Apr 2007
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., April
27-29)
04/30/07 12:08 PM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Still big draws through thin and thin, the Dallas Mavericks piled on the late night ratings Sunday and Friday.
Sunday's blood-drainer against Golden State played especially tall, drawing 277,378 homes on TXA21 and 185,640 on TNT. That's a grand total of 463,018 D-FW homes, the biggest crowd to date for the four playoff games.
Friday's lopsided Mavs loss gave TXA21 another windfall (200,634 homes), with 127,806 more homes tuned to ESPN. Both games beat competing programming across the board in total homes and all major demographic groups, even though a few TV sets may be on the disabled list after being hit by various thrown objects.
The Texas Rangers didn't get quite as much love -- or disdain. The baseball club's Friday night game against Toronto, for instance, managed just 21,420 homes on Fox Sports Southwest. On the same night, Friday Night Smackdown! had 76,160 homes on CW33.
In Friday's local news derby, Belo8 won in homes at 10 p.m. to stay in first place after two days of the four-week May sweeps. But NBC5 won comfortably with 25-to-54-year-olds to likewise remain tops with the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The Peacock and Fox4 tied in homes at 6 a.m., with the latter station winning among 25-to-54-year-olds.
NBC5 registered rare twin wins at 6 p.m. while Belo8 won as usual at 5 p.m.
Still big draws through thin and thin, the Dallas Mavericks piled on the late night ratings Sunday and Friday.
Sunday's blood-drainer against Golden State played especially tall, drawing 277,378 homes on TXA21 and 185,640 on TNT. That's a grand total of 463,018 D-FW homes, the biggest crowd to date for the four playoff games.
Friday's lopsided Mavs loss gave TXA21 another windfall (200,634 homes), with 127,806 more homes tuned to ESPN. Both games beat competing programming across the board in total homes and all major demographic groups, even though a few TV sets may be on the disabled list after being hit by various thrown objects.
The Texas Rangers didn't get quite as much love -- or disdain. The baseball club's Friday night game against Toronto, for instance, managed just 21,420 homes on Fox Sports Southwest. On the same night, Friday Night Smackdown! had 76,160 homes on CW33.
In Friday's local news derby, Belo8 won in homes at 10 p.m. to stay in first place after two days of the four-week May sweeps. But NBC5 won comfortably with 25-to-54-year-olds to likewise remain tops with the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The Peacock and Fox4 tied in homes at 6 a.m., with the latter station winning among 25-to-54-year-olds.
NBC5 registered rare twin wins at 6 p.m. while Belo8 won as usual at 5 p.m.
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This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late
night newscasts (Fri., April 27)
04/30/07 07:30 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
TV reporters are just like the rest of us in at least one respect. They have to eat.
And so the poor souls at NBC5 -- and now CBS11, too -- slog on through their "urgent" newscasts' three basic food groups -- car wrecks, crime scenes, fires. Assume the position or hit the road, they're told. Do the masters' bidding or we'll hire a replacement from Geraldo Rivera Tech.
"We begin with a savage attack," CBS11 anchor Karen Borta said at the top of Friday's 10 p.m. newscast, warmly welcoming viewers to what eventually added up to a collection of 12 crime stories, two vehicular manglings and a pair of live visits to a refinery fire in Wynnewood, OK.
NBC5, having a hard time keeping up these days, countered with 10 crime stories, a diesel tanker accident and explosion in Houston, two viewing area fires and three live looks at that burning Oklahoma refinery.
Both stations led their newscasts with a "Road Rage" stabbing story, even though it had happened eight days earlier. A Garland man showed off his head wounds -- "I got a big knot here," he told NBC 5 -- while his girlfriend recounted how she had written down the perpetrator's license number in lipstick. As of Friday police were still searching for crum-bum Terry Reeves.
In contrast, Fox4 gave the incident brief mention nine minutes deep into its 9 p.m. newscast. Belo8 didn't cover it at all.
CBS11's second story of the night -- dubbed "Breaking News in Fort Worth" -- found reporter Carol Cavazos standing live next to a crumpled car. The accident sent three people to the hospital, but all "came out OK," she said.
Maybe something like this makes the front page in Pisspot, Idaho, but in Dallas-Fort Worth? Yeah, but that wreckage sure did look purdy on the teevee, even if Cavazos may have cried herself to sleep that night. She's otherwise been a solid reporter. But that was then.
NBC5, meanwhile, had learned of an investigation involving developers and possibly at least one member of the Dallas City Council.
"We are live at Dallas City Hall right now," said anchor Jane McGarry while viewers were treated to an overhead shot from Chopper 5. No more specifics were given. Are they kidding with this crap?
Fox4 logged in with two interesting, in-depth stories.
Jason Overstreet reported from Southlake, where one of the toughest non-smoking laws in the country soon will make it illegal to puff in heavily trafficked public parks. And veteran medical correspondent John Hammarley told viewers about an apparently fraudulent Web site that promises to provide free prescription medicines after a $199 upfront payment. He brought the story home via the sad tale of a bilked elderly man who recently lost his wife.
Fox4 was a day late, though, on a story about a woman who was called an insulting name on a receipt from a Famous Footwear store. NBC5's wily Mistress of the Dark, Susan Risdon, had that one Thursday night after anchor Mike Snyder teed up the "nasty surprise."
Belo8 mostly stayed away from crime and tragedy, but not from overall dullness. Friday's newscast was mostly punchless, with lengthy stories on a high school "clothes crackdown" (Janet St. James) and airline cockpit safety (Byron Harris) failing to generate any real electricity.
A brief story on "lip balm addiction" prompted weatherman Pete Delkus and anchor Gloria Campus to wax on about their favorite products.
The newscast then collapsed in a heap with a closing story on the auction of the hearse used to transport President Kennedy from Parkland hospital to Air Force One.
"It runs nice and the radio works," Campos said prospective buyers are being told. All concerned then tried to bat that around a bit before a merciful but very awkward segue to ABC's Nightline.
Not to be outdone, CBS11 weathercaster Kristine Kahanek rolled up the sidewalks by telling viewers she'd given the wrong weekend for Canton's Trade Days. Anchor Doug Dunbar then bizarrely plugged his April 30th birthday, sticking his tongue out, rubbing his hands and saying in a high-pitched voice, "Hoping for presents."
Late Show with David Letterman couldn't come soon enough.
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late
night newscasts (Thurs., April 26)
04/27/07 01:13 PM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Boy trapped in refrigerator eats own foot.
Or to put it another way, CBS11 officially has gone over to NBC5's dark side. Both stations now are leading their nightly late night newscasts with heaping helpings of quick-hit crime stories. The newscast as assault weapon. No one is safe.
Under new news director Regent Ducas and his "First Five Minutes" gambit, CBS11 began the first night of the May "sweeps" with reporter Jack Fink's urgent live dispatch from Cockrell Hill. A man arrested for brandishing a gun at someone had escaped earlier through a small hole in the jailhouse wall.
Next came a "whoosh" sound effect and a quick segue to latter day fellow crime dog Jay Gormley, who stationed himself in a 7-Eleven parking lot at the corner of Park Lane and Hemlock in North Dallas. Gormley said police had just reacted to a tip on fugitive Fernando Perez's whereabouts.
"We're gonna follow them, see what we can come up with," he promised.
Sure enough, Perez was caught, signaling a return to Fink for a second live report. Then came Gormley a few minutes later -- Whoosh!" -- with video of the man being handcuffed by police outside his brother's apartment. CBS11 billed the video as "exclusive," which in fact it was. But did they have to make it seem as though Osama bin Laden had just been captured?
NBC5 also led its 10 p.m. newscast with this police "manhunt" for an escaped prisoner.
"Chopper 5 is high over Dallas County," intoned anchor Mike Snyder before throwing it to veteran night ranger Scott Gordon. Savvy crime-duster that he is, Gordon got Cockrell Hill police chief Catherine Smit to brand Perez "Houdini." Now that's news you can use.
The Peacock likewise returned live to the scene of the breakout to report that Perez was back in police custody. Belo8 and Fox4 thought little of all this. Both handled the fugitive-from-justice situation with brief anchor reads and no live reporting. Which was the most it deserved, if that, in the populous sixth largest TV market in the country.
CBS11 has undergone a radical change since the February sweeps, when crime stories got short shrift in favor of longer enterprise pieces. That didn't translate into boffo ratings, though, so over and out. Thursday's newscast had 11 crime-related stories, or 13 if you count the double-dipping on fugitive Perez. There were no "packages" a k a enterprise stories prepared in advance on pithier topics.
NBC5 couldn't quite keep up, reeling off eight crime stories -- or nine if you count the double-dip. Snyder tried his best, though, telling viewers at one point, "From one scare situation to another tonight."
That led to reporter Grant Stinchfield's pretty decent piece on a slimy looking courier service operator and registered sex offender who also apparently was an identity thief. But the story got badly soiled by a horror movie soundtrack and dopey camera tricks.
The Peacock always can be counted on for cockamamie health reports. It had two of them Thursday, with anchor Jane McGarry priming the pump for the first by promising an "allergy answer so simple you'll be kicking yourself for not thinking of it first."
Meredith Land later informed viewers that it helps to take antihistamines at the same time every day. You mean that's it? Um, yeah.
Her story proved to be more hard-hitting than Kristi Nelson's dispatch on diet soda "addiction." Two well-known brands got a nice product placement ad during the time Nelson stood live in front of a pair of vending machines.
Some real news broke out, too, most of it on Fox4 and Belo8.
(Note to readers: We're looking at Fox4's 9 p.m. program instead of the 10 p.m. this time. It's by far the station's most-watched newscast of the day, and gets appreciably more promotional muscle and resources than the 10 p.m.)
Stories of genuine worth get room to breathe on Fox4's 9 p.m. news. And it takes some work to get them ready for air. The station's Shaun Rabb had a particularly interesting piece on a Tarrant County Community College professor who wants to make rap music lyrics easier on the ears.
"The beats are a blessing, the lyrics are a curse," he said. Rabb spent ample time with the young rappers competing in Dr. Murray Fortner's rap contest. As did reporter Jason Overstreet with a jailed textbook thief who wants to make amends.
"I'm kind of surprised I made as much as I did as long as I did," said former athletic scholarship student Alvin Wilson, who stole primarily from the University of North Texas book store.
Fox4's Brandon Todd also had an interesting story on a Texas Transportation Institute study that said teenagers taught to drive by their parents were three times more likely to have accidents than those who took driver safety courses.
All three stories were worth a viewer's investment. And anchor Natalie Solis's piece on a spirited "gospel aerobics" class in Northeast Dallas was a nice respite from all those daily doses of crime and punishment.
On Belo8, reporter Gary Reaves had an eye-opener on how a school's tacked-on trailer home classrooms can be weekend hideaways for drug abusers.
"If you come by on a Saturday, it's like a mini-Mardi Gras back here," said Stephen C. Foster elementary school principal Constance Ramirez.
Belo8's Steve Stoler also had a good piece on McKinney school bus stops located near the homes of registered sex offenders.
The station still trades in skin-deep, self-improvement stories, though. The "Friendly Fat" bit by Macy Jepson focused on two self-absorbed women striving to look younger by having body flab injected into their faces. Viewers were treated to the sight of an oversized needle being stuck in one of the patient's cheeks.
"That's a little much for me," grimaced anchor John McCaa, prompting weatherman Pete Delkus to start another pillow fight with sports anchor Dale Hansen.
"Well, you know, Hansen's a donor 'cause there's an endless supply (of fat) with him," Delkus cracked.
Pecos Pete later brandished a red-and-white striped soccer jersey he'd received for being a coin-flipper at that night's FC Dallas game. They didn't have one big enough for Hansen, he added.
"If fat in the face made you look younger, I look like I'm 12," Hansen rejoined before anchor Gloria Campos led the nightly spasms of laughter. Even McCaa had a bonafide giggle eruption.
No one does "happy talk" better than Belo8, which isn't necessarily a compliment. Still, it beats another kick in the head from a crime story, although some stations will disagree.
By the way, June 1 will be Dale Hansen bobble-head doll night at the Fort Worth Cats baseball game in Fort Worth. And that -- pant-pant -- is a wrap.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., April 26)
04/27/07 09:33 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
And they're off!
The first day of the four-week May "sweeps" ratings period put three of the four local stations in various newscast winner's circles. Because it's opening day, we'll give you the complete lay of the land for Thursday's four major competitions:
10 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 188,020
NBC5 -- 178,500
Fox4 -- 107,100
CBS11 -- 104,720
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS (main target audience for advertisers)
NBC5 -- 140,630
Belo8 -- 129,150
Fox4 -- 48,790
CBS11 -- 20,664
6 A.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Fox4 -- 85,680
NBC5 -- 83,300
Belo8 -- 69,020
CBS11 -- 47,600
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 63,140
Fox4 -- 57,400
NBC5 -- 48,790
CBS11 -- 31,570
6 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 152,320
NBC5 -- 99,960
CBS11 -- 92,820
Fox4 -- 88,060
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 63,140
NBC5 -- 57,400
Fox4 -- 43,050
CBS11 -- 20,090
5 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 159,460
NBC5 -- 92,820
Fox4 -- 71,400
CBS11 -- 52,360
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 91,840
NBC5 -- 57,400
Fox4 -- 28,700
CBS11 -- 25,830
In prime-time, the Peacock's venerable ER no longer is providing the lead-in audiences that propelled NBC5 to big weekly wins on Thursdays. In its 13th season, ER finished fourth in homes at 9 p.m., although it more than doubled its audience from the previous Scrubs. The medical drama did narrowly win among 18-to-49-year-olds, edging ABC's October Road in the target advertiser audience for entertainment programming.
At 7 p.m., Fox's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? graduated with honors, winning in both homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds against formidable competition from runnerup Ugly Betty on ABC, Survivor: Fiji (CBS) and NBC's My Name is Earl and The Office.
A tiring Wheel of Fortune on CBS11 is still winning in total homes, but ran seventh among 18-to-49-year-olds. And the late morning/early afternoon Texas Rangers-Cleveland Indians game on MY27 barely came into view with 15,232 homes. A Dirk Nowitzki burp gets a larger turnout than that.
And they're off!
The first day of the four-week May "sweeps" ratings period put three of the four local stations in various newscast winner's circles. Because it's opening day, we'll give you the complete lay of the land for Thursday's four major competitions:
10 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 188,020
NBC5 -- 178,500
Fox4 -- 107,100
CBS11 -- 104,720
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS (main target audience for advertisers)
NBC5 -- 140,630
Belo8 -- 129,150
Fox4 -- 48,790
CBS11 -- 20,664
6 A.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Fox4 -- 85,680
NBC5 -- 83,300
Belo8 -- 69,020
CBS11 -- 47,600
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 63,140
Fox4 -- 57,400
NBC5 -- 48,790
CBS11 -- 31,570
6 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 152,320
NBC5 -- 99,960
CBS11 -- 92,820
Fox4 -- 88,060
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 63,140
NBC5 -- 57,400
Fox4 -- 43,050
CBS11 -- 20,090
5 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 159,460
NBC5 -- 92,820
Fox4 -- 71,400
CBS11 -- 52,360
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 91,840
NBC5 -- 57,400
Fox4 -- 28,700
CBS11 -- 25,830
In prime-time, the Peacock's venerable ER no longer is providing the lead-in audiences that propelled NBC5 to big weekly wins on Thursdays. In its 13th season, ER finished fourth in homes at 9 p.m., although it more than doubled its audience from the previous Scrubs. The medical drama did narrowly win among 18-to-49-year-olds, edging ABC's October Road in the target advertiser audience for entertainment programming.
At 7 p.m., Fox's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? graduated with honors, winning in both homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds against formidable competition from runnerup Ugly Betty on ABC, Survivor: Fiji (CBS) and NBC's My Name is Earl and The Office.
A tiring Wheel of Fortune on CBS11 is still winning in total homes, but ran seventh among 18-to-49-year-olds. And the late morning/early afternoon Texas Rangers-Cleveland Indians game on MY27 barely came into view with 15,232 homes. A Dirk Nowitzki burp gets a larger turnout than that.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., April 25)
04/26/07 10:31 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Dribbling to ratings gold and a playoff victory over Golden State, the Dallas Mavericks again were a smashing success in the D-FW Nielsens.
Wednesday's game, which ran from 8:45 to 11:25 p.m., averaged 258,121 homes on TXA21 and added another 165,735 for the TNT telecast. That brought the tote board to 423,856, down just a smidge from Sunday night's haul of 435,540 homes for Game 1.
In comparison, Fox's two-hour Idol Gives Back charity event averaged 337,960 homes from 7 to 9 p.m. Idol's final 15 minutes was the only program to outdraw the Mavs in head-to-head competition. But the game had barely started at that point, with audiences peaking on TXA21 between 11 and 11:15 p.m. (323,680 homes). TNT had its largest crowd between 10 and 10:15 p.m. (180,020 homes).
D-FW's four 10 p.m. newscasts took an aggregate hit, with Belo8 managing 166,600 homes to take first place. Overall, the quartet of 10 p.m. newscasts drew 487,900 homes, down from 559,300 on the previous Wednesday.
On the eve of the four-week May "sweeps," which start on Thursday (April 26), Belo8 also won at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
NBC5 took first place in homes at 6 a.m., but Belo8 was tops among 25-to-54-year-olds. Although still running fourth, CBS11's early morning show, with Scott Sams logging his third day, perked up considerably in the 25-to-54 demo. Its 41,328 viewers in that age group at least were in shouting distance of third-place NBC5 (57,400).
Belo8 won at 5 p.m. in both ratings measurements. The 6 p.m. spoils were split between Belo8 (homes) and NBC5 (25-to-54-year-olds).
Dribbling to ratings gold and a playoff victory over Golden State, the Dallas Mavericks again were a smashing success in the D-FW Nielsens.
Wednesday's game, which ran from 8:45 to 11:25 p.m., averaged 258,121 homes on TXA21 and added another 165,735 for the TNT telecast. That brought the tote board to 423,856, down just a smidge from Sunday night's haul of 435,540 homes for Game 1.
In comparison, Fox's two-hour Idol Gives Back charity event averaged 337,960 homes from 7 to 9 p.m. Idol's final 15 minutes was the only program to outdraw the Mavs in head-to-head competition. But the game had barely started at that point, with audiences peaking on TXA21 between 11 and 11:15 p.m. (323,680 homes). TNT had its largest crowd between 10 and 10:15 p.m. (180,020 homes).
D-FW's four 10 p.m. newscasts took an aggregate hit, with Belo8 managing 166,600 homes to take first place. Overall, the quartet of 10 p.m. newscasts drew 487,900 homes, down from 559,300 on the previous Wednesday.
On the eve of the four-week May "sweeps," which start on Thursday (April 26), Belo8 also won at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
NBC5 took first place in homes at 6 a.m., but Belo8 was tops among 25-to-54-year-olds. Although still running fourth, CBS11's early morning show, with Scott Sams logging his third day, perked up considerably in the 25-to-54 demo. Its 41,328 viewers in that age group at least were in shouting distance of third-place NBC5 (57,400).
Belo8 won at 5 p.m. in both ratings measurements. The 6 p.m. spoils were split between Belo8 (homes) and NBC5 (25-to-54-year-olds).
"Topical" heat wave: CBS11's Regent Ducas makes an
urgent appeal
04/25/07 05:03 PM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
FORT WORTH -- A big storm is brewing on this early Tuesday afternoon. Not just outside CBS11's offices but in the minds of some reporters.
Regent Ducas, finishing his first month as the station's latest news director, already has reshaped the station's ratings-starved newscasts. You don't hire a coach to run the same plays, and he's made that very clear since arriving last month from CBS affiliate KCTV-TV in Kansas City.
"Instead of taking a more issue-oriented approach to news, we're going to take a more topical approach," Ducas, 42, says during an interview in his office. "It's all about the here and now of news. That's one of the changes you'll feel, sense and hear on the air. A bit more urgency. Not so much the way it's been."
This week he inaugurated a "First Five Minutes" gambit at the top of 10 p.m. newscasts, importing it from the Kansas City station that he took to No. 1 in the ratings. It's supposed to give viewers the feeling that they're getting something piping hot and served fresh. On Monday's late night newscast, four live reports were squeezed in, with an emphasis on crime.
"The biggest battle at night is turnoff," Ducas says. "So the message I'm trying to convey is don't go to bed quite yet. We're going to give you as much as we can in the first five minutes. New. Fresh. Not something you heard on the radio that morning. Give us at least five minutes. Then it's our job to drag you along, keep you going. It's my plan to execute that."
Ducas talks with a sense of the urgency he's demanding, his body language seemingly punctuated by a continuous series of exclamation points. Some reporters were very afraid at first and some still are -- privately. Ducas concedes as much. But as he inarguably notes, the station's 10 p.m. newscasts have been squandering a good part of the oft-generous lead-in audience provided by CBS entertainment programming. It's left the station a sinking third at 10 p.m. after a run for the top bottomed out in the past year.
"CBS is a fantastic network. It's a hot network," Ducas says. "And there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to deliver on the audiences they give us."
The new guy's approach is "run and gun if you will. I'm sure there is an adjustment period. I'm sure some people are wondering to themselves whether they're going to make it under this new format, whether they even subscribe to it in the first place."
He figuratively arrived at CBS11 "with boxing gloves on," Ducas says. "I thought I'd have to battle. But I've really done very little of it. It's been remarkable. I'm incredibly impressed with the competency of the people at CBS11.
"I think we have the players to pull it off. But the proof will be in the pudding and in daily performance. I'm a very performance-oriented person. I'm all about accountability."
CBS11 also is sharpening its prime-time teases, which Ducas feels were too passive in the past.
"Promotion is critically important, maybe as important as the actual newscast. It has to match the intensity of what we're going to have on the news. You need to zero in on who you are. And we're going to be this live, latebreaking, investigative type of television station that brings you this urgent news. If you want the in-depth story about something, we're not going to be the station to come watch.
"My lead story may not be the most important news of the day, but it's going to be the freshest, most topically driven news that the viewer will be able to get in the area."
Ducas insists he's not copying a very similar format used by NBC5, which had a five-year winning streak broken in February by Belo8. But the Peacock remained No. 1 with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Nor is he ruling out expansive investigative reporting, Ducas says after veteran CBS11 gumshoe Robert Riggs is mentioned.
"There absolutely is a place for him," but it likely won't be in the newscast's first five minutes, Ducas says. "When we get everything rolling together, investigations will be a major part of what we are."
Ratings frontrunners Belo8 and NBC5 regularly stock the closing half of their newscasts with stories obviously aimed at women viewers, who watch in appreciably greater numbers than men. Ducas acknowledges this, but says he basically doesn't care.
"You're not going to see a lot of diet-oriented stories in the second quarter-hour. Absolutely not," he says. "If that's the magic to success, then I'm not going to try to beat 'em at their game. I'm a big believer that solid, topical news is going to drive viewership. I'm just not into tailoring news."
Ducas also must fix his station's early morning newscasts, which are in far worse ratings shape than the latenight productions. Former Belo8 morning personality Scott Sams is newly installed, but CBS11 will be losing co-anchor Shannon Hori after her three-year contract expires in July. She wants to spend more time with her Florida-based husband.
The early morning show "used to be laid-back and lifestyle-oriented," but now will match the urgency of CBS11's other newscasts, Ducas says. He expects Sams to re-bloom and grow on viewers, many of whom still remember him from his 19 years at Belo8.
"He's such a great pro, as pro as pro gets. So the last person I'm worried about is Scott and his adapting to this formula."
Whatever the daypart or city, Ducas is banking on his belief that news viewers are all pretty much the same. They supposedly want fresh, not always nutritive produce, something they haven't seen before, a hook to keep them on the line. So it'll be a snap-pop approach at the new CBS11.
"The Internet has changed everything," Ducas says. "In my (TV) world, everything gets old fast. Viewers are just going, going, going.
"And you've got to match their lifestyle, and go get 'em."
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., April 24)
04/25/07 11:42 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Belo8, with big audiences already tuned to Dancing with the Stars, drew the largest crowds for Tuesday night's prime-time storm coverage.
The ABC station topped runnerup Fox4, which had House in play, in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the prime advertiser target audience for news programming. The latter statistic doesn't really matter, though, because all four of the market's major news providers went commercial-free from 8:50 to 10 p.m.
Belo8 had its biggest tune-in from 9 to 9:15 p.m., amassing 390,320 homes.
Fox4 peaked from 9 to 9:30 p.m. drawing 254,660 homes in each 15-minute increment.
NBC5 had its biggest audience from 9:30 to 9:45 p.m., with 240,380 homes.
And CBS11 hit its high point from 9 to 9:15 p.m. (223,720 homes).
Belo8 parlayed its prime-time high into comfortable wins at 10 p.m. in both homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, with NBC5 placing second in both measurements.
At 6 a.m. the Peacock ran first in homes, but Fox4 took the 25-to-54 crown. Scott Sams' second day with CBS11 again failed to nudge the ratings needle upward.
Belo8 dominated the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts in both measurements. Its numbers at 6 p.m. were especially impressive -- 268,940 homes and 154,980 viewers in the 25-to-54-year-old demo.
Katie Couric's CBS Evening News remained in D-FW's death valley. It ran a distant fourth in homes and sunk to sixth among 25-to-54-year-olds.
Belo8, with big audiences already tuned to Dancing with the Stars, drew the largest crowds for Tuesday night's prime-time storm coverage.
The ABC station topped runnerup Fox4, which had House in play, in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the prime advertiser target audience for news programming. The latter statistic doesn't really matter, though, because all four of the market's major news providers went commercial-free from 8:50 to 10 p.m.
Belo8 had its biggest tune-in from 9 to 9:15 p.m., amassing 390,320 homes.
Fox4 peaked from 9 to 9:30 p.m. drawing 254,660 homes in each 15-minute increment.
NBC5 had its biggest audience from 9:30 to 9:45 p.m., with 240,380 homes.
And CBS11 hit its high point from 9 to 9:15 p.m. (223,720 homes).
Belo8 parlayed its prime-time high into comfortable wins at 10 p.m. in both homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, with NBC5 placing second in both measurements.
At 6 a.m. the Peacock ran first in homes, but Fox4 took the 25-to-54 crown. Scott Sams' second day with CBS11 again failed to nudge the ratings needle upward.
Belo8 dominated the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts in both measurements. Its numbers at 6 p.m. were especially impressive -- 268,940 homes and 154,980 viewers in the 25-to-54-year-old demo.
Katie Couric's CBS Evening News remained in D-FW's death valley. It ran a distant fourth in homes and sunk to sixth among 25-to-54-year-olds.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., April 23)
04/24/07 10:10 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Two ratings beggars tried to dine at the main table Monday.
The Dallas Stars fed off their biggest numbers of the year while being knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in a seventh game with Vancouver.
CBS11's early morning news, with Scott Sams making his debut, fell short of even breakfast scraps.
The Stars peaked between 10 and 10:45 p.m. on MY27, outdrawing all four latenight local newscasts among 18-to-49-year-olds and 25-to-54-year-olds while finishing a close second in homes to CBS11.
Overall, the game averaged 128,087 homes, with the last 15 minutes ballooning to 207,060. That last number is roughly nine times the team's usual average in D-FW.
Sams' first outing on CBS11's 5 to 7 a.m shift generated a collective yawn, at least in the Nielsens.
The 5 to 6 a.m. hour drew 21,420 homes, down from 28,560 homes on the previous Monday. From 6 to 7 a.m., Sams' club had 23,800 homes, also a decrease from the 35,700 homes a week ago. But the numbers were up a smidgen at 6 a.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
CBS11's overall 6 to 7 a.m. audience, the key time period for the early morning shows, was less than one-third that of third-place Fox4.
In prime-time, ABC's Dancing with the Stars again stomped all comers, including the first half-hour of NBC's Heroes, which returned with new episodes after more than a month's absence. Dancing hauled in 347,480 homes, easily making it the night's top draw ahead of CBS' runnerup CSI: Miami (285,600).
The premiere of NBC's The Real Wedding Crashers ran fifth in homes at 9 p.m. and third with 18-to-49-year-olds, the favored advertiser audience for entertainment programming.
Fox's new Drive series again couldn't get out of park, attracting a sub-measly 40,460 homes. TXA21's local newscast was among the many programs outdrawing it from 7 to 8 p.m.
In the local news derby, CBS11 posted a rare win in homes at 10 p.m. with help from the healthy CSI: Miami lead-in. But NBC5 placed first among 25-to-54-year-olds, with CBS11 dropping to third.
The 6 a.m. spoils were split between the Peacock, which won in homes, and Belo8, tops in the 25-to-54 demo.
Belo8 again swept the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions in both ratings measurements.
Two ratings beggars tried to dine at the main table Monday.
The Dallas Stars fed off their biggest numbers of the year while being knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in a seventh game with Vancouver.
CBS11's early morning news, with Scott Sams making his debut, fell short of even breakfast scraps.
The Stars peaked between 10 and 10:45 p.m. on MY27, outdrawing all four latenight local newscasts among 18-to-49-year-olds and 25-to-54-year-olds while finishing a close second in homes to CBS11.
Overall, the game averaged 128,087 homes, with the last 15 minutes ballooning to 207,060. That last number is roughly nine times the team's usual average in D-FW.
Sams' first outing on CBS11's 5 to 7 a.m shift generated a collective yawn, at least in the Nielsens.
The 5 to 6 a.m. hour drew 21,420 homes, down from 28,560 homes on the previous Monday. From 6 to 7 a.m., Sams' club had 23,800 homes, also a decrease from the 35,700 homes a week ago. But the numbers were up a smidgen at 6 a.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
CBS11's overall 6 to 7 a.m. audience, the key time period for the early morning shows, was less than one-third that of third-place Fox4.
In prime-time, ABC's Dancing with the Stars again stomped all comers, including the first half-hour of NBC's Heroes, which returned with new episodes after more than a month's absence. Dancing hauled in 347,480 homes, easily making it the night's top draw ahead of CBS' runnerup CSI: Miami (285,600).
The premiere of NBC's The Real Wedding Crashers ran fifth in homes at 9 p.m. and third with 18-to-49-year-olds, the favored advertiser audience for entertainment programming.
Fox's new Drive series again couldn't get out of park, attracting a sub-measly 40,460 homes. TXA21's local newscast was among the many programs outdrawing it from 7 to 8 p.m.
In the local news derby, CBS11 posted a rare win in homes at 10 p.m. with help from the healthy CSI: Miami lead-in. But NBC5 placed first among 25-to-54-year-olds, with CBS11 dropping to third.
The 6 a.m. spoils were split between the Peacock, which won in homes, and Belo8, tops in the 25-to-54 demo.
Belo8 again swept the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions in both ratings measurements.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., April
20-22)
04/23/07 10:23 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Root canal or not, Game 1 of the Dallas Mavericks' painful loss to Golden State dominated Sunday's ratings, drawing more viewers than even a new episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives.
The TXA21 telecast amassed 258,230 homes, with TNT's version adding another 177,310 in the D-FW viewing area. DH, the days' second most-watched attraction, had 257,040 homes.
The pancake-flat Mavs also whipped DH among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds and cut a hole in the numbers for local 10 p.m. newscasts. The most-watched of the four, on Belo8, had 135,660 homes from 10 to 10:30 p.m. The Sunday sports special add-ons all tanked.
Sunday's other local pro sports attraction, the Texas Rangers' afternoon win over Oakland, averaged 73,780 homes on Fox4. And the Dallas Stars' sixth game Stanley Cup playoff win against Vancouver drew 43,237 homes Saturday night on Fox Sports Southwest. Monday night's do-or-die game should fare far better than that on MY27.
Friday's local news derby went like this:
Belo8 re-asserted itself at 10 p.m., winning comfortably in homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The 6 a.m. spoils were split, with NBC5 on top in homes and Fox4 winning in the 25-to-54 demo.
Belo8 placed first in both measurements at 5 p.m. and also won the 6 p.m. competition in homes. NBC5 had the edge with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Root canal or not, Game 1 of the Dallas Mavericks' painful loss to Golden State dominated Sunday's ratings, drawing more viewers than even a new episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives.
The TXA21 telecast amassed 258,230 homes, with TNT's version adding another 177,310 in the D-FW viewing area. DH, the days' second most-watched attraction, had 257,040 homes.
The pancake-flat Mavs also whipped DH among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds and cut a hole in the numbers for local 10 p.m. newscasts. The most-watched of the four, on Belo8, had 135,660 homes from 10 to 10:30 p.m. The Sunday sports special add-ons all tanked.
Sunday's other local pro sports attraction, the Texas Rangers' afternoon win over Oakland, averaged 73,780 homes on Fox4. And the Dallas Stars' sixth game Stanley Cup playoff win against Vancouver drew 43,237 homes Saturday night on Fox Sports Southwest. Monday night's do-or-die game should fare far better than that on MY27.
Friday's local news derby went like this:
Belo8 re-asserted itself at 10 p.m., winning comfortably in homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The 6 a.m. spoils were split, with NBC5 on top in homes and Fox4 winning in the 25-to-54 demo.
Belo8 placed first in both measurements at 5 p.m. and also won the 6 p.m. competition in homes. NBC5 had the edge with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., April 19)
04/20/07 10:38 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
The Dallas Stars finally got a little ratings love Thursday. Not a lot, but a little.
The pucksters' latenight overtime Stanley Cup playoff win against Vancouver averaged 63,268 homes in D-FW, peaking at 80,290 in the game's final 15 minutes on Ch. 27. Those closing numbers were strong enough to beat all competing programming, with the game ending at close to midnight.
Among 18-to-49-year-old males, the Stars even outdrew back-to-back episodes of South Park (TXA21) from 11 p.m. to midnight. Now that's loyalty to the cause.
In prime-time, a new episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy lured a robust 321,300 homes before its followup act, the new October Road, hit a rut with 149,940 homes. The freshman series fared better with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, though, barely trailing NBC's first-place ER at 9 p.m.
In the local news derby, scratch that 10 p.m. ratings roll that Belo8 had been enjoying this week. NBC5's late night news parlayed a modest lead-in advantage into lopsided wins over Belo8 in both homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 won at 6 a.m. in homes, with Belo8 taking the top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds. Belo8 again swept the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions.
The Dallas Stars finally got a little ratings love Thursday. Not a lot, but a little.
The pucksters' latenight overtime Stanley Cup playoff win against Vancouver averaged 63,268 homes in D-FW, peaking at 80,290 in the game's final 15 minutes on Ch. 27. Those closing numbers were strong enough to beat all competing programming, with the game ending at close to midnight.
Among 18-to-49-year-old males, the Stars even outdrew back-to-back episodes of South Park (TXA21) from 11 p.m. to midnight. Now that's loyalty to the cause.
In prime-time, a new episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy lured a robust 321,300 homes before its followup act, the new October Road, hit a rut with 149,940 homes. The freshman series fared better with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, though, barely trailing NBC's first-place ER at 9 p.m.
In the local news derby, scratch that 10 p.m. ratings roll that Belo8 had been enjoying this week. NBC5's late night news parlayed a modest lead-in advantage into lopsided wins over Belo8 in both homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 won at 6 a.m. in homes, with Belo8 taking the top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds. Belo8 again swept the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., April 18)
04/19/07 10:05 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
The May "sweeps" are looming and Belo8 is rolling -- particularly at 10 p.m.
For the third straight day, the ABC station came within one newscast of a double grand slam. Only Fox4 blocked its way, winning in homes at 6 a.m. Otherwise Belo8 ran the table, finishing first in homes at 5,6 and 10 p.m. and taking all four competitions among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
May's four-week sweeps hostilities begin on Thursday, April 26th. In the February flare-ups, Belo8 ended NBC5's five-year winning streak in total homes at 10 p.m., but the Peacock again prevailed in the 25-to-54 demo.
NBC5 will be hard-pressed to repeat, however. Its run 'n' gun, lose-weight, scarf-up-the-bargains news menu appears to be losing altitude, although Belo8 sometimes is just as guilty. Unclebarky.com will be filing daily reports on all the action, beginning Friday, April 27.
Fox4 also had a big day Wednesday in the D-FW Nielsens. Its 9 p.m. local newscast, jet-powered by an American Idol lead-in, easily beat ABC's runnerup Lost in total homes and placed a close second among 18-to-49-year-olds, the favored advertiser audience for entertainment programming.
At 10 p.m., Fox4 finished an unaccustomed second in homes, nipping NBC5. Idol's vote-off of the much-maligned Sanjaya Malakar flexed with 380,800 homes.
At 5:30 p.m., the NBC Nightly News ran second as usual despite showing portions of the exclusive video and still photos mailed to the network by Cho Seung-Hi between his killing rampages at Virginia Tech University. Nightly drew 119,000 homes, trailing ABC's World News (161,840) and outpointing the CBS Evening News (64,260)
The Dallas Mavericks' final regular season game, a victorious late-nighter against Seattle, had a nice-sized 135,660 homes on TXA21. But only a handful watched the Texas Rangers on the receiving end of a no-hitter by Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle. The game drew 29,459 homes on Fox Sports Southwest, peaking at 40,222 homes in the final 15 minutes.
The May "sweeps" are looming and Belo8 is rolling -- particularly at 10 p.m.
For the third straight day, the ABC station came within one newscast of a double grand slam. Only Fox4 blocked its way, winning in homes at 6 a.m. Otherwise Belo8 ran the table, finishing first in homes at 5,6 and 10 p.m. and taking all four competitions among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
May's four-week sweeps hostilities begin on Thursday, April 26th. In the February flare-ups, Belo8 ended NBC5's five-year winning streak in total homes at 10 p.m., but the Peacock again prevailed in the 25-to-54 demo.
NBC5 will be hard-pressed to repeat, however. Its run 'n' gun, lose-weight, scarf-up-the-bargains news menu appears to be losing altitude, although Belo8 sometimes is just as guilty. Unclebarky.com will be filing daily reports on all the action, beginning Friday, April 27.
Fox4 also had a big day Wednesday in the D-FW Nielsens. Its 9 p.m. local newscast, jet-powered by an American Idol lead-in, easily beat ABC's runnerup Lost in total homes and placed a close second among 18-to-49-year-olds, the favored advertiser audience for entertainment programming.
At 10 p.m., Fox4 finished an unaccustomed second in homes, nipping NBC5. Idol's vote-off of the much-maligned Sanjaya Malakar flexed with 380,800 homes.
At 5:30 p.m., the NBC Nightly News ran second as usual despite showing portions of the exclusive video and still photos mailed to the network by Cho Seung-Hi between his killing rampages at Virginia Tech University. Nightly drew 119,000 homes, trailing ABC's World News (161,840) and outpointing the CBS Evening News (64,260)
The Dallas Mavericks' final regular season game, a victorious late-nighter against Seattle, had a nice-sized 135,660 homes on TXA21. But only a handful watched the Texas Rangers on the receiving end of a no-hitter by Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle. The game drew 29,459 homes on Fox Sports Southwest, peaking at 40,222 homes in the final 15 minutes.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., April 17)
04/18/07 10:28 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
American Idol and Dancing with the Stars dominated as usual Tuesday night, but so did ABC's Prime Time Live special on the mass murders at Virginia Tech University.
Fox's latest Idol performance show drew 340,030 homes, more than doubling the audience for its closest competitor (CBS' NCIS with 166,600 homes).
Then it was Dancing's turn at 8 p.m., with the ABC show amassing 321,300 homes to thump Fox's competing House (207,060).
A 9 p.m. edition of Prime Time Live held most of Dancing's audience. Its 295,210 homes almost doubled up on Fox4's local newscast (154,700).
Dancing's audience remains sharply split along gender lines among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds. Here's the breakdown:
18-to-49-Year-Old Women
Dancing -- 123,647
House -- 77,851
The Unit (CBS) -- 30,530
18-to-49-Year-Old Men
The Unit -- 73,790
Dancing -- 59,660
House -- 40,820
In the sports arena, the Dallas Mavericks as always led the way. The team's late night, lopsided loss to Golden State on TXA21 averaged 126,140 homes and tied American Idol as Tuesday's most-watched attraction among 18-to-49-year-old males.
The Dallas Stars' Stanley Cup playoff loss to Vancouver managed 54,307 homes while the Texas Rangers' win against the White Sox had 38,080 homes on Fox Sports Southwest.
For the second straight day, Belo8 nearly pulled off a rare, magical, double grand slam in the primary local news wars.
The ABC station won at 6 a.m. and at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. But NBC5 took first place at 6 a.m. in homes, with Belo8 sweeping the other competitions.
The four-week May sweeps, TV's last big battleground of the 2006-'07 season, starts on Thursday, April 26.
American Idol and Dancing with the Stars dominated as usual Tuesday night, but so did ABC's Prime Time Live special on the mass murders at Virginia Tech University.
Fox's latest Idol performance show drew 340,030 homes, more than doubling the audience for its closest competitor (CBS' NCIS with 166,600 homes).
Then it was Dancing's turn at 8 p.m., with the ABC show amassing 321,300 homes to thump Fox's competing House (207,060).
A 9 p.m. edition of Prime Time Live held most of Dancing's audience. Its 295,210 homes almost doubled up on Fox4's local newscast (154,700).
Dancing's audience remains sharply split along gender lines among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds. Here's the breakdown:
18-to-49-Year-Old Women
Dancing -- 123,647
House -- 77,851
The Unit (CBS) -- 30,530
18-to-49-Year-Old Men
The Unit -- 73,790
Dancing -- 59,660
House -- 40,820
In the sports arena, the Dallas Mavericks as always led the way. The team's late night, lopsided loss to Golden State on TXA21 averaged 126,140 homes and tied American Idol as Tuesday's most-watched attraction among 18-to-49-year-old males.
The Dallas Stars' Stanley Cup playoff loss to Vancouver managed 54,307 homes while the Texas Rangers' win against the White Sox had 38,080 homes on Fox Sports Southwest.
For the second straight day, Belo8 nearly pulled off a rare, magical, double grand slam in the primary local news wars.
The ABC station won at 6 a.m. and at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. But NBC5 took first place at 6 a.m. in homes, with Belo8 sweeping the other competitions.
The four-week May sweeps, TV's last big battleground of the 2006-'07 season, starts on Thursday, April 26.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., April 16)
04/17/07 10:25 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Cable news ratings not surprisingly spiked way upward in D-FW Monday afternoon as word came of the carnage at Virginia Tech University.
Still, audiences remained smallish compared to those for even a failing broadcast network series.
Fox News Channel's 2 to 5 p.m. coverage drew an overall average of 33,558 homes Monday compared to 8,171 at those same times a week earlier.
During those same hours, CNN had 33,320 homes (up from 3,332) and MSNBC, 17,533 (up from 3,014).
ABC's World News with Charles Gibson led the ratings pack at 5:30 p.m., even though he was the only anchor to remain in a New York studio. World News drew 211,820 homes in easily outpointing the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams (154,700) and the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric (88,060).
There's a reason why these newscasts traffic so heavily in commercials for pain remedies and cholesterol reducers. Here's a telescoped look at the gaping disparities between audiences 55 years-plus and 18-to-34-year-olds:
55 Years and Over
ABC World News -- 169,600
NBC Nightly News -- 126,400
CBS Evening News -- 70,400
18-to-34-Year-Olds
ABC World News -- 38,556
NBC Nightly News -- 22,491
CBS Evening News -- 8,033
On the prime-time entertainment front, ABC's Dancing with the Stars again dominated the night, although its 278,460 homes fell a bit short of the previous Monday's haul. Fox's new Drive series continued to bleed oil and other vital fluids, drawing just 66,640 homes in Prison Break's old slot.
Also of concern to Fox, at least in this market: NBC's new Thank God You're Here improvisational comedy series beat the competing 24 in both homes and with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
Local news ratings saw Belo8 come within one win of a rare double grand slam. The ABC station won at 6 a.m., and 5, 6 and 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Belo8 also took the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. competitions in total homes, but came up a close second at 6 a.m. to Fox4.
Cable news ratings not surprisingly spiked way upward in D-FW Monday afternoon as word came of the carnage at Virginia Tech University.
Still, audiences remained smallish compared to those for even a failing broadcast network series.
Fox News Channel's 2 to 5 p.m. coverage drew an overall average of 33,558 homes Monday compared to 8,171 at those same times a week earlier.
During those same hours, CNN had 33,320 homes (up from 3,332) and MSNBC, 17,533 (up from 3,014).
ABC's World News with Charles Gibson led the ratings pack at 5:30 p.m., even though he was the only anchor to remain in a New York studio. World News drew 211,820 homes in easily outpointing the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams (154,700) and the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric (88,060).
There's a reason why these newscasts traffic so heavily in commercials for pain remedies and cholesterol reducers. Here's a telescoped look at the gaping disparities between audiences 55 years-plus and 18-to-34-year-olds:
55 Years and Over
ABC World News -- 169,600
NBC Nightly News -- 126,400
CBS Evening News -- 70,400
18-to-34-Year-Olds
ABC World News -- 38,556
NBC Nightly News -- 22,491
CBS Evening News -- 8,033
On the prime-time entertainment front, ABC's Dancing with the Stars again dominated the night, although its 278,460 homes fell a bit short of the previous Monday's haul. Fox's new Drive series continued to bleed oil and other vital fluids, drawing just 66,640 homes in Prison Break's old slot.
Also of concern to Fox, at least in this market: NBC's new Thank God You're Here improvisational comedy series beat the competing 24 in both homes and with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
Local news ratings saw Belo8 come within one win of a rare double grand slam. The ABC station won at 6 a.m., and 5, 6 and 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Belo8 also took the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. competitions in total homes, but came up a close second at 6 a.m. to Fox4.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., April
13-15)
04/16/07 09:41 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Severe storm coverage sent ratings through the roof early Friday night on D-FW's four major news providers. Then a half-hour power outage knocked Fox4 off the air and down for the count.
Audiences peaked between 6:45 and 7:15 p.m. on Belo8, NBC5 and CBS11, with Fox4 pretty much falling off the map by 7 p.m. after losing its picture a bit earlier. Here's the way it looked:
6:45 to 7 p.m.
Belo8 -- 414,120 homes
NBC5 -- 357,000
Fox4 -- 233,240
CBS11 -- 216,580
7 to 7:15 p.m.
Belo8 -- 421,260
NBC5 -- 409,360
CBS11 -- 192,780
Fox4 -- 16,600
Fox4 had returned to the air well before 8 p.m., but its ratings never fully recovered. At that same hour, NBC5 ended its continuous storm coverage in favor of the Peacock's new Raines series and a Law & Order repeat.
In contrast, Belo8, CBS11 and Fox4 completely scrapped their entertainment lineups, with the latter station dumping out of the Fox network movie White Chicks before going to its regularly scheduled 9 p.m. local newscast. Here's the way the Nielsen numbers played out:
8 to 9 p.m.
Belo8 storm coverage -- 209,440 homes
Raines -- 166,600
CBS11 storm coverage -- 159,460
Fox4 storm coverage -- 90,440
9 to 10 p.m.
Belo8 storm coverage -- 157,080 homes
Law & Order -- 142,800
CBS11 storm coverage -- 140,420
Fox4 storm coverage -- 114,240
A competing Dallas Mavericks home game against the Utah Jazz averaged 138,040 homes Friday night. The Dallas Stars' late night Stanley Cup playoff game against Vancouver lured 45,220 homes to Fox Sports Southwest. A Texas Rangers road game at Seattle did slightly better on Ch. 27, drawing 47,600 homes directly opposite the Stars.
In Friday's regularly scheduled local news battles, NBC5 won at 10 p.m. in both homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The Peacock also won at 6 a.m. in homes, but fell to second behind Fox4 in the 25-to-54 demo.
Belo8 won at 5 and 6 p.m. in homes. Otherwise NBC5 placed first with 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 p.m., with Fox4 on top with that audience at 6 p.m.
Sunday was event-full, too, with the Mavs-Spurs on ABC going directly against the closing two-and-half hours of Fox's Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Hoops prevailed, drawing 164,220 homes to the Nextel Cup's 138,040 homes from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The Mavericks won by a much wider margin among 18-to-49-year-olds, the favored target audience for non-news programming.
D-FW's pro sports also-rans again were Sunday night's Stars-Canucks on FSS (73,780 homes) and the afternoon Rangers-Mariners game on Ch. 27 ( 37,700 homes).
In prime-time, Fox's heavily promoted two-hour premiere of Drive blew a piston on its first lap, finishing with a measly 54,740 homes in D-FW. The night's biggest entertainment draw, a new episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives, had 252,280 homes.
Severe storm coverage sent ratings through the roof early Friday night on D-FW's four major news providers. Then a half-hour power outage knocked Fox4 off the air and down for the count.
Audiences peaked between 6:45 and 7:15 p.m. on Belo8, NBC5 and CBS11, with Fox4 pretty much falling off the map by 7 p.m. after losing its picture a bit earlier. Here's the way it looked:
6:45 to 7 p.m.
Belo8 -- 414,120 homes
NBC5 -- 357,000
Fox4 -- 233,240
CBS11 -- 216,580
7 to 7:15 p.m.
Belo8 -- 421,260
NBC5 -- 409,360
CBS11 -- 192,780
Fox4 -- 16,600
Fox4 had returned to the air well before 8 p.m., but its ratings never fully recovered. At that same hour, NBC5 ended its continuous storm coverage in favor of the Peacock's new Raines series and a Law & Order repeat.
In contrast, Belo8, CBS11 and Fox4 completely scrapped their entertainment lineups, with the latter station dumping out of the Fox network movie White Chicks before going to its regularly scheduled 9 p.m. local newscast. Here's the way the Nielsen numbers played out:
8 to 9 p.m.
Belo8 storm coverage -- 209,440 homes
Raines -- 166,600
CBS11 storm coverage -- 159,460
Fox4 storm coverage -- 90,440
9 to 10 p.m.
Belo8 storm coverage -- 157,080 homes
Law & Order -- 142,800
CBS11 storm coverage -- 140,420
Fox4 storm coverage -- 114,240
A competing Dallas Mavericks home game against the Utah Jazz averaged 138,040 homes Friday night. The Dallas Stars' late night Stanley Cup playoff game against Vancouver lured 45,220 homes to Fox Sports Southwest. A Texas Rangers road game at Seattle did slightly better on Ch. 27, drawing 47,600 homes directly opposite the Stars.
In Friday's regularly scheduled local news battles, NBC5 won at 10 p.m. in both homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The Peacock also won at 6 a.m. in homes, but fell to second behind Fox4 in the 25-to-54 demo.
Belo8 won at 5 and 6 p.m. in homes. Otherwise NBC5 placed first with 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 p.m., with Fox4 on top with that audience at 6 p.m.
Sunday was event-full, too, with the Mavs-Spurs on ABC going directly against the closing two-and-half hours of Fox's Nextel Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Hoops prevailed, drawing 164,220 homes to the Nextel Cup's 138,040 homes from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The Mavericks won by a much wider margin among 18-to-49-year-olds, the favored target audience for non-news programming.
D-FW's pro sports also-rans again were Sunday night's Stars-Canucks on FSS (73,780 homes) and the afternoon Rangers-Mariners game on Ch. 27 ( 37,700 homes).
In prime-time, Fox's heavily promoted two-hour premiere of Drive blew a piston on its first lap, finishing with a measly 54,740 homes in D-FW. The night's biggest entertainment draw, a new episode of ABC's Desperate Housewives, had 252,280 homes.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., April 12)
04/13/07 09:54 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
We're under the impression they make big splashes. In reality, their prime-ratings invariably play in prime-time's kiddie pool.
Example: the most-watched attraction on Fox News Channel, CNN or MSNBC Thursday night drew 26,180 homes in D-FW. That would be FNC's The O'Reilly Factor. At midnight Thursday on CW33, a rerun of Will & Grace had 35,700 homes.
Here's a telescoped look at the 6 to 10 p.m. cable news ratings competitions on a night when the day's events included CBS' firing of Don Imus and a suicide bombing attack on the Iraqi parliament.
6 p.m.
The Fox Report -- 13,328 homes
The Situation Room (CNN) -- 13,090
Hardball with Chris Matthews (MSNBC) -- 8,568
7 p.m.
The O'Reilly Factor (FNC) -- 26,180
Countdown with Keith Olbermann (MSNBC) -- 14,518
Paula Zahn Now (CNN) -- 7,378
8 p.m.
Scarborough Country (MSNBC) -- 16,898
Hannity & Colmes (FNC) -- 14,042
Larry King Live (CNN) -- 11,662
9 p.m.
On the Record with Greta van Susteren (FNC) -- 19,754
To Catch a Predator Special (MSNBC) -- 14,280
Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN) -- 7,854
In contrast, the lowest-rated network dinner time news program, the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, drew 54,978 homes in D-FW.
Elsewhere, the back-to-back episode debut of ABC's Notes From the Underbelly finished a pink slip-ready fourth at 9 p.m. in both homes and with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
At 7 p.m., Fox's surprisingly educational Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? again got passing grades, winning in homes and finishing in a first-place tie with CBS' Survivor: Fiji and ABC's Ugly Betty in the 18-to-49-year-old demo.
The local news derby went like this:
NBC5 won at 10 p.m. in homes (166,6000), with CBS11 (164,220) and Belo8 (161,840 trailing by paper-thin margins. Belo8 station almost overcame a severe ratings disadvantage from the Underbelly lead-in.
The Peacock prevailed by a far more comfortable margin among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 continued its recent uptick in the early morning, topping the 6 a.m. ratings in both measurements. Belo8 again swept the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions.
We're under the impression they make big splashes. In reality, their prime-ratings invariably play in prime-time's kiddie pool.
Example: the most-watched attraction on Fox News Channel, CNN or MSNBC Thursday night drew 26,180 homes in D-FW. That would be FNC's The O'Reilly Factor. At midnight Thursday on CW33, a rerun of Will & Grace had 35,700 homes.
Here's a telescoped look at the 6 to 10 p.m. cable news ratings competitions on a night when the day's events included CBS' firing of Don Imus and a suicide bombing attack on the Iraqi parliament.
6 p.m.
The Fox Report -- 13,328 homes
The Situation Room (CNN) -- 13,090
Hardball with Chris Matthews (MSNBC) -- 8,568
7 p.m.
The O'Reilly Factor (FNC) -- 26,180
Countdown with Keith Olbermann (MSNBC) -- 14,518
Paula Zahn Now (CNN) -- 7,378
8 p.m.
Scarborough Country (MSNBC) -- 16,898
Hannity & Colmes (FNC) -- 14,042
Larry King Live (CNN) -- 11,662
9 p.m.
On the Record with Greta van Susteren (FNC) -- 19,754
To Catch a Predator Special (MSNBC) -- 14,280
Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN) -- 7,854
In contrast, the lowest-rated network dinner time news program, the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, drew 54,978 homes in D-FW.
Elsewhere, the back-to-back episode debut of ABC's Notes From the Underbelly finished a pink slip-ready fourth at 9 p.m. in both homes and with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
At 7 p.m., Fox's surprisingly educational Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? again got passing grades, winning in homes and finishing in a first-place tie with CBS' Survivor: Fiji and ABC's Ugly Betty in the 18-to-49-year-old demo.
The local news derby went like this:
NBC5 won at 10 p.m. in homes (166,6000), with CBS11 (164,220) and Belo8 (161,840 trailing by paper-thin margins. Belo8 station almost overcame a severe ratings disadvantage from the Underbelly lead-in.
The Peacock prevailed by a far more comfortable margin among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 continued its recent uptick in the early morning, topping the 6 a.m. ratings in both measurements. Belo8 again swept the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions.
Rene Syler: From anchor to author with a pause for
major surgery
04/12/07 09:02 PM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Rene Syler used to enjoy interviewing the weekly Survivor castoffs during her four years on CBS' The Early Show.
Then the network abruptly cast her off late last year, just a few weeks before she had her breasts removed in a procedure that goes down in the medical books as a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy.
The penultimate chapter in her new book, Good Enough Mother, recounts these travails in 11 pages titled "double whammy, or how to lose your breasts and your job in five short weeks." You might say she has a sense of humor. And that at age 44, she's a survivor.
"I feel amazing," Syler says during a promotional stop in Dallas, where she spent 11 years anchoring at both Belo8 (1992-'97) and CBS11 (1997-2002). "It's not just physically I feel better, but my head is better. I feel lighter. That's such a crazy way to describe it, but that's the only way I can think of it. I feel like a weight has been lifted, and life is grand and wonderful."
Her Jan. 9 surgery and a followup procedure in early March were alternatives to a series of painful biopsies that became necessary when Syler was diagnosed as a high-risk patient whose parents both have had breast cancer. The procedures also were increasingly disfiguring. So Syler says she asked herself, "How many more of these can I go through where they go in and keep pulling out breast tissue that's the size of a golf ball?"
Finally, the "futility of it all" convinced her she was better off without breasts and with "nipple-sparing" implants. Her candor in this regard is typical but never off-putting. And Syler's book, as you might judge from its cover and its title, is mainly about mommying without being a contemporary mommie dearest. It's dedicated to "Casey and Cole, the treasures of my heart."
Daughter Casey, 10, is the low-maintenance angelic one. Son Cole, 8, is the one who provides a wealth of material for the first-time author.
"That boy, if he had been the first, he'd have been the only one," Syler says. "Because he is such a handful."
She was pregnant with him while still anchoring at CBS11. At the six-month mark, Syler remembers standing on a desk in the newsroom and sermonizing on the differences between South Dallas and Oak Cliff.
"I was just ranting and raving. I'm sure that's part of the reason that boy is the way he is. Because I was a crazy woman when I was pregnant with him."
Syler's already promoted her book on Oprah and Good Morning America, and on Friday (April 13) at 7:30 p.m. she'll be signing copies at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 7700 W. Northwest Hwy. across from the North Park shopping center.
An April 17th guest host stint on The View also should help sales. By the way, the show still has a vacancy.
"I don't look at it as an audition. Not at all," Syler contends. "It look at it as I'm going in for one day just like all these other guests hosts have done."
"But if asked, you would serve," her interviewer interjects.
"Sure," she says, laughing. "Yes, if asked I would serve."
One of her old D-FW employers, CBS11, also needs a booster shot. The station recently hired former Belo8 veteran Scott Sams to step in as half of the 5 to 7 a.m. anchor team. His deskmate, Shannon Hori, will be leaving the station in July after her three-year contract expires.
"I haven't heard from anybody there," says Syler, who still lives in New York with husband Buff Parham, whom she married while at Belo8. "And it's the morning! I mean, I'm just getting used to sleeping again. That's probably why I'm feeling so great."
She did some co-anchoring with Sams while both were at Belo8. It wasn't a career highlight.
"At the time we had some rough patches there," Syler says of their professional relationship. She did send him a congratulatory email, though, when CBS11 signed him up.
Her book tour originally didn't include a stop at her old network's Early Show, where she said goodbye on Dec. 22 after being told the show was going in the dreaded "new direction."
"My intention was not to go back, but you know what? Everybody moves on," Syler says. So when Early Show bookers called after her GMA appearance, she decided to stop by and make the best of it. On Monday, her best friend on the show, Harry Smith, did the book chat.
"I was good for me to be able to show viewers that I was OK," she says.
Syler has never asked for the specifics on why Early Show let her go. In Good Enough Mother, she quotes CBS News president Sean McManus as saying, "This is the part of the job I hate . . . We're going to go in a different direction."
McManus then adds, "It's really hard for me to sit here and tell you this."
To which Syler says she rejoined, "Not as hard as it is for me to sit here and listen to you tell it."
One of her former colleagues, who's still co-anchoring Early Show, is Julie Chen, wife of CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves. This goes unmentioned in her book and during our interview (at least for publication). But draw your own conclusions as to who's sitting pretty.
"In that moment you're not thinking correctly," Syler says of the day she was shown the door. "So I didn't even challenge them. I guess the direction they wanted to go in was to add a news reader. So they had to subtract someone.
"It is what it is. In this business you get paid to roll with the punches. People don't remember you for how you came into a job as much as they do for how you went out. So it's really important for me to maintain a sense of dignity and class and grace about a situation that was very, very painful."
Her ongoing book tour and efforts to turn Good Enough Mother into a prime-time sitcom have kept her bouncy and bright. CBS passed on the idea last year, but a new effort is being made in partnership with Without a Trace star Anthony LaPaglia's Last Straw production company.
"I'm very optimistic about the book and about my future, even though I don't know what that holds," Syler says. "I just feel like the sun is shining brightly."
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., April 11)
04/12/07 09:56 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Padded but still ultra-potent, Wednesday night's one-hour American Idol results show again steamrollered all comers.
More importantly for Fox4, it helped propel the station's 9 p.m. local newscast to a strong second-place finish behind ABC's Lost but ahead of first-run episodes of CBS' CSI: NY and NBC's Medium.
Idol averaged 364,140 total homes in D-FW from 8 to 9 p.m., peaking in its final 15 minutes at 421,260. Fox4's following newscast managed to retain a bit more than half of the overall audience (197,540 homes).
Not quite in that league was the season-ending and possibly series-ending 7 p.m. episode of NBC's Friday Night Lights. The made-in-Austin Peabody award winner drew a puny 57,120 homes to finish a deflating sixth in its time period. By the way, the Dillon Panthers won the state football title with an improbable second-half comeback.
Three of Dallas' real-life major pro sports teams also were in action, with the Stars opening Stanley Cup play and losing in quadruple overtime to the Vancouver Canucks. The first three-and-ahalf-hours of the late night puck-off averaged 38,080 homes on Ch. 27.
Meanwhile, an earlier meaningless game between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves drew 121,380 homes on TXA21 while the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay (Fox Sports Southwest) managed 45,220 homes.
In the local news derby, two stations shared all the spoils.
Belo8 won at 10 p.m., and at 5 and 6 p.m., in homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 had twin wins at 6 a.m., with is homegrown Good Day also outdrawing the network morning shows across the board from 7 to 9 a.m.
The May sweeps, which begin on April 26, again are shaping up as too-close-to-call battles in the two marquee time slots -- 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Against all human logic, unclebarky.com again will have analyses of all 20 weeknight 10 p.m. newscasts. Then Uncle Barky will go into analysis.
Padded but still ultra-potent, Wednesday night's one-hour American Idol results show again steamrollered all comers.
More importantly for Fox4, it helped propel the station's 9 p.m. local newscast to a strong second-place finish behind ABC's Lost but ahead of first-run episodes of CBS' CSI: NY and NBC's Medium.
Idol averaged 364,140 total homes in D-FW from 8 to 9 p.m., peaking in its final 15 minutes at 421,260. Fox4's following newscast managed to retain a bit more than half of the overall audience (197,540 homes).
Not quite in that league was the season-ending and possibly series-ending 7 p.m. episode of NBC's Friday Night Lights. The made-in-Austin Peabody award winner drew a puny 57,120 homes to finish a deflating sixth in its time period. By the way, the Dillon Panthers won the state football title with an improbable second-half comeback.
Three of Dallas' real-life major pro sports teams also were in action, with the Stars opening Stanley Cup play and losing in quadruple overtime to the Vancouver Canucks. The first three-and-ahalf-hours of the late night puck-off averaged 38,080 homes on Ch. 27.
Meanwhile, an earlier meaningless game between the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves drew 121,380 homes on TXA21 while the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay (Fox Sports Southwest) managed 45,220 homes.
In the local news derby, two stations shared all the spoils.
Belo8 won at 10 p.m., and at 5 and 6 p.m., in homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 had twin wins at 6 a.m., with is homegrown Good Day also outdrawing the network morning shows across the board from 7 to 9 a.m.
The May sweeps, which begin on April 26, again are shaping up as too-close-to-call battles in the two marquee time slots -- 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Against all human logic, unclebarky.com again will have analyses of all 20 weeknight 10 p.m. newscasts. Then Uncle Barky will go into analysis.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., April 10
04/11/07 11:00 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Tuesday night's two back-to-back big draws again held serve in D-FW, with Fox's American Idol and ABC's Dancing with the Stars flexing against all competing programming.
Idol's performance hour as usual led the way, with 295,120 total homes and 176,700 advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds. Dancing's latest results show pounded out 273,700 homes to easily best Fox's competing House (204,680). But it was much closer among 18-to-49-year-olds, with Dancing drawing 124,000 of 'em while House had 108,500.
ABC's best performer in the 18-to-49 demo wasn't Dancing, but Boston Legal. The 9 p.m. melodrama bagged 155,000 advertiser faves in finishing a very respectable second to House.
Elsewhere in prime-time, the three cable news networks were filled with more blab about Don Imus and the revelation that Larry Birkhead is the fair-head pops of the late Anna Nicole Smith's baby girl.
In the marquee big mouth competition at 7 p.m., MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann edged Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor in total homes. But O'Reilly returned serve by whipping his arch nemesis among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
At 6 p.m., gasbag Chris Matthews' Hardball on MSNBC placed second in both measurements to self-important Shepard Smith's The Fox Report.
CNN won just once from 6 to 10 p.m., with Larry King Live placing first at 8 p.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds. But these are not imposing numbers. The night's biggest draw in the cable news universe, MSNBC's 9 p.m. Scarborough Country, attracted just 19,040 homes. The Texas Rangers-Tampa Bay game on Fox Sports Southwest in comparison drew 47,600 homes, making it a virtual American Idol in the cable leagues.
The local news derby went like this, with D-FW's four major competitors all starting to warm up for the April 26th start of the season-ending May "sweeps":
Belo8 won in homes at 10 p.m., but NBC5 took first place with 25-to-54-year-olds.
The two stations tied for the top spot in homes at 6 a.m., but Fox4 won among 25-to-54-year-olds. Belo8 easily swept the 5 and 6 p.m. news competitions in both measurements.
Also of note: CBS11's 4 p.m. local newscast placed a solid second to the first half-hour of The Oprah in homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds.
Tuesday night's two back-to-back big draws again held serve in D-FW, with Fox's American Idol and ABC's Dancing with the Stars flexing against all competing programming.
Idol's performance hour as usual led the way, with 295,120 total homes and 176,700 advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds. Dancing's latest results show pounded out 273,700 homes to easily best Fox's competing House (204,680). But it was much closer among 18-to-49-year-olds, with Dancing drawing 124,000 of 'em while House had 108,500.
ABC's best performer in the 18-to-49 demo wasn't Dancing, but Boston Legal. The 9 p.m. melodrama bagged 155,000 advertiser faves in finishing a very respectable second to House.
Elsewhere in prime-time, the three cable news networks were filled with more blab about Don Imus and the revelation that Larry Birkhead is the fair-head pops of the late Anna Nicole Smith's baby girl.
In the marquee big mouth competition at 7 p.m., MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann edged Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor in total homes. But O'Reilly returned serve by whipping his arch nemesis among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
At 6 p.m., gasbag Chris Matthews' Hardball on MSNBC placed second in both measurements to self-important Shepard Smith's The Fox Report.
CNN won just once from 6 to 10 p.m., with Larry King Live placing first at 8 p.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds. But these are not imposing numbers. The night's biggest draw in the cable news universe, MSNBC's 9 p.m. Scarborough Country, attracted just 19,040 homes. The Texas Rangers-Tampa Bay game on Fox Sports Southwest in comparison drew 47,600 homes, making it a virtual American Idol in the cable leagues.
The local news derby went like this, with D-FW's four major competitors all starting to warm up for the April 26th start of the season-ending May "sweeps":
Belo8 won in homes at 10 p.m., but NBC5 took first place with 25-to-54-year-olds.
The two stations tied for the top spot in homes at 6 a.m., but Fox4 won among 25-to-54-year-olds. Belo8 easily swept the 5 and 6 p.m. news competitions in both measurements.
Also of note: CBS11's 4 p.m. local newscast placed a solid second to the first half-hour of The Oprah in homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., April 9)
04/10/07 12:21 PM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
The Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers went head-to-head in prime-time Monday night. Which team you watched greatly depends on how old you are and, of course, whether you're a sports fan.
If you're an addled, gray-haired old-schooler like Mike Rhyner on The Ticket, you likely had the Rangers in view. If you're south of your mid-30s and think Lefty Grove is a trendy, liberal suburb, then the Mavs probably had your attention. Let's break down the two games into four basic food groups:
Total D-FW Homes
Mavs-Clippers (Fox Sports Southwest) -- 97,580
Rangers-Tampa Bay (Ch. 27) -- 59,500
18-to-34-Year-Olds
Mavs-Clippers -- 48,195
Rangers-Tampa Bay -- 17,672
18-to-49-Year-Olds
Mavs-Clippers -- 99,200
Rangers-Tampa Bay -- 24,800
55 Years and Older
Mavs-Clippers -- 27,200
Rangers-Tampa Bay -- 54,400
In the non-sports arena, the two-hour premiere of NBC's improvisational Thank God You're Here ran third overall in homes from 8 to 10 p.m. Notably, It beat Fox's 24 in both homes and with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds. ABC's Dancing with the Stars performance show again was the night's top draw in both measurements.
The return of CBS' The King of Queens with its 200th episode tied for first in homes at 8:30 p.m. with Thank God You're Here while placing second to the Peacock among 18-to-49-year-olds.
The local news derby went like this:
Belo 8 won in homes at 10 p.m. but ran second to NBC5 with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Those finishes were reversed at 6 a.m., with the Peacock on top in homes and Belo8 prevailing in the 25-to-54 demo.
Belo8 placed first in both measurements at 5 and 6 p.m.
The Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers went head-to-head in prime-time Monday night. Which team you watched greatly depends on how old you are and, of course, whether you're a sports fan.
If you're an addled, gray-haired old-schooler like Mike Rhyner on The Ticket, you likely had the Rangers in view. If you're south of your mid-30s and think Lefty Grove is a trendy, liberal suburb, then the Mavs probably had your attention. Let's break down the two games into four basic food groups:
Total D-FW Homes
Mavs-Clippers (Fox Sports Southwest) -- 97,580
Rangers-Tampa Bay (Ch. 27) -- 59,500
18-to-34-Year-Olds
Mavs-Clippers -- 48,195
Rangers-Tampa Bay -- 17,672
18-to-49-Year-Olds
Mavs-Clippers -- 99,200
Rangers-Tampa Bay -- 24,800
55 Years and Older
Mavs-Clippers -- 27,200
Rangers-Tampa Bay -- 54,400
In the non-sports arena, the two-hour premiere of NBC's improvisational Thank God You're Here ran third overall in homes from 8 to 10 p.m. Notably, It beat Fox's 24 in both homes and with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds. ABC's Dancing with the Stars performance show again was the night's top draw in both measurements.
The return of CBS' The King of Queens with its 200th episode tied for first in homes at 8:30 p.m. with Thank God You're Here while placing second to the Peacock among 18-to-49-year-olds.
The local news derby went like this:
Belo 8 won in homes at 10 p.m. but ran second to NBC5 with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Those finishes were reversed at 6 a.m., with the Peacock on top in homes and Belo8 prevailing in the 25-to-54 demo.
Belo8 placed first in both measurements at 5 and 6 p.m.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun, April 6-8)
04/09/07 10:12 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Lots o' sports events played hard during Easter weekend, with The Masters leading the charge while the Mavericks, Rangers and Stars each had multiple games. From top-to-bottom, here's the D-FW ratings recap in homes and with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds:
Sunday Masters (CBS11)
Homes -- 207,060
18-to-49 -- 151,900
Saturday Masters (CBS11)
Homes -- 135,660
18-to-49 -- 55,800
Mavericks-Nuggets (Fri., TXA21)
Homes -- 99,960
18-to-49 -- 83,700
Mavericks-Trailblazers (Sat., Fox Sports Southwest)
Homes -- 88,060
18-to-49 -- 89,900
Rangers-Red Sox (Sun., ESPN)
Homes -- 83,300
18-to-49 -- 49,600
Rangers-Red Sox (Sat., Ch. 27)
Homes -- 78,540
18-to-49 -- 34,100
Rangers-Red Sox (Fri. home opener, Fox4)
Homes -- 54,740
18-to-49 -- 34,100
Stars-Blackhawks (Sun., NBC5)
Homes -- 33,320
18-to-49 -- 21,700
Stars-Ducks (Fri., Fox Sports Southwest)
Homes -- 23,800
18-to-49 -- 34,100
The Sopranos' Sunday night return on HBO drew 45,220 homes in D-FW from 8 to 9 p.m., says Nielsen. That's a smaller audience than the Rangers had on ESPN, but a majority of homes still don't have HBO.
ABC's annual seasonal presentation of The Ten Commandments lacked almighty ratings Saturday night, finishing second in homes overall to CBS crime programming but winning among 18-to-49-year-olds.
In Friday's local news derby, NBC5 took the first place prize at 10 p.m. in homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Belo8 won at 6 a.m. in homes,, but Fox4 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds.
At 5 and 6 p.m., Belo8 won across the board.
Lots o' sports events played hard during Easter weekend, with The Masters leading the charge while the Mavericks, Rangers and Stars each had multiple games. From top-to-bottom, here's the D-FW ratings recap in homes and with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds:
Sunday Masters (CBS11)
Homes -- 207,060
18-to-49 -- 151,900
Saturday Masters (CBS11)
Homes -- 135,660
18-to-49 -- 55,800
Mavericks-Nuggets (Fri., TXA21)
Homes -- 99,960
18-to-49 -- 83,700
Mavericks-Trailblazers (Sat., Fox Sports Southwest)
Homes -- 88,060
18-to-49 -- 89,900
Rangers-Red Sox (Sun., ESPN)
Homes -- 83,300
18-to-49 -- 49,600
Rangers-Red Sox (Sat., Ch. 27)
Homes -- 78,540
18-to-49 -- 34,100
Rangers-Red Sox (Fri. home opener, Fox4)
Homes -- 54,740
18-to-49 -- 34,100
Stars-Blackhawks (Sun., NBC5)
Homes -- 33,320
18-to-49 -- 21,700
Stars-Ducks (Fri., Fox Sports Southwest)
Homes -- 23,800
18-to-49 -- 34,100
The Sopranos' Sunday night return on HBO drew 45,220 homes in D-FW from 8 to 9 p.m., says Nielsen. That's a smaller audience than the Rangers had on ESPN, but a majority of homes still don't have HBO.
ABC's annual seasonal presentation of The Ten Commandments lacked almighty ratings Saturday night, finishing second in homes overall to CBS crime programming but winning among 18-to-49-year-olds.
In Friday's local news derby, NBC5 took the first place prize at 10 p.m. in homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Belo8 won at 6 a.m. in homes,, but Fox4 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds.
At 5 and 6 p.m., Belo8 won across the board.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., April 5)
04/06/07 09:25 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
How important are the early morning shows to a D-FW station's profit picture?
Consider this: Despite finishing second in homes from 6 to 7 a.m. Thursday, NBC5's waker-upper had a larger audience (102,340 homes) than any of NBC's prime-time comedies that night. And none of them were repeats. The largest draw, Scrubs, lured 61,880 homes. The least-watched, Andy Barker, P.I., had 42,840 homes.
Add the fact that NBC5 collects all the ad revenue with homegrown programming, but only a smidgen from network fare.
Fox4, which narrowly won the early morning competition Thursday, is even more flush from 7 to 9 a.m. Its locally produced Good Day once again beat all the network morning shows. That's two hours worth of locally sold ads on Good Day compared to just a small "window" of local commercials airing during NBC's Today, ABC's Good Morning America and CBS' The Early Show.
In prime-time, Fox's biggest new hit, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, edged Survivor: Fiji and an Ugly Betty repeat in homes while thumping NBC's The Office and 30 Rock. Smarter also won among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds.
A special 10:30 p.m. episode of House, reprised after Fox4 wiped out Tuesday's prime-time hour with tornado warning coverage, drew a very smallish 38,080 homes. In contrast, Fox4's 6 to 7 a.m. portion of Good Day attracted 104,720 homes.
Over on Fox Sports Southwest, the prime-time puck-off between the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets had an ice cold .3 Nielsen rating (7,140 homes).
The local news derby went like this:
CBS11 made a rare trip to the winner's circle at 10 p.m., narrowly beating NBC5 and Belo8 in homes after capitalizing on a decent lead-in from a new episode of CBS' preceding Shark. But the Peacock handily prevailed with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 won at 6 a.m. in both ratings measurements, with Belo8 doing likewise at 5 p.m.
Belo8 and NBC5 split first place finishes at 6 p.m., with the ABC stations tops in homes and the Peacock winning among 25-to-54-year-olds.
How important are the early morning shows to a D-FW station's profit picture?
Consider this: Despite finishing second in homes from 6 to 7 a.m. Thursday, NBC5's waker-upper had a larger audience (102,340 homes) than any of NBC's prime-time comedies that night. And none of them were repeats. The largest draw, Scrubs, lured 61,880 homes. The least-watched, Andy Barker, P.I., had 42,840 homes.
Add the fact that NBC5 collects all the ad revenue with homegrown programming, but only a smidgen from network fare.
Fox4, which narrowly won the early morning competition Thursday, is even more flush from 7 to 9 a.m. Its locally produced Good Day once again beat all the network morning shows. That's two hours worth of locally sold ads on Good Day compared to just a small "window" of local commercials airing during NBC's Today, ABC's Good Morning America and CBS' The Early Show.
In prime-time, Fox's biggest new hit, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, edged Survivor: Fiji and an Ugly Betty repeat in homes while thumping NBC's The Office and 30 Rock. Smarter also won among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds.
A special 10:30 p.m. episode of House, reprised after Fox4 wiped out Tuesday's prime-time hour with tornado warning coverage, drew a very smallish 38,080 homes. In contrast, Fox4's 6 to 7 a.m. portion of Good Day attracted 104,720 homes.
Over on Fox Sports Southwest, the prime-time puck-off between the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets had an ice cold .3 Nielsen rating (7,140 homes).
The local news derby went like this:
CBS11 made a rare trip to the winner's circle at 10 p.m., narrowly beating NBC5 and Belo8 in homes after capitalizing on a decent lead-in from a new episode of CBS' preceding Shark. But the Peacock handily prevailed with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 won at 6 a.m. in both ratings measurements, with Belo8 doing likewise at 5 p.m.
Belo8 and NBC5 split first place finishes at 6 p.m., with the ABC stations tops in homes and the Peacock winning among 25-to-54-year-olds.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., April 4)
04/05/07 11:32 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Potential viewers mostly kept their distance from TV sets Wednesday, with Fox's American Idol the only attraction to flex a double-digit rating for the entire broadcast day.
Idol's 14.1 Nielsen rating amounts to 335,580 homes in the D-FW viewing area. Wednesday's next biggest attraction, Fox's post-Idol sitcom 'Til Death, had an 8.5 rating (202,300 homes).
In contrast, Wednesday afternoon's Rangers-Angels game on Fox Sports Southwest lured just 11,900 homes. That's otherwise known as a pimple on a Dallas Cowboys game's behind.
In the local news derby, Belo8 again scored twin wins at 10 p.m. in homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 rang up a victory in homes at 6 a.m. and tied for first in the 25-54 demo with Belo8.
Spoils were divided at 5 and 6 p.m. Belo8 was tops in total homes but NBC5 had a pair of firsts with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Fox4's homegrown Good Day had another strong showing from 7 to 9 a.m., beating all of the network morning shows in both ratings measurements.
Potential viewers mostly kept their distance from TV sets Wednesday, with Fox's American Idol the only attraction to flex a double-digit rating for the entire broadcast day.
Idol's 14.1 Nielsen rating amounts to 335,580 homes in the D-FW viewing area. Wednesday's next biggest attraction, Fox's post-Idol sitcom 'Til Death, had an 8.5 rating (202,300 homes).
In contrast, Wednesday afternoon's Rangers-Angels game on Fox Sports Southwest lured just 11,900 homes. That's otherwise known as a pimple on a Dallas Cowboys game's behind.
In the local news derby, Belo8 again scored twin wins at 10 p.m. in homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 rang up a victory in homes at 6 a.m. and tied for first in the 25-54 demo with Belo8.
Spoils were divided at 5 and 6 p.m. Belo8 was tops in total homes but NBC5 had a pair of firsts with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Fox4's homegrown Good Day had another strong showing from 7 to 9 a.m., beating all of the network morning shows in both ratings measurements.
D-FW's port of call: CBS11 invests heavily in talent
from other D-FW stations.
04/04/07 03:26 PM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Often deemed expendable by rival local stations, they've rekindled their TV news careers at CBS11.
This week's hiring of former Belo8 anchor Scott Sams makes it a baker's dozen of on-camera expatriates who have found themselves feeling wanted again. No other D-FW station comes close in this particular province.
"He's very, very excited about this opportunity . . . He's in a good place now," CBS11 president and general manager Steve Mauldin says of Sams' reportedly fragile mental makeup during his last years with Belo8. "This was not an act of desperation on our part."
Sams, who begins co-anchoring CBS11's early morning newscasts on April 23, spent nearly 20 years at Belo8 before being dumped in September 2004. He's spent the last year as the featured news anchor at little KTEN-TV, which serves Sherman-Denison. Now he'll have a chance to both work in a Top 10 market again and compete against a station that he sued for allegedly firing him without just cause. Both sides claimed victory after Sams won a judgment earlier this year.
"It's a big market, a good place to live and a lot of people want to stay here," Mauldin says in an interview with unclebarky.com. "That's part of it. But I don't think these people are castoffs or second-handers either. They're first-team players."
A majority of the 13 were hired before Mauldin began running the shows at CBS11 and sister station TXA21 in February 2003. But he's also renewed the contracts of some staffers who previously segued from other D-FW stations.
"It's not premeditated," Mauldin says. "It's not part of the game plan. There are people that wanted to come over here that I haven't hired. I'd like to think that this is a good place to work."
CBS11 didn't launch its 10 p.m. newscasts until 1995, when it first became a network affiliate after roughly four decades as an independent station. Suddenly there were plenty of openings in the news department.
"We're the youngest of the news stations," Mauldin says. ""I think that's the other factor."
Sams will be reunited with a number of former Belo8 colleagues, including Tracy Rowlett, Kristine Kahanek, Robert Riggs and Mary Stewart. But the CBS11 roster also includes seasoned newsies from Fox4 and NBC5. Besides Sams, here's a thumbnail look at the rest of the roster:
Stephanie Lucero -- Steady, capable street reporter joined CBS11 in 1997. Formerly of Fox4.
Tracy Rowlett -- Cut ties as Belo8's longtime mainstay anchor to sign on with CBS11 in 1999. Recently stepped down from 10 p.m. newscasts and now is co-anchoring 5 and 6 p.m. programs on the road to a planned retirement in July of next year.
Mike Burger -- Formerly of Fox4, the veteran weathercaster has been filling in and working weekends at CBS11 since 2000.
Mary Stewart -- The durable cancer survivor joined CBS11 in 2000 after working hard for the money at Belo8.
Bud Gillett -- Solid as they come, he's up for any story after CBS11 claimed him in 2001. Formerly of Fox4, where he gave it his all for two decades
Clif Caldwell -- Ex-NBC5 nightbeat streetwalker has been anchoring and reporting at CBS11 since 2001.
Robert Riggs -- Dogged investigative reporter brought his spyglass to CBS11 in 2002 after a long career at Belo8.
Kristine Kahanek -- Former Belo8 weathercaster has been the featured temperature taker at CBS11 since 2002.
Gina Miller -- Sports anchor/reporter splits time between CBS11 and TXA21 after coming on board in 2005. Used to be with Belo8.
Pam Harris -- Part-time reporter joined CBS11 in 2005 after working for both Belo8 and NBC5.
Teresa Frosini -- She won a contest to be a backup traffic reporter for NBC5. Now is the featured traffic cop at CBS11, where she arrived in 2006.
Carol Cavazos -- Ex-shortterm Belo8 reporter has been with CBS11 for the past several months as a part-time reporter whom the station plans to hire full-time.
"You know what my comment on that is?" Mauldin asks after the names are ticked off to him. "Sounds like an all-star roster to me."
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., April 3)
04/04/07 10:16 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Stormy weather largely obliterated a pair of hit 8 p.m. shows Tuesday night, but D-FW viewers stayed tuned anyway while likely cursing an Arlington area "tornado warning" that later fizzled.
Ratings for Fox's House and ABC's Dancing with the Stars results show increased slightly from the previous Tuesday, when they ran intact.
Dancing and Pete Delkus' colorful weather maps drew 321,300 homes, up from 302,260 the previous week. House and Dan Henry's colorful weather maps drew 242,760 homes, up from 240,380.
Fox's American Idol, which skated through uninterrupted, again was the night's biggest draw, with 364,140 homes. The performance edition also dominated as usual with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, luring 244,900 of 'em. (Note: Each rating point has been upgraded to equal 31,000 viewers in the 18-to-49 demo. Idol had a 7.9 rating Tuesday among 18-to-49-year-olds.)
In a latenight battle of two Dallas pro sports franchises, the Mavericks on TXA21 crunched the Rangers on Ch. 27.
The Mavs' hardfought, Dirk-less road win over the Sacramento Kings averaged 171,360 homes and easily was the most-watched TV attraction in town after the local 10 p.m. newscasts ended. The Rangers' second straight road loss to the Angels drew 54,740 homes and was watched by fewer viewers than CW33's 10 p.m. to midnight repeats of Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends and Sex & the City.
At 6:30 p.m., the once-dominant Wheel of Fortune is still winning in total homes on CBS11. But it ran a profit-draining fifth Tuesday among 18-to-49-year-olds, even losing to a King of Queens repeat on TXA21.
The local news derby went like this:
Belo8 won handily at 10 p.m. in both homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. The ABC station also had twin wins at 5 and 6 p.m.
Fox4 returned to the winner's circle at 6 a.m. with first place finishes in both ratings measurements.
Stormy weather largely obliterated a pair of hit 8 p.m. shows Tuesday night, but D-FW viewers stayed tuned anyway while likely cursing an Arlington area "tornado warning" that later fizzled.
Ratings for Fox's House and ABC's Dancing with the Stars results show increased slightly from the previous Tuesday, when they ran intact.
Dancing and Pete Delkus' colorful weather maps drew 321,300 homes, up from 302,260 the previous week. House and Dan Henry's colorful weather maps drew 242,760 homes, up from 240,380.
Fox's American Idol, which skated through uninterrupted, again was the night's biggest draw, with 364,140 homes. The performance edition also dominated as usual with advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, luring 244,900 of 'em. (Note: Each rating point has been upgraded to equal 31,000 viewers in the 18-to-49 demo. Idol had a 7.9 rating Tuesday among 18-to-49-year-olds.)
In a latenight battle of two Dallas pro sports franchises, the Mavericks on TXA21 crunched the Rangers on Ch. 27.
The Mavs' hardfought, Dirk-less road win over the Sacramento Kings averaged 171,360 homes and easily was the most-watched TV attraction in town after the local 10 p.m. newscasts ended. The Rangers' second straight road loss to the Angels drew 54,740 homes and was watched by fewer viewers than CW33's 10 p.m. to midnight repeats of Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends and Sex & the City.
At 6:30 p.m., the once-dominant Wheel of Fortune is still winning in total homes on CBS11. But it ran a profit-draining fifth Tuesday among 18-to-49-year-olds, even losing to a King of Queens repeat on TXA21.
The local news derby went like this:
Belo8 won handily at 10 p.m. in both homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. The ABC station also had twin wins at 5 and 6 p.m.
Fox4 returned to the winner's circle at 6 a.m. with first place finishes in both ratings measurements.
Gotta sing, gotta dance, gotta watch: special D-FW
tornado scare edition (April 3)
04/03/07 09:20 PM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
Belo8 weatherman Pete Delkus knew he was playing with fire -- and rain.
All four of D-FW's major TV news providers broke into prime-time programming shortly after 8:15 p.m. Tuesday to present extended and sometimes rather breathless coverage of a tornado warning near Arlington. But Delkus also had ABC's live Dancing with the Stars results show on his radar.
"I don't want anyone to take this too lightly," Delkus said at 8:30 p.m. as his weather map showed an angry red/purple buildup over Arlington. "I know that we have a very popular show on ABC right now."
You can bet that Belo8's switchboards got flooded, even if no operators were on duty. So Delkus had to tap-dance a bit as the winds, hail and rain dissipated before his watchful eyes.
"I appreciate your understanding," he said as Belo8's Dancing preemption neared 8:45 p.m. He was referring to the many viewers sitting high and dry in their living rooms while heavy rains quickly spat and moved on elsewhere. "I appreciate your consideration of others."
Stations understandably are obligated to break in for tornado warnings, and Delkus said there was one in effect for Tarrant County until 9:15 p.m. But weather watchers on the ground didn't seem quite as anxious as the viewing area's four fearless forecasters. Delkus gets especially grave whenever the weather kicks up.
He spoke of "potentially deadly hail" falling in some locations and warned of "a tornado that may be on the ground right now" in the Arlington area.
But a minute or two later, Arlington resident David Willbanks told the station by phone that "right now the rain is pretty much dissipated." Also, what looked to be a funnel cloud had gone away, he said.
Fox4, NBC5 and CBS11 also were starting to downplay the storm activity, but it had gotten too late to save respective firstrun episodes of House, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and The Unit. By 8:50 p.m. the tornado warning officially was canceled after Energy Management Administrator Irish Hancock told Delkus and Belo8 anchor John McCaa, "Nothing significant seems to have been reported to us."
Belo8 finally returned to Dancing at 8:52 p.m., in plenty of time for viewers to see celebrities Leeza Gibbons and Shandi Finnessey in the show's Bottom Two before the latter got voted off. NBC5 and CBS11 stayed with weather coverage until 9 p.m. rather than return to filmed dramas that already had been ruined for their viewers. Fox4 dropped back in for the last minute or two of House, only making matters worse.
So did the stations overreact? After the fact it's always easy to say they did. And it doesn't help their cases when all four have recent track records of looking like idiots during those annual "Arctic Blast" follies.
Belo8 easily could have opted out of weather coverage a few minutes earlier. But at that point everybody is covering their asses by reminding viewers what a horrible situation this could have been, but luckily wasn't. Realistically, you can't just say, "Whoops." Plus, imagine the outcry if Belo8 had stayed with Dancing while a tornado in fact was tearing through Arlington. So yes, these can be tough calls.
The ABC station, to its credit, initially went to Delkus only during commercial breaks, allowing Dancing fans to see the first 15 minutes of the show intact. After that, Delkus, Fox4's Dan Henry, NBC5's David Finfrock and CBS11's Kristine Kahanek kicked into full-blown, bad-storm-rising mode. And once they get started . . .
***Earlier Tuesday night, Fox4 fortunately didn't have to make an even tougher choice -- whether to preempt a live performance edition of American Idol.
Legendary Tony Bennett "coached" this time, with all those kids who otherwise never listen to him bowing to his greatness.
It's looking as though Sleepy Time Phil Stacey will be the next contestant to take the gas pipe. His performance of "Night and Day" had Simon Cowell enthusing, "I think it had all the joy of someone singing in a funeral parlor."
Much-maligned Sanjaya Malakar looked slick in "singing" Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek." He also danced with a typically dazed Paula Abdul, who then cooed, "I get why people love you."
Cowell doesn't, but was willing to offer unequivocal praise in hopes of getting Sanjaya out of his hair.
"Let's try a different tactic this week," he said. "Uh, incredible!"
Host Ryan Seacrest also let it be known that inaugural Idol champ Kelly Clarkson of Burleson will be performing live on the show's April 25th Idol Gives Back charity extravaganza. It will be her first trip back to a show that she's pretty much ignored since becoming a big pop star in her own right and on her own terms.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., April 2)
04/03/07 09:48 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
CBS' "Big Dance" finale vs. ABC's ballroom dancing. Let's break it down.
Overall, a 1 hour, 45 min. edition of Dancing with the Stars drew 273,700 homes in D-FW to outpoint the NCAA basketball final between Florida and Ohio State (257,040 homes). During their brief head-to-head competition, though, it was no contest.
Dancing lured 314,160 homes in its final half-hour (8:15 to 8:45 p.m.). Florida-Ohio State, which tipped off at about 8:20 p.m., had 190,400 homes in that half-hour.
The ABC competition also beat basketball head-to-head among advertiser-courted 18-to-49-year-olds. But as expected, the gender matchup was a blowout. Here are the respective numbers during the 8:15 to 8:45 p.m. time period.
18-to-49-Year-Old Women
Dancing with the Stars -- 161,046
NCAA Basketball Final -- 36,895
18-to-49-Year-Old Men
Dancing with the Stars -- 29,830
NCAA Basketball Final -- 77,715
The championship game then cleaned up against the premiere of ABC's The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentlemen, beating it handily in total homes and among all 18-to-49-year-olds. Still, appreciably more women in that age group watched The Bachelor instead of basketball. That's classic counterprogramming by ABC.
Monday's second season finale of Fox's Prison Break, filmed entirely in North Texas, finished fourth in total homes from 7 to 8 p.m. It fared the same with 18-to-49-year-olds.
On Ch. 27, the Texas Rangers' opening night road loss to the Angels averaged 59,500 homes to finish an overall 7th against an amalgam of sports, news and entertainment programming. The game's closing innings couldn't even beat an 11 p.m. to midnight pair of South Park repeats on Ch. 21.
The local news derby went like this:
Belo8 took first at 10 p.m. in homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
NBC5 won at 6 a.m. in homes, but Belo8 and Fox4 shared the lead in the 25-to-54 demo.
Belo8 won in both measurements at 6 p.m. and also finished first at 5 p.m. in homes. The Peacock topped the 5 p.m. ratings among 25-to-54-year-olds.
CBS' "Big Dance" finale vs. ABC's ballroom dancing. Let's break it down.
Overall, a 1 hour, 45 min. edition of Dancing with the Stars drew 273,700 homes in D-FW to outpoint the NCAA basketball final between Florida and Ohio State (257,040 homes). During their brief head-to-head competition, though, it was no contest.
Dancing lured 314,160 homes in its final half-hour (8:15 to 8:45 p.m.). Florida-Ohio State, which tipped off at about 8:20 p.m., had 190,400 homes in that half-hour.
The ABC competition also beat basketball head-to-head among advertiser-courted 18-to-49-year-olds. But as expected, the gender matchup was a blowout. Here are the respective numbers during the 8:15 to 8:45 p.m. time period.
18-to-49-Year-Old Women
Dancing with the Stars -- 161,046
NCAA Basketball Final -- 36,895
18-to-49-Year-Old Men
Dancing with the Stars -- 29,830
NCAA Basketball Final -- 77,715
The championship game then cleaned up against the premiere of ABC's The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentlemen, beating it handily in total homes and among all 18-to-49-year-olds. Still, appreciably more women in that age group watched The Bachelor instead of basketball. That's classic counterprogramming by ABC.
Monday's second season finale of Fox's Prison Break, filmed entirely in North Texas, finished fourth in total homes from 7 to 8 p.m. It fared the same with 18-to-49-year-olds.
On Ch. 27, the Texas Rangers' opening night road loss to the Angels averaged 59,500 homes to finish an overall 7th against an amalgam of sports, news and entertainment programming. The game's closing innings couldn't even beat an 11 p.m. to midnight pair of South Park repeats on Ch. 21.
The local news derby went like this:
Belo8 took first at 10 p.m. in homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
NBC5 won at 6 a.m. in homes, but Belo8 and Fox4 shared the lead in the 25-to-54 demo.
Belo8 won in both measurements at 6 p.m. and also finished first at 5 p.m. in homes. The Peacock topped the 5 p.m. ratings among 25-to-54-year-olds.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., March 30
to April 1)
04/02/07 09:52 AM Ed Bark |Permalink
By ED BARK
On a beautiful spring Sunday, only Desperate Housewives drew more homes in D-FW than the Dallas Mavericks' lopsided loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Then again, no program lured more advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds than the Mavs-Suns on ABC.
The game attracted 209,440 homes, second only to DH's 223,720. But with the audience that networks and advertisers cultivate, the Mavs-Suns scored 156,000 in the 18-to-49 age range, with runnerup DH at 132,000.
Hoops also rang up nice numbers on Saturday, with CBS dominating from 5 to 10 p.m. with its Final Four NCAA basketball tournament pairings.
Ohio State and Georgetown drew 171,360 homes and 123,000 viewers in the 18-49 demo. The day's second matchup, Florida and UCLA, lured 185,640 homes and 117,000 in the 18-49 group.
A very rainy Friday helped to boost the numbers of Fox4's 9 p.m. newscast, TXA21's 7 to 9 p.m. news and Belo8's 5 and 6 p.m. news.
Fox4 outpointed all competing network prime-time programming at 9 p.m. in both homes and among 18-to-49-year-olds.
The 8 to 9 p.m. portion of TXA21's newscast beat ABC's firstrun episode of Six Degrees in homes and tied for second place in the time period among 18-to-49-year-olds, behind only CBS' Close to Home
Belo8's 6 p.m. news was Friday's most-watched program in total homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds. In fact it attracted more homes -- 221,340 -- than Sunday's Mavs-Suns game.
Also of note: The 8 p.m. Friday episode of Fox's new The Wedding Bells won its time period in D-FW among 18-to-49-year-old women, even improving on a House lead-in. But the show of course bombed with 18-to-49-year-old men, finishing seventh from 8 to 9 p.m.
Friday's 10 p.m. news battles gave Belo8 a win in homes and a tie for first place with NBC5 among 25-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The Peacock took the top spot at 6 a.m. in homes but placed second to Belo8 with 25-to-54-year-olds. Belo8 had easy wins in both ratings measurements at 5 and 6 p.m.
On a beautiful spring Sunday, only Desperate Housewives drew more homes in D-FW than the Dallas Mavericks' lopsided loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Then again, no program lured more advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds than the Mavs-Suns on ABC.
The game attracted 209,440 homes, second only to DH's 223,720. But with the audience that networks and advertisers cultivate, the Mavs-Suns scored 156,000 in the 18-to-49 age range, with runnerup DH at 132,000.
Hoops also rang up nice numbers on Saturday, with CBS dominating from 5 to 10 p.m. with its Final Four NCAA basketball tournament pairings.
Ohio State and Georgetown drew 171,360 homes and 123,000 viewers in the 18-49 demo. The day's second matchup, Florida and UCLA, lured 185,640 homes and 117,000 in the 18-49 group.
A very rainy Friday helped to boost the numbers of Fox4's 9 p.m. newscast, TXA21's 7 to 9 p.m. news and Belo8's 5 and 6 p.m. news.
Fox4 outpointed all competing network prime-time programming at 9 p.m. in both homes and among 18-to-49-year-olds.
The 8 to 9 p.m. portion of TXA21's newscast beat ABC's firstrun episode of Six Degrees in homes and tied for second place in the time period among 18-to-49-year-olds, behind only CBS' Close to Home
Belo8's 6 p.m. news was Friday's most-watched program in total homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds. In fact it attracted more homes -- 221,340 -- than Sunday's Mavs-Suns game.
Also of note: The 8 p.m. Friday episode of Fox's new The Wedding Bells won its time period in D-FW among 18-to-49-year-old women, even improving on a House lead-in. But the show of course bombed with 18-to-49-year-old men, finishing seventh from 8 to 9 p.m.
Friday's 10 p.m. news battles gave Belo8 a win in homes and a tie for first place with NBC5 among 25-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The Peacock took the top spot at 6 a.m. in homes but placed second to Belo8 with 25-to-54-year-olds. Belo8 had easy wins in both ratings measurements at 5 and 6 p.m.