Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., Jan. 14) -- Idol rolls again while WFAA8 newscasts come up snake eyes
01/15/09 09:57 AM
By ED BARK
Fox's American Idol again dominated the prime-time ratings. That's pretty much a no-brainer. But when was the last time that none of WFAA8's four principal newscasts failed to win a gold? That pretty much never happens.
Idol second two-hour audition edition amassed a symmetrical 657,657 total D-FW viewers Wednesday, improving on Tuesday night's haul of 637,728. But it fell a little short with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, drawing 298,190 compared to 330,602 on the previous night.
Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast again profited from Idol's largesse, winning the time period with 352,079 total viewers and also taking the gold among 18-to-49-year-olds in competition with network programming.
Meanwhile, ABC flopped with the last three Lost episodes from the previous season. They averaged just 112,931 viewers to run third from 7 to 10 p.m.
CBS held steady with new episodes of Criminal Minds (325,507 viewers) and CSI: NY (272,363 viewers). NBC's biggest prime-draw, Law & Order, had 172,718 viewers in the 9 p.m. slot.
The 10 p.m. local newscast golds went to CBS11 in total viewers and Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The 6 a.m. competitions also brought a split decision, with Fox4 tops in total viewers but NBC5 prevailing with 25-to-54-year-olds.
The Peacock ran the table at 6 p.m. and tied with Fox4 at 5 p.m. for first place in total viewers. Fox4 won outright at the earlier hour among 25-to-54-year-olds.
That left WFAA8 out in the cold, with its 5 p.m. news numbers especially dismal. The ABC station ran fourth with just 66,430 viewers and tied for a distant third place with CBS11 in the 25-to-54 age range (just 18,212 viewers apiece).
WFAA8's recent 5 p.m. woes -- it won the November sweeps in both ratings measurements -- underscore its long-held dependence on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Once invincible, it's now a loss-leader on many late afternoons.
In Wednesday's Nielsens, Oprah had just 53,144 total viewers in the 4 p.m. hour to run third behind NBC's First At Four local newscast (126,217 viewers) and Fox4's two doses of Judge Judy (112,931 total viewers).
Fox's American Idol again dominated the prime-time ratings. That's pretty much a no-brainer. But when was the last time that none of WFAA8's four principal newscasts failed to win a gold? That pretty much never happens.
Idol second two-hour audition edition amassed a symmetrical 657,657 total D-FW viewers Wednesday, improving on Tuesday night's haul of 637,728. But it fell a little short with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, drawing 298,190 compared to 330,602 on the previous night.
Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast again profited from Idol's largesse, winning the time period with 352,079 total viewers and also taking the gold among 18-to-49-year-olds in competition with network programming.
Meanwhile, ABC flopped with the last three Lost episodes from the previous season. They averaged just 112,931 viewers to run third from 7 to 10 p.m.
CBS held steady with new episodes of Criminal Minds (325,507 viewers) and CSI: NY (272,363 viewers). NBC's biggest prime-draw, Law & Order, had 172,718 viewers in the 9 p.m. slot.
The 10 p.m. local newscast golds went to CBS11 in total viewers and Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The 6 a.m. competitions also brought a split decision, with Fox4 tops in total viewers but NBC5 prevailing with 25-to-54-year-olds.
The Peacock ran the table at 6 p.m. and tied with Fox4 at 5 p.m. for first place in total viewers. Fox4 won outright at the earlier hour among 25-to-54-year-olds.
That left WFAA8 out in the cold, with its 5 p.m. news numbers especially dismal. The ABC station ran fourth with just 66,430 viewers and tied for a distant third place with CBS11 in the 25-to-54 age range (just 18,212 viewers apiece).
WFAA8's recent 5 p.m. woes -- it won the November sweeps in both ratings measurements -- underscore its long-held dependence on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Once invincible, it's now a loss-leader on many late afternoons.
In Wednesday's Nielsens, Oprah had just 53,144 total viewers in the 4 p.m. hour to run third behind NBC's First At Four local newscast (126,217 viewers) and Fox4's two doses of Judge Judy (112,931 total viewers).
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