Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed.-Thurs., May 3-4) -- TEGNA8 gaining momentum in 10 p.m. news wars
05/05/17 10:14 AM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
It’s not unusual for TEGNA8’s newscasts to rank first at 10 p.m. in total D-FW viewers. But it’s been a much tougher sell with the key news demographic, 25-to-54-year-olds.
The station altered that course -- at least on Wednesday and Thursday -- with late night sweeps in both demographics despite less than stellar lead-ins from ABC’s 9 p.m. dramas. On Thursday, ABC’s The Catch ran last in both audience measurements. On Wednesday, Designated Survivor was third in total viewers and second among 25-to-54-year-olds.
These are just two nights and the May “sweeps” have a long way to go. But TEGNA8 is on the right course, at least from this perspective, with a steadier diet of longer-form feature stories billed as “Originals.” It’s an effort to differentiate and stand out from all the same-old, same-old. Reporter Kevin Reece, hired in September of last year, excels at these kinds of stories, and TEGNA8 is making good use of him. So we’ll see if viewers in fact are starting to take long-term notice of TEGNA8’s more textured efforts in the key 10 p.m. slot.
In Thursday’s prime-time Nielsens, CBS’ 7 p.m. new episode of The Big Bang Theory again led all programming in both total viewers (334,471) and 18-to-49-year-olds (109,041), the key demographic for entertaining programming.
Wednesday was paced by Fox’s Empire, which drew 232,675 total viewers and 89,799 in the 18-to-49-year-old realm.
Here are the other local news derby results.
Wednesday -- NBC5 and Fox4 shared the spoils at 6 a.m., with the Peacock narrowly winning in total viewers and Fox4 edging NBC5 with 25-to-54-year-olds.
NBC5 had the most total viewers at 6 p.m. while Fox4 and CBS11 tied to the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds. The 5 p.m. firsts went to TEGNA8 in total viewers and Fox4 in the 25-to-54 demographic.
Thursday -- Fox4 had twin wins at 6 a.m. TEGNA8 led in total viewers at both 5 and 6 p.m., but NBC5 took the 25-to-54 crowns at both hours.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
It’s not unusual for TEGNA8’s newscasts to rank first at 10 p.m. in total D-FW viewers. But it’s been a much tougher sell with the key news demographic, 25-to-54-year-olds.
The station altered that course -- at least on Wednesday and Thursday -- with late night sweeps in both demographics despite less than stellar lead-ins from ABC’s 9 p.m. dramas. On Thursday, ABC’s The Catch ran last in both audience measurements. On Wednesday, Designated Survivor was third in total viewers and second among 25-to-54-year-olds.
These are just two nights and the May “sweeps” have a long way to go. But TEGNA8 is on the right course, at least from this perspective, with a steadier diet of longer-form feature stories billed as “Originals.” It’s an effort to differentiate and stand out from all the same-old, same-old. Reporter Kevin Reece, hired in September of last year, excels at these kinds of stories, and TEGNA8 is making good use of him. So we’ll see if viewers in fact are starting to take long-term notice of TEGNA8’s more textured efforts in the key 10 p.m. slot.
In Thursday’s prime-time Nielsens, CBS’ 7 p.m. new episode of The Big Bang Theory again led all programming in both total viewers (334,471) and 18-to-49-year-olds (109,041), the key demographic for entertaining programming.
Wednesday was paced by Fox’s Empire, which drew 232,675 total viewers and 89,799 in the 18-to-49-year-old realm.
Here are the other local news derby results.
Wednesday -- NBC5 and Fox4 shared the spoils at 6 a.m., with the Peacock narrowly winning in total viewers and Fox4 edging NBC5 with 25-to-54-year-olds.
NBC5 had the most total viewers at 6 p.m. while Fox4 and CBS11 tied to the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds. The 5 p.m. firsts went to TEGNA8 in total viewers and Fox4 in the 25-to-54 demographic.
Thursday -- Fox4 had twin wins at 6 a.m. TEGNA8 led in total viewers at both 5 and 6 p.m., but NBC5 took the 25-to-54 crowns at both hours.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net