show’s final season, making it to the Final 8.

ABC’s 8 p.m. premiere of The Family went into the teeth of both shows and came away with just 106,236 total viewers and 25,406 in the 18-to-49 realm. Among the Big 4 broadcast networks, that outdrew only NBC’s competing repeat of Blindspot.

On Wednesday, the last day of the February “sweeps” ratings period, CBS’ 8 p.m. episode of Criminal Minds topped all prime-time programming in total viewers with 297,461. CBS’ preceding hour of Survivor was tops with 18-to-49-year-olds (101,622).

ABC’s double shot premiere of The Real O’Neals had a so-so start. The 7:30 p.m. episode ran third among the Big 4 networks in total viewers (127,483), beating only Fox’s second half-hour of Rosewood. At 8:30 p.m., Real O’Neals also took the bronze with 141,648 total viewers, whipping Fox’s second half-hour of Hell’s Kitchen. It was the same story among 18-to-49-year-olds, with the Fox duo again placing fourth behind Real O’Neals.

Ratings for the premiere of Sundance TV’s East Texas-set Hap and Leonard were not immediately available.

Here are the Wednesday/Thursday local news derby results.

Wednesday -- On the final day of the February sweeps, CBS11 solidified its 10 p.m. first-place finish in total viewers by beating its three rivals. Fox4 likewise padded its lead with a dominating win among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions to finish the sweeps unbeaten at that hour. The station accomplished the same feat in the November sweeps by winning all 40 match-ups in the total viewers and 25-to-54 measurements.

NBC5, the sweeps victor at 5 p.m., finished strong with twin wins. And the Peacock nearly caught No. 1 TEGNA8 at the tape by also running the table at 6 p.m.

Thursday -- TEGNA8 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while Fox4 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 notched two more 6 a.m. wins and NBC5 did likewise at 6 p.m. The 5 p.m. golds went to NBC5 in total viewers and Fox4 with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

TEGNA8 topples at 10 p.m. but regains the top spots at 6 p.m. while rival stations also notch first place finishes in February 2016 newscast sweeps

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
That oak tree falling at 10 p.m. is TEGNA8.

In final results for the February “sweeps” ratings period, the ABC affiliate was dethroned by CBS11 at that hour as the overall newscast king while dropping to third place for the first time in recent memory among 25-to-54-year-old viewers, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. TEGNA8 ran first in both ratings measurements a year ago.

Fox4 took the late night 25-to-54 crown for the third straight “sweeps” period while also cruising to twin wins at 6 a.m. As in November, the station won all 20 weekdays in both ratings measurements.

TEGNA8 had better news at 6 p.m., where it barely held off strong challenges by NBC5 to win with both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds. The station had placed second in the February 2015 sweeps.

NBC5 remained in good shape at 5 p.m. with a pair of wins. The Peacock likewise ran first in both measurements a year ago.

A relatively balmy February came and went without any significant “weather events,” which didn’t help any of the stations’ overall year-to-year ratings pictures. Last February brought a “thunder sleet”-spiked “arctic blast” in the closing week of the sweeps. And those are always good for ratings bump-ups. Still, some of the year-to-year plunges documented below aren’t all due to weather issues.

Here are the complete results in the two major Nielsen ratings food groups for the February 2016 sweeps, which ended Wednesday. Year-to-year viewer downs and ups are in parentheses. As always, we’re extending the numbers to three decimal points (.000) to break ties in some very close races.

10 P.M.

Total Viewers
CBS11 -- 173,731 (minus 8,379)
TEGNA8 -- 163,816 (minus 65,714)
NBC5 -- 149,014 (minus 896)
Fox4 -- 121,676 (minus 31,304)

25-to-54-Year-Olds
Fox4 -- 62,592 (minus 22,158)
NBC5 -- 56,996 (minus 10,884)
TEGNA8 -- 56,341 (minus 35,469)
CBS11 -- 41,341 (minus 2,779)

Comments: In fairness to TEGNA8, it by far inherited the worst 9:45 to 10 p.m. lead-in audiences from the staggering ABC network. The station consistently built on those meager numbers, but on most nights couldn’t climb all the way up the mountain to a first place finish. Still, the year-to-year audience drop-offs for TEGNA8 are startling, particularly in the total viewers measurement. A decrease of 65,714 viewers amounts to almost a full rating point.

CBS11 received the biggest lead-in bangs from its network and on average held the bulk of that audience for its 10 p.m. newscasts. Fox4’s win with 25-to-54-year-olds is particularly impressive from this standpoint. More than half of its total audience was in this key demographic, allowing Fox4 to go from worst to first. In contrast, CBS11 went from first to worst, with less than one-quarter of its viewership in the key 25-to-54 demographic. A slight saving grace: CBS11’s year-to-year losses among 25-to-54-year-olds were the least of the four stations and less than one-twelfth the number of viewers hemorrhaged by TEGNA8.

6 A.M.

Total Viewers
Fox4 -- 135,557 (plus 28,757)
NBC5 -- 77,340 (minus 9,650)
TEGNA8 -- 61,900 (minus 32,510)
CBS11 -- 46,815 (minus 10,645)

25-to-54-Year-Olds
Fox4 -- 62,830 (plus 6,530)
NBC5 -- 39,704 (plus 4,044)
TEGNA8 -- 22,412 (minus 9,608)
CBS11 -- 17,917 (minus 11,293)

Comments: Charitably put, this is a blowout. Fox4 was never threatened by any of its rivals and is also the only station to show year-to-year increases in both ratings barometers. It drew 58,217 more total viewers than runner-up NBC5 compared to just a 12,390 margin over second place TEGNA8 in February 2015. Fox4’s Good Day also won from 7 to 9 a.m. opposite the network morning shows on ABC, CBS and NBC. That’s a lot of local ad revenue pouring in while rival stations get only a small window of local commercial time per hour.

TEGNA8 sharply regressed in both races, but not enough to fall behind CBS11. It’s been said before in these spaces but bears repeating. CBS11 had genuine momentum among 25-to-54-year-olds a year ago and in the May sweeps ran third in that measurement for the first time in its history, beating TEGNA8. But new news director Mike Garber decided to make his mark by breaking up that team, dumping traffic anchor Tammy Dombeck and sending co-anchor Jason Allen back to the reporting pool in favor of newcomers Russ McCaskey and traffic reporter Chelsey Davis. Despite very heavy promotion during the past month, the results continue to be essentially disastrous. Sometimes it’s the moves you don’t make.

Over at TEGNA8, news director Carolyn Mungo has tinkered with the 6 to 7 a.m. Daybreak format to no avail at all. Instead the program for the most part has regressed. Interestingly, though, the more conversational, national news-driven 5:30 to 6 a.m. portion of Daybreak ran a solid second in both measurements during that half-hour, behind only Fox4. But the key 6 to 7 a.m. portion of Daybreak then remained stagnant in the ratings while Fox4, NBC5 and CBS11 all increased their audiences. Make of it what you will. But don’t expect either Garber or Mungo to tell their staffs, “I blew it.” Except on rare occasions, that’s just not in the basic news director DNA.

6 P.M.

Total Viewers
TEGNA8 -- 141,648 (minus 22,482)
NBC5 -- 139,311 (minus 17,179)
CBS11 -- 135,911 (minus 42,909)
Fox4 -- 110,202 (minus 7,018)

25-to-54-Year-Olds
TEGNA8 -- 47,115 (minus 1,865)
NBC5 -- 44,853 (minus 7,977)
Fox4 -- 30,334 (minus 22,496)
CBS11 -- 27,947 (minus 12,093)

Comments: Across the board losses by all four stations make the TEGNA8 victories here somewhat hollow. CBS11, which ran first in total viewers a year ago, cliff-dove into third place and lost 42,909 viewers en route. Still, the race among the top 3 was very close, with TEGNA8 prevailing by a slim margin despite dropping 22,482 viewers year-to-year.

Among 25-to-54-year-olds, Fox4 easily bled the most viewers after finishing first in February 2015. First-place TEGNA8 can take heart from its minimal losses within this key age group. But is anybody happy? Not really.

5 P.M.

Total Viewers
NBC5 -- 137,186 (minus 2,074)
Fox4 -- 112,893 (minus 10,957)
TEGNA8 -- 101,916 (minus 24,694)
CBS11 -- 93,488 (minus 24,022)

25-to-54-Year-Olds
NBC5 -- 34,644 (minus 9,316)
Fox4 -- 31,073 (minus 10,237)
TEGNA8 -- 29,555 (minus 2,395)
CBS11 -- 20,507 (minus 10,093)

Comments: -- NBC5, the first station to get into the 4 p.m. news game, continues to win that hour and feed the biggest lead-in audiences to its 5 p.m. edition. So the station deserves credit for making its own bed and nestling comfortably in it.

TEGNA8, which followed NBC5 and then CBS11 into the 4 p.m. newscast arena, remains the third-place finisher in both ratings measurements. Its 5 p.m. newscasts suffer as a result, although CBS11’s are faring even worse despite having the second most-watched 4 p.m. newscast.

All in all, this was a snow-and-ice storm-free February in which just two stations -- Fox4 and NBC5 -- showed any year-to-year increases. Those were in the 6 a.m. competitions. Otherwise, all four stations were down from February 2015 at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. And some of those decreases are eye-popping

What to do? Well, that’s their problem. Perhaps a lot less pandering to “viral” video and “social media” would help. Joe Bob from Sunnyvale may have something to say on Facebook or Twitter. But do newscasts really need his opinions? Unfortunately, that’s a rhetorical question because they can’t seem to help themselves anymore. Nor is the viewing experience enhanced by the “Look at this!” sights of a bear eating a cupcake or a human playing a banjo with his buck teeth.

From this perspective, one would like to think that solid, unadorned, original content will always be the key to longterm success. TEGNA8 used to thrive in that respect. But in the latest sweeps, the station finished in third place a majority of the time while CBS11 ran last in six of the eight competitions.

The D-FW market still has higher quality newscasts than most. But their audiences keep fading out -- year after year after year. At this point, is it possible to get them back by means other than severe weather outbreaks? That’s not a rhetorical question. But it certainly is a daunting one.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon.-Tues., Feb. 29-March 1) -- return of The Voice lets NBC call the tune

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
NBC’s double dose of The Voice paced both the Monday and Tuesday night Nielsens while also giving the Peacock’s “Super Tuesday” coverage a boost in the 9 p.m. hour.

The Voice drew 347,038 D-FW viewers from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, beating back CBS’ competing formidable combo of NCIS (304,543) and NCIS: New Orleans (262,049). The Voice won by wider margins among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds.

NBC’s hour of election results coverage then won at 9 p.m. among the Big Four broadcast networks with 184,142 total viewers while also topping ABC, CBS and Fox in the 18-to-49 age range. But in the cable universe, Fox News Channel’s 9 to 10 p.m. Super Tuesday coverage edged NBC with 191,25 total viewers.

FNC easily beat rivals CNN and MSNBC throughout the prime-time and late night hours. Its peak audience came from 9 to 9:30 p.m., when FNC had 198,307 total viewers. CNN hit its ratings high point of 106,236 viewers from 9:45 to 10 p.m. MSNBC’s had its peak crowd of 77,906 viewers between 7:30 and 7:45 p.m.

On Monday night, The Voice drew an even bigger crowd of 375,367 total viewers in the 7 to 9 p.m. slot, spanking ABC’s competing two hours of The Bachelor (247,884). The Voice also routed The Bachelor among 18-to-49-year-olds before CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles took over in total viewers at 9 p.m. with 212,472. NCIS: L.A. edged NBC’s Blindspot for the top spot in the 18-to-49 realm.

Here are the Monday and Tuesday local news derby results for the 18th and 19th weekdays of the February “sweeps” ratings period. Only Wednesday remains to be counted.

Monday -- TEGNA8 drew the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but NBC5 won among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 stayed unbeaten at 6 a.m. with twin wins and TEGNA8 swept the 6 p.m. competitions. Both of the 5 p.m. golds went to NBC5.

Tuesday -- NBC5 ran first at 10 p.m. in total viewers while Fox4 took the 25-to-54 prize.

Fox4 again thumped the competition at 6 a.m. before NBC5 ran the table at 5 p.m. and TEGNA8 did likewise at 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Nice weather smiles down on heavily attended "Weathering Heights"

IMG_1134

Women and a man of distinction: From left to right, trailblazing D-FW weathercasters Kristine Kahanek (formerly of CBS11/WFAA8); Milmar Ramirez (Telemundo39); David Finfrock (NBC5); Jocelyn White (formerly of KDFW/4) and Remeisha Shade (NBC5). Photo: Ed Bark

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
A warm, calm night smiled upon “Weathering Heights” Monday. Last February brought some late month “thunder sleet.” So perhaps someone up there liked your friendly content provider just enough to keep any and all storms at bay.

A full house of about 125 answered the call, matching the turnout for last September’s Press Club of Dallas-sponsored sendoff to WFAA8 investigative reporter Byron Harris. But this was a paying crowd, which makes it all the more impressive. The admission price of $20 included wine, beer, soft drinks, food and a copy of Hugh Aynesworth’s book November 22, 1963: Witness to History, which he happily signed. Plus, a $500 donation from ticket sales went to the American Red Cross of North Texas for tornado relief efforts. Press Club president Frank Librio presented the check on site to a Red Cross representative.

Among the attendees were former CBS11 sports anchor Babe Laufenberg; ex-NBC5/CBS11 traffic reporter Tammy Dombeck; former WFAA8 traffic anchors Mike Shannon and Shane Allen (newly hired as assignments editor in the CBS11 news room); ex-Fox4 reporter Rebecca Aguilar and co-anchor Ron Corning of WFAA8’s Daybreak.

Moderated by former WFAA8 anchor Gloria Campos, who retired two years ago after 30 years with the station, the panel of trailblazing weathercasters was headed by meteorologist David Finfrock, now in his 41st year at NBC5 with at least two more years to go before he tentatively retires at age 65. Finfrock was hired in 1975 by the late, legendary Harold Taft, a no-nonsense stickler for detail who for years prohibited extended forecasts because he didn’t believe the science supported them. In the early years, teacher and pupil used to draw some of their maps in crayon, Finfrock recalled.

Finfrock’s career spans those of all four women who joined him onstage at the 3015 At Trinity Groves event center. Jocelyn White is closest to his vintage. Early in 1981, she stepped in as D-FW’s first ever weekday 6 and 10 p.m. weathercaster after KDFW-TV’s (Channel 4) head forecaster, Wayne Shattuck, suffered serious injuries in an Arizona car accident. Her history-making tenure lasted six months. But White said she was under no illusions after becoming one of just five women in the country at that time to earn the American Meteorological Society’s Seal of Approval.

“The reason I quit doing the weather (she left Ch. 4 in 1984) is I was told there would never be a full-time woman chief meteorologist” at Channel 4, she said. And there still hasn’t been.

Kristine Kahanek spent four years on the morning shift at WFAA8 before joining CBS11 in the fall of 2002 as D-FW’s first woman chief meteorologist. This wasn’t by happenstance and it hasn’t happened again. Although Fox4, NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11 all have at least one woman meteorologist on their news staffs, Kahanek remains the only woman specifically hired to head the weather team. She left CBS11 in the spring of 2009 and was replaced by current chief meteorologist Larry Mowry.

Remeisha Shade, who joined NBC5 in December 2010, is D-FW’s first African-American woman weathercaster with a full Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology. And Milmar Ramirez, Telemundo39’s weekend forecaster for the past year, is that station’s first fully accredited woman meteorologist. She earned her degree from the University of Miami and spent a short time at D-FW’s Univision23 before changing stations.

Both Shade and Ramirez remembered first being starry-eyed about the weather as pre-teens. Shade already had a weather-ready surname and also found that she liked being on stage or in front of a camera. While earning her meteorology degree, she also was crowned Miss Florida State University and competed in the 2003 Miss Florida pageant.

“Some people get nervous when they’re on TV,” she said. “For me, it gives me a rush. I get excited and I really enjoy it.”

Ramirez, a native of Puerto Rico, had a weather high shortly after moving to Dallas. “My first snowstorm was last year,” she said. “So I was very excited.”

Kahanek wrote children’s books after leaving CBS11 but now has taken an entirely different career turn. She’s currently working as a staff nurse in the Cook Children’s Medical Center’s emergency room and hopes to graduate from Maryville University in 2017 as a Family Nurse Practitioner.

“I’m a faith-based person,” Kahanek said. “I figure I’ve got a path that the man upstairs will lead me on.”

White remains on television as the host of Designing Texas, which airs the third Sunday of every month on WFAA8. The longtime animal lover also helms the syndicated Pawsitively Texas show.

Whatever one’s profession, “there’s always some kind of glass ceiling” for women,” White said. “The trick is to out-live all these guys when they leave.”

Kahanek, now seven years removed from being D-FW’s first and so far last chief woman meteorologist, said she has no idea “why this market in particular doesn’t have one . . . I guess that’s a question for management.”

Shade is hopeful. “We’ll see what happens. I am open to promotion,” she said diplomatically -- and with a smile.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net