Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., April 2) -- Fox4 within eyelash of very rare newscast double grand slam
04/03/14 11:35 AM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Two D-FW news stations have momentum in the local newscast ratings wars -- Fox4 and NBC5.
Two currently do not -- WFAA8 and CBS11.
In Wednesday’s Nielsens, Fox4 very nearly achieved an exceedingly rare double grand slam in the primary four-way battlegrounds at 6 a.m. and 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
It almost goes without saying that Fox4 again swept the early morning competitions in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The station likewise ran the table at 6 p.m. and added clear-cut wins at 5 p.m. in total viewers and 10 p.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds.
In the total viewers race at 10 p.m., CBS11 technically won with a 2.41 rating to Fox4’s 2.37. Those compute to 171,141 and 168,301 viewers respectively. But the general practice is to round these numbers off to the next lowest or highest decimal. So each station basically ends up with a 2.4 rating, even though CBS11 actually won. It’s sort of like determining a baseball batting champion. When the averages are extremely close, you break it down further until a winner is determined.
At 5 p.m., Fox4 had a 1.44 rating and NBC5 a 1.38 in the 25-to-54 demographic. Those compute to 43,875 viewers for Fox4 and 42,047 viewers for NBC5. But if the numbers are rounded off, both stations end up with a 1.4 rating in the so-called Nielsen “book.”
Maybe that’s too much information. But a double grand slam is so rare that we wanted to break it down further for you. Bottom line: Fox4 didn’t quite get to the top of the double grand slam mountain. But you can’t get much closer.
In Wednesday’s prime-time Nielsens, the Fox network’s American Idol was beaten in total viewers from 7 to 9 p.m. by the CBS combo of Survivor and Criminal Minds. CBS also had the most total viewers at 9 p.m. with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Among 18-to-49-year-olds (the main advertiser target audience for non-news programming), Idol was nipped by NBC’s Revolution in the 7 p.m. hour, with Survivor dropping to third. Criminal Minds won from 8 to 9 p.m. and Fox4’s local newscast paced the 9 p.m. hour.
Over on Fox Sports Southwest, the Texas Rangers’ second consecutive ninth inning win averaged 106,520 total viewers. ESPN2’s presentation tacked on another 21,304 viewers. In comparison, the night’s top attraction, Criminal Minds, drew 355,065 viewers.
LOCAL TV NEWS NOTE -- CBS11 will expand its Sunday 10 p.m. newscasts to one hour, starting on April 20th.
“Sunday is a marquee day for television, and it is one of CBS11’s strongest nights for late news,” CBS11/TXA21 president and general manager Gary Schneider says in a publicity release. “We’re pleased to provide our viewers with more of the local news they need to start their week.”
Providing CBS11 with more local ad dollars in reality is a bigger impetus for the expansion. Sports anchor Babe Laufenberg’s The Score, which had been a stand-alone 10:30 p.m. program, will “become an expanded sports segment within the one-hour newscast,” CBS11 says.
NBC5 lately has been airing back-to-back half-hour local newscasts on Sundays from 10 to 11 p.m. Sports anchor Newy Scruggs says his stand-alone Out of Bounds program, which had aired at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, will return in time for football season.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Two D-FW news stations have momentum in the local newscast ratings wars -- Fox4 and NBC5.
Two currently do not -- WFAA8 and CBS11.
In Wednesday’s Nielsens, Fox4 very nearly achieved an exceedingly rare double grand slam in the primary four-way battlegrounds at 6 a.m. and 5, 6 and 10 p.m.
It almost goes without saying that Fox4 again swept the early morning competitions in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The station likewise ran the table at 6 p.m. and added clear-cut wins at 5 p.m. in total viewers and 10 p.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds.
In the total viewers race at 10 p.m., CBS11 technically won with a 2.41 rating to Fox4’s 2.37. Those compute to 171,141 and 168,301 viewers respectively. But the general practice is to round these numbers off to the next lowest or highest decimal. So each station basically ends up with a 2.4 rating, even though CBS11 actually won. It’s sort of like determining a baseball batting champion. When the averages are extremely close, you break it down further until a winner is determined.
At 5 p.m., Fox4 had a 1.44 rating and NBC5 a 1.38 in the 25-to-54 demographic. Those compute to 43,875 viewers for Fox4 and 42,047 viewers for NBC5. But if the numbers are rounded off, both stations end up with a 1.4 rating in the so-called Nielsen “book.”
Maybe that’s too much information. But a double grand slam is so rare that we wanted to break it down further for you. Bottom line: Fox4 didn’t quite get to the top of the double grand slam mountain. But you can’t get much closer.
In Wednesday’s prime-time Nielsens, the Fox network’s American Idol was beaten in total viewers from 7 to 9 p.m. by the CBS combo of Survivor and Criminal Minds. CBS also had the most total viewers at 9 p.m. with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Among 18-to-49-year-olds (the main advertiser target audience for non-news programming), Idol was nipped by NBC’s Revolution in the 7 p.m. hour, with Survivor dropping to third. Criminal Minds won from 8 to 9 p.m. and Fox4’s local newscast paced the 9 p.m. hour.
Over on Fox Sports Southwest, the Texas Rangers’ second consecutive ninth inning win averaged 106,520 total viewers. ESPN2’s presentation tacked on another 21,304 viewers. In comparison, the night’s top attraction, Criminal Minds, drew 355,065 viewers.
LOCAL TV NEWS NOTE -- CBS11 will expand its Sunday 10 p.m. newscasts to one hour, starting on April 20th.
“Sunday is a marquee day for television, and it is one of CBS11’s strongest nights for late news,” CBS11/TXA21 president and general manager Gary Schneider says in a publicity release. “We’re pleased to provide our viewers with more of the local news they need to start their week.”
Providing CBS11 with more local ad dollars in reality is a bigger impetus for the expansion. Sports anchor Babe Laufenberg’s The Score, which had been a stand-alone 10:30 p.m. program, will “become an expanded sports segment within the one-hour newscast,” CBS11 says.
NBC5 lately has been airing back-to-back half-hour local newscasts on Sundays from 10 to 11 p.m. Sports anchor Newy Scruggs says his stand-alone Out of Bounds program, which had aired at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, will return in time for football season.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net