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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., April 29) -- bombs away with Celebrity Wife Swap

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Lead-ins still matter. Case in point: the final hour of prime-time in Tuesday’s D-FW Nielsen ratings.

While CBS11 high-fived its network’s Person of Interest, WFAA8 management may well have given some one-finger salutes to ABC’s Celebrity Wife Swap.

Person of Interest easily won at 9 p.m. in total viewers with 276,951. CBS11’s 10 p.m. local newscast then held enough of that audience -- 205,938 viewers -- to comfortably beat its rivals.

Wife Swap ran fourth in its time slot with just 63,911 viewers. WFAA8’s 10 p.m. newscast inflated to 106,520 viewers, but remained last in the news derby behind CBS11, NBC5 and Fox4.

CBS11 again came up a pauper with 25-to-54-year-olds, dropping from first to fourth among the main advertiser targets for news programming. Fox4 won that battle, with NBC5 second and WFAA8 third.

It was WFAA8’s first loss in the 25-to-54 demographic after first-place finishes at 10 p.m. for the first three weekdays of the ongoing May “sweeps” ratings period. A dose of Wife Swap can do that to you. But on Monday night, WFAA8 enjoyed a nice-sized 9 p.m. lead-in from ABC’s Castle while CBS11’s late night news suffered in the wake of a dismal ratings performance by its network’s Person of Interest repeat.

So ends unclebarky.com’s latest treatise on the value of solid support from your network, particularly when 10 p.m. ratings supremacy is at stake. Whatever brand loyalty exists usually fights a losing battle when the preceding program is the equivalent of halitosis in a kissing booth.

In contrast, CBS’ new episode of NCIS again drew Tuesday’s biggest crowd with 433,179 viewers in the 7 p.m. hour. The network’s NCIS: Los Angeles then won its 8 p.m. slot with 376,369 viewers. Among 18-to-49-year-olds, the key target audience for entertainment programming, NBC’s The Voice won the 7 p.m. hour before ABC’s The Goldbergs ran first from 8 to 8:30 p.m.

The second half-hour of NCIS: Los Angeles and Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast were tops with 18-to-49-year-olds from 8:30 to 10 p.m.

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

NBC5 had the most total viewers at 6 a.m., but Fox4 edged the Peacock among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 swept the 5 p.m. competitions and NBC5 did likewise at 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., April 28) -- Mavs rule in prime-time/late-night

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Dallas Mavericks’ tough-to-take loss to San Antonio spurred Monday’s D-FW Nielsen ratings from start to finish.

Viewers chose TXA21’s homegrown telecast over TNT’s national presentation for Game 4 of the teams’ NBA playoff series, which now is tied at 2-2.

Running from 8:48 to 11:27 p.m., the Mavs’ 93-89 loss -- after once trailing by 20 -- averaged 276,951 viewers on TXA21 and 198,836 on TNT.

Among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, TXA21 reversed the order of finish for Game 3 by drawing 149,808 viewers in this age range compared to TNT’s 133,525.

The respective two-network totals of 475,787 viewers and 283,333 in the 18-to-49 demographic easily surpassed Monday’s second most potent TV attraction. NBC’s 7 to 9 p.m. edition of The Voice was the runner-up with 333,761 total viewers and 175,862 in the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Over on Fox Sports Southwest, the Texas Rangers’ listless 4-0 home loss to Oakland drew just 85,216 total viewers. Only 19,540 of them were 18-to-49-year-olds.

In Monday’s four-way local news derby results, WFAA8 dominated the 10 p.m. competitions in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 ran the table at 6 a.m. and added twin wins at 5 p.m. Both of the 6 p.m. golds went to NBC5.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., April 25-27) -- a fist pump and a gut punch from Mavs/Stars

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Dallas Mavericks’ buzzer beater heroics early Saturday evening were countered by the Dallas Stars’ elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs Sunday night during a big weekend of sports doings.

The Texas Rangers also played three games, blowing two of them in the late innings at Seattle, while the Stars set up their downfall with Friday’s lopsided road loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Let’s chart the numbers in both total D-FW viewers and advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds. (We’ve factored the actual running times into all of these Nielsen numbers to get the most accurate totals.)

Total Viewers

Rangers-Mariners, Fri. night on TXA21 -- 149,127
Stars-Ducks, Fri. night on Fox Sports Southwest -- 71,013
Mavs-Spurs, Sat. afternoon/evening on TXA21 (170,431) and TNT (85,216)
Rangers-Mariners, Sat. night on FSS -- 134,925
Rangers-Mariners, Sun. afternoon/evening on FSS -- 149,127
Stars-Ducks, Sun. night on FSS -- 127,823

18-to-49-Year-Olds

Rangers-Mariners, Fri. night on TXA21 -- 55,364
Stars-Ducks, Fri. night on FSS -- 58,621
Mavs-Spurs, Sat. afternoon/evening on TXA21 (48,851) and TNT (58,621)
Rangers-Mariners, Sat. night on FSS -- 42,337
Rangers-Mariners, Sun. afternoon/evening on FSS -- 55,364
Stars-Ducks, Sun. night on FSS -- 81,418

Comments: TXA21’s homegrown call of the Mavs-Spurs game easily had more total viewers than TNT’s. But the cable network attracted more “desirable” 18-to-49-year-olds. Sunday night’s season-ending overtime Stars loss, after they gave up a tying goal in the last half-minute, fell short of all three Rangers games in total viewers. But well more than half the viewers were in the 18-to-49 range, giving the Stars a decided edge in this key demographic.

In other weekend ratings results, CBS’ 60 Minutes led all Sunday programming in total viewers with 255,647. The 18-to-49 crowns went to ABC’s Once Upon a Time and Resurrection, with 84,674 apiece.

Friday night’s champs were CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 in total viewers (276,951) and Fox4’s 9 p.m local newscast with 18-to-49-year-olds (84,674).

Here are the four-way local news derby results on the second weekday of the May “sweeps” ratings period.

CBS11 ran first in total viewers at 10 p.m., but WFAA8 had the edge among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

WFAA8 added sweeps of the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions. At 6 a.m., NBC5 had the most total viewers while Fox4 nipped the Peacock among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., April 24) -- "sweeps" start with two new series in play

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
A pair of new prime-time series dawned while D-FW’s four major local TV news operations jockeyed for position on Thursday’s first day of the four-week May “sweeps” ratings competition.

ABC’s loopy medical drama, Black Box, fell off sharply from its Grey’s Anatomy lead-in while CBS’ Bad Teacher came closer to getting a passing grade.

Let’s start from the beginning, with a first-run 7 p.m. episode of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory again a dominant force in both total viewers (433,179) and advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds (153,065).

CBS’ The Millers then fell to less than half of Big Bang’s audience in both ratings measurements but still won its 7:30 p.m. slot.

Grey’s Anatomy took over at 8 p.m. with the hour’s top marks in total viewers (241,444) and 18-to-49-year-olds (123,755). Bad Teacher, airing at 8:30 p.m., ran second across the board and drew more 18-to-49-year-olds than The Millers or Fox’s 8 p.m. American Idol results show.

CBS’ Elementary won at 9 p.m. in total viewers and nipped Fox4’s local newscast in the 18-to-49 demographic. Black Box, with 142,026 total viewers and just 26,054 in the 18-to-49 age range, respectively finished third and fourth.

NBC’s one-hour season finale of Parks and Recreation, which has been renewed for next season, ran fifth among 18-to-49-year-olds in the 7 p.m. hour. CW’s competing The Vampire Diaries showed up big -- for a little network -- with third-place finishes from 7 to 8 p.m. in both ratings measurements.

The first day of the sweeps was a day like any other for KTXD-TV’s (Ch. 47) locally produced The Broadcast. The 9 to 11 a.m. edition and its 4 to 6 p.m. repeat again registered “hashmarks” (no measurable audience) in all ratings barometers.

Here are the local news derby results.

Despite little help from Black Box, WFAA8 won at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming). NBC5 lagged in last place with an even worse lead-in from NBC’s two-hour collection of short films from Saturday Night Live.

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions and added a 5 p.m. win with 25-to-54-year-olds. The station tied NBC5 for the most viewers at 5 p.m.

The 6 p.m. golds went to CBS11 in total viewers and WFAA8 in the 25-to-54 demographic.

CW33’s locally originated Eye Opener continued to show surprising strength among 25-to-54-year-olds in its 5 a.m. hour before dozing off in the ratings from 6 to 8 a.m. Eye Opener outdrew every station except Fox4 from 5 to 5:30 a.m. and also beat the WFAA8 and CBS11 waker-uppers from 5:30 to 5:45 a.m. in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., April 23) -- Mavs vs. Stars on momentous sports night

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars went toe-to-toe Wednesday night in post-season games that essentially were must-wins for both teams.

The Mavs routed the San Antonio Spurs on their home court to even their series at 1-1 while the Stars overcame a 2-0 deficit on home ice to knock off the Anaheim Ducks and square their series at 2-2. Woo hoo times two.

Now let’s take a look at their respective D-FW ratings pictures, with each contest starting at 7:10 p.m. Mavs-Spurs ended at 9:33 p.m. and Stars-Ducks lingered until 9:48 p.m. So the Nielsen Media Research data will count their final quarter-hours in full -- 9:30 to 9:45 and 9:45 to 10 -- even though the viewing numbers obviously tailed off once the final buzzers had sounded.

TXA21 had exclusive coverage of the Mavs, with NBA TV contractually prohibited from carrying the game in this market. An average of 241,444 D-FW viewers tuned in, with a peak audience of 340,862 between 9 and 9:15 p.m.

Fox Sports Southwest carried the Stars game, which averaged 63,912 viewers with a high of 142,026 for the closing minutes and post-game coverage.

Among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, the Mavs averaged 120,498 viewers and the Stars, 32,567.

The Texas Rangers also had a big day, sweeping the Oakland A’s on their home field via another shutout gem from starter Martin Perez. Daytime hours kept the TV crowd way down, with the Rangers drawing just 56,810 viewers on FSS. A scant 6,513 were within the 18-to-49 age range.

Wednesday’s 7 to 8 p.m. portion of Fox’s American Idol beat Mavs-Spurs in total viewers before the game took over as prime-time’s top draw from 8 to 9:30 p.m. The second half of Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast then became prime-time’s most-watched attraction. The order of finish was the same among 18-to-49-year-olds.

On the eve of the May “sweeps” ratings period, here’s how the four-way local news derby races played out.

WFAA8 ran first at 10 p.m. in total viewers, but Fox4 took the top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.

At 6 a.m., WFAA8 edged the usual kingpin, Fox4, in total viewers. Fox4 won by a comfortable margin in the 25-to-54 demographic.

NBC5 remained strong in the early evening, sweeping the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions in both ratings measurements.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., April 22) -- everyone's a winner except ABC

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Absent competition from a new episode of NCIS, NBC’s The Voice racked up Tuesday’s biggest ratings scores.

The weekly 7 p.m. results hour drew 355,065 D-FW viewers, with 169,348 of them in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old hot spot.

CBS’ repeat of NCIS: Los Angeles won at 8 p.m. in total viewers, but new episodes of NBC’s About a Boy and Growing Up Fisher were the 18-to-49 prizewinners.

Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast then ran first in both ratings measurements. ABC’s only sign of life was a new 7 p.m. episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which ran third in total viewers ahead of Fox’s first-run Glee and moved up to second at that hour with 18-to-49-year-olds.

In post-primetime hours, a Late Show guest appearance by Stephen Colbert, who will replace David Letterman as host sometime next year, could not pull CBS out of its third-place rut behind NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. But Tonight’s victory margin was much skimpier than usual, with all three shows in first-run mode.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results.

CBS11 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while WFAA8 nipped Fox4 for the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions. NBC5 flexed in the early evening, routing the competition in both measurements at 5 p.m. and winning by lesser margins at 6 p.m.

WFAA8 continued to struggle mightily with both its 4 and 5 p.m. newscasts, which ran far behind in fourth place behind NBC5, Fox4 and CBS11. The canceled Katie isn’t helping, playing out the string at 3 p.m. with dismal numbers. Absent a viable lead-in, WFAA8’s newscasts are paying the price. But no one forced WFAA8 to buy Katie, which also was a slug at 4 p.m. in its first season before the station sent her show to 3 p.m. and launched its inaugural 4 p.m. local newscast last fall.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., April 21) -- Stars puck up to outdraw both Rangers and Thunder thriller in key audience demographic

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Dallas Stars, usually starved for viewers, had their best D-FW ratings of the still young Stanley Cup playoffs Monday night.

It helps to have a home ice win on a broadcast instead of a cable station. The Stars’ 3-0 domination of the Anaheim Ducks, which stretched from 8:45 to 11:30 p.m. on TXA21, averaged 85,216 viewers with well more than half -- 68,391 -- within the coveted 18-to-49-year-old motherlode.

Over on Fox Sports Southwest, the Texas Rangers late-starting road win at Oakland averaged 99,418 total viewers, with a considerably less impressive 35,824 of them in the 18-to-49 age range.

TNT countered with a thrilling overtime playoff game that ended with the Memphis Grizzlies beating the favored Oklahoma City Thunder on their home floor. The game matched Rangers-Oakland with an average of 99,418 total viewers. A bit more than half of them -- 52,107 -- were 18-to-49-year-olds.

So although the Stars drew the smallest overall crowd, they also had the best demographic showing among these three sports attractions. Advertisers will take that every time.

Monday’s overall ratings leader, NBC’s 9 p.m. episode of The Blacklist, drew 347,964 total viewers. The Peacock’s 7 to 9 p.m. edition of The Voice as usual had the night’s best showing among 18-to-49-year-olds with 149,808 of ‘em.

Here are Monday’s local news derby results.

NBC5 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but Fox4 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds (the main advertiser target audience for news programming).

The Peacock won at 5 and 6 p.m. in both ratings measurements while Fox4 notched another pair of twin wins at 6 a.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Fox4 adds meteorologist Ali Turiano

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Dallas-based Fox4 has filled its weekend meteorologist vacancy by hiring Ali Turiano from Orlando-based News13, a cable station servicing the greater Central Florida region.

Her first day will be May 28th, Fox4 said in an announcement Tuesday. Turiano will replace Ron Jackson, who spent 32 years at the station before telling viewers in February that he was retiring.

“I have always dreamed of being a part of the Dallas community and am looking forward to calling the ‘Big D’ my home,” Turiano said in the Fox4 publicity release.

The Pennsylvania State University graduate spent six years at News13 and also has worked at TV stations in Elmira, NY, Erie, PA and Tampa, FL.

Women meteorologists are in ascendance at three of D-FW’s four major TV news providers.

Fox4’s weather team also includes Jennifer Myers, NBC5 deploys Remeisha Shade, Lindsey Riley and Samantha Davies, and WFAA8 has Colleen Coyle and Julia Bologna. CBS11 currently has no women on its four-member “Storm Team.” Men are still the chief meteorologists at all four stations.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., April 18-20) -- charting the Mavs' meltdown

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
D-FW viewers had two options for Game 1 of the Dallas Mavericks-San Antonio Spurs playoff series. They initially chose TNT before getting behind the hometown call on TXA21.

The Mavs blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead in writing the same old script with a faint-of-heart 90-85 road loss. Stretching from 12:11 to 2:32 p.m., the game averaged 163,330 viewers on TXA21 and 142,026 on TNT. In both cases, the peak audiences were between 2:15 and 2:30 p.m., when TXA21 had 255,647 viewers and TNT, 198,836.

TNT comfortably won among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, though, averaging 87,931 viewers for the entire game to TXA21’s 65,134.

Sunday’s prime-time parade was led by CBS’ 60 Minutes in total viewers (276,951) and CBS’ The Amazing Race with 18-to-49-year-olds (78,161).

Friday night’s second Stanley Cup playoff match between the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks averaged another smallish crowd of 56,810 total viewers on Fox Sports Southwest. The Ducks won 3-2.

TXA21’s weekly Friday night Texas Rangers game, a home win over the White Sox, drew 184,634 total viewers. It was beaten only by ABC’s 9 p.m. hour of 20/20 (241,444 viewers). 20/20 also had more 18-to-49-year-olds than any other program.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results.

WFAA8 won at 10 p.m. in total viewers while tying Fox4 for the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.

It was otherwise a day of sweeps, with Fox4 running the table at both 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. and NBC5 scoring twin wins at 6 p.m.

CW33’s Eye Opener continued to raise some eyebrows in the 5 a.m. hour, beating both WFAA8 and CBS11 in the 25-to-54 demographic before tailing off from 6 to 8 a.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., April 17) -- Scandal season finale scores big

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
ABC’s bragging rights have been minimal this season. But Thursday’s Scandal season-ender gave the network a chance to muscle up.

Scandal easily ranked as prime-time’s most-watched attraction in both total D-FW viewers (319,559) and advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds (159,579).

A preceding new episode of Grey’s Anatomy also gave ABC control of the 8 p.m. hour with 284,052 viewers and 133,525 in the 18-to-49 motherlode. CBS’ pair of Big Bang Theory repeats had the most total viewers from 7 to 8 p.m., but Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen took the 18-to-49 prize.

NBC’s season and possibly series finale of Parenthood took the bronzes at 9 p.m., beating only CBS’ competing rerun of NCIS. CBS’ double-pronged Season 1 finale of Robin Williams’ The Crazy Ones likewise may have breathed its last with third place finishes from 8 to 9 p.m. (ahead of only NBC’s Hollywood Game Night).

Jimmy Kimmel also profited from Scandal. His late night “Behind the Scandalabra” special routed Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show in both ratings measurements. But Fallon offered a rerun and Kimmel still ran second among 18-to-49-year-olds to Fox4’s competing syndicated combo of Modern Family and TMZ.

In Thursday’s local news derby results, WFAA8 romped to twin wins at 10 p.m. in total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.

Fox4 notched another pair of 6 a.m. wins while NBC5 ran the table at 6 p.m. The 5 p.m. golds went to NBC5 in total viewers and WFAA8 in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., April 16) -- Mavs fall short but power up

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Dallas Mavericks’ 106-105 overtime loss at Memphis sends them into the San Antonio Spurs woodchipper for the first round of the NBA playoffs.

But while channeling UConn, the Mavs also can look back on a ratings victory during the final hour of Wednesday’s game on TXA21 and ESPN.

The 9 to 10 p.m. portion of Mavs-Grizzlies drew 205,938 D-FW viewers on TXA21 and added another 85,216 for the ESPN presentation. The 291,154 total easily commanded the 9 p.m. hour, with CBS’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation rerun the runner-up (170,431 viewers).

For the entire game, Mavs-Grizzlies averaged 142,026 viewers on TXA21 and 71,013 on ESPN for a total of 213,039. Wednesday’s top prime-time draws, Fox’s two-hour American idol and CBS’ Survivor, each drew 220,140 viewers. But the Mavs’ last regular season game led all prime-time programming among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds.

Toiling in relative obscurity on Fox Sports Southwest, the Dallas Stars’ 4-3 loss at Anaheim in their opening game of the Stanley Cup playoffs averaged just 35,507 total viewers. The Stars trailed 4-0 halfway through the game, which likely suppressed the ratings a bit. Nielsen numbers for the Texas Rangers game, shifted over to FSS+, were not immediately available. The Rangers beat Seattle 3-2 with a 9th inning rally.

Here are Wednesday’s local news derby numbers.

Fox4 swept the 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. competitions in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.

NBC5 won at 6 p.m. in total viewers while WFAA8 had the most 25-to-54-year-olds. The Peacock also had the most viewers at 5 p.m., with Fox4 and WFAA8 tying for first in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Also of note: CW33’s comedy-laced, Dallas-produced Eye Opener has been up and down in the early morning Nielsens. But Wednesday was a big up, particularly in the 5 to 6 a.m. results. Eye Opener ran second in that hour among 25-to-54-year-olds, easily outdrawing NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11 while still trailing Fox4 by almost a full rating point.

Eye Opener also nipped NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11 in total viewers during the 5 to 6 a.m. face-off.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., April 15) -- CBS/NBC divide spoils

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
CBS and NBC powered up Tuesday night while their rivals went begging.

In D-FW’s total viewer Nielsens, CBS again reigned supreme with new hours of NCIS (475,787 viewers), NCIS: Los Angeles (319,559) and Person of Interest (269,849).

But among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, NBC ruled from start to finish with The Voice (149,808 viewers), About a Boy (91,188), Growing Up Fisher (94,444) and Chicago Fire (55,364).

The night’s biggest bomb, ABC’s return of Wife Swap, ran last among the Big Four broadcast networks in the 9 p.m. hour. It drew just 63,912 total viewers, with 26,054 in the 18-to-49 motherlode. Both of those totals were exceeded by the 90-minute, 9 p.m. premiere of FX’s Fargo, which had respective hauls of 71,013 and 35,824 viewers. Those aren’t spectacular numbers by any means, but FX generally gets a sizable spike from subsequent DVR viewership.

On Fox Sports Southwest, the Texas Rangers’ quick and efficient 5-0 win over Seattle averaged 134,925 total viewers. Wednesday night’s Rangers game will be relocated to Fox Sports Southwest Plus to accommodate the Dallas Stars’ opening round Stanley Cup playoff game on FSS against the Anaheim Ducks. The Dallas Mavericks, also in the post-season, will play their final regular season game -- Wednesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies -- on TXA21 and ESPN.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results:

WFAA8 bucked an anemic lead-in from Wife Swap to win in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions and NBC5 did likewise at 5 p.m., where it’s gradually become the station to beat at that hour when the May ratings “sweeps” fire up on Thursday, April 24th. But Fox4 also remains formidable at 5 p.m.

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

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., April 14) -- more high notes for The Voice

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Another two-hour sing-along with NBC’s The Voice topped Monday’s prime-time charts opposite ABC’s Disney music-themed Dancing with the Stars.

The Voice drew 390,572 D-FW viewers from 7 to 9 p.m. while DWTS took the silver in those hours with 319,559 viewers. Among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, The Voice likewise called the tune with 195,402. A new episode of CBS’ 2 Broke Girls ran second in this key demographic from 7 to 7:30 p.m. before DWTS took runner-up honors from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

CBS’ new Friends with Better Lives continued to crater at 7:30 p.m. with the fewest viewers in both measurements among the network’s four sitcoms.

ABC, CBS and NBC all finished the night with drama series repeats, allowing Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast to take the top spots in total viewers (191,735) and 18-to-49-year-olds (91,188).

TNT’s “midseason finale” of Dallas, set to return in August, climaxed with an eye-popping three-way, a big fire in the Ewings’ Southfork living quarters, Sue Ellen on a drunken binge and a pill overdose. The 8 p.m. first-run episode drew 120,722 total viewers and a 9 p.m. repeat tacked on another 63,912.

On Fox Sports Southwest, the Texas Rangers’ lackluster 7-1 home loss to the Seattle Mariners averaged 142,026 total viewers.

NBC5 had one of its brighter days in Monday’s local news derby results. The Peacock ran the table at 5 and 6 p.m. in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

NBC5 also outdrew kingpin Fox4 at 6 a.m. in total viewers and added a 10 p.m. gold in the 25-to-54 demographic.

The other two wins went to WFAA8 in the 10 p.m. total viewers race and Fox4 at 6 a.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

WFAA8: "We share tears and belly laughs and big bear hugs"

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Dallas-based WFAA8’s first big image campaign as a Gannett-owned entity is a cup running over with made-for-TV sincerity.

The “We Share” mantra has a homespun, back porch feel while also being firmly in step with the more urgent “social media” beats of Facebook and Twitter. A male narrator, with a voice that could butter your popcorn, beckons viewers to join as one with a TV station that yearns to be your interactive Care Bear.

“At News 8, we don’t just report. We share.”

“We share tears and belly laughs and big bear hugs.”

“We share our opinion and ask you to do the same.”

Not only that, “we share our Doppler radar.” (Somehow that just doesn’t sound right.)

And for the big finish: “We dig, we hunt, we uncover -- and then we don’t just report it. We share. Let’s share.”

Shall we?



Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., April 11-13) -- kid Spieth spikes Masters but it's still mostly an older crowd

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Ratings for Sunday’s final round of The Masters built steadily from the 1 p.m. start to the 5:51 p.m. finish on CBS.

Still, the presence of 20-year-old Dallas Jesuit grad Jordan Spieth, who played in the final twosome with eventual winner Bubba Watson, did not serve to “youthify” the D-FW numbers. He was hoping to become the youngest Masters champ ever, but finished three strokes back in a tie for second place.

CBS averaged 213,039 total viewers in beating all daytime and early evening programming on a stay-at-home rainy, windy day. Ratings peaked in the final minutes, with 340,862 viewers tuned in. The Masters’ first 15-minute segment, before Spieth and Watson teed off, drew 85,216 viewers.

Among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, the entire Masters averaged 61,877 viewers with a high mark of 120,498 in the closing minutes. Both are far less than 50 percent of the total viewing audience. Better for selling Buicks to grizzled traditionalists than new 10-calorie, full-taste Fizzy Pop to “impressionable” younger viewers.

Over on Fox Sports Southwest, the Texas Rangers’ quickly played 1-0 daytime win over Houston averaged 120,722 total viewers.

In prime-time Sunday, AMC’s Season 7 premiere of Mad Men limped in with 42,608 viewers, matching the audience for the network’s preceding new Revolutionary War era drama, Turn. But Mad Men outdrew Turn among 18-to-49-year-olds by a score of 19,540 viewers to 9,770. At that rate, 10 episodes of either series would still fall short of one night’s typical 18-to-49 haul for AMC’s The Walking Dead, now on hiatus.

On Saturday night, the Dallas Mavericks’ playoff-clinching win over Phoenix drew 106,520 viewers on TXA21. That fell short of the competing Rangers-Astros game on FSS (149,127 total viewers). Fox’s prime-time Darlington 500 NASCAR race averaged 99,418 viewers

The Dallas Stars likewise cliched a playoff spot on Friday night. But the 3-0 win against the St. Louis Blues averaged just 21,304 viewers on FSS. TXA21’s weekly Friday night Texas Rangers game was a Colossus in comparison. The Rangers won 1-0 in a 12-inning marathon that didn’t end until after 11:15 p.m. No matter. The game ended up averaging a nice-sized 227,242 viewers. CBS’ 9 p.m. episode of Blue Bloods was Friday’s biggest overall draw with 255,647 viewers.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results:

CBS11 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but Fox4 dominated the 25-to-54-year-old Nielsens (the main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 notched twin wins at 6 a.m. and also ran the table at 5 p.m.

WFAA8 and CBS11 tied for the most viewers at 6 p.m., with WFAA8 alone in first with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Local D-FW TV News Note -- WFAA8 lately has been running promos urging viewers to watch the early morning Daybreak anchor team of Ron Corning and Alexa Conomos.

Still, no definitive choice has been made on Cynthia Izaguirre’s replacement after she moved to the 10 p.m. newscasts in place of the now retired Gloria Campos.

“The job is still posted. No permanent decision has been made,” WFAA8 news director said in an email reply regarding Corning’s running mate.

Conomos has been Daybreak’s longtime traffic reporter, with that slot currently being filled by Shane Allen. Corning and meteorologist Greg Fields have remained in place. WFAA8 ran third in the early morning Nielsen ratings during the February “sweeps” ratings period. The four-week May “sweeps” fire up on Thursday, April 24th and run through May 21st.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., April 10) -- another big night for CBS

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Big Bang Theory again exploded for CBS Thursday, leading the network to another strong prime-time performance.

Big Bang led off the night with 404,774 D-FW viewers before CBS’ The Millers carved out a 7:30 p.m. win with 276,951.

At 8 p.m., another CBS sitcom, Two and a Half Men (255,647 viewers), remained strong enough to nip Fox’s American Idol. The second half of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy then knocked off CBS’ The Crazy Ones before CBS returned to the winner’s circle with its 9 p.m. episode of Elementary (276,951 viewers).

CBS also won among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds with Elementary and Big Bang. The victors otherwise were the second half of ABC’s Shark Tank and Grey’s Anatomy.

Over on TNT, the Dallas Mavericks’ deflating loss to their lords and masters, the San Antonio Spurs, averaged 99,418 total viewers.

Here are Thursday’s local news derby results:

CBS11 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but Fox4 narrowly prevailed over WFAA8 with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.

Fox4 and NBC5 tied for first in total viewers at 6 a.m.; Fox4 had the 25-to-54-year-old gold to itself.

CBS11 was No. 1 in total viewers at 6 p.m. while WFAA8 had the most 25-to-54-year-olds.

At 5 p.m., the first four-way tie in memory gave Fox4, NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11 a share of the top spot in total viewers. WFAA8 broke the logjam with a clear-cut win among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., April 9) -- CBS sets pace with Criminal Minds, CSI

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
It’s kinda freaky how much mileage CBS is still getting out of two presumably creaky crime dramas.

But the network claimed the lion’s share of Wednesday’s prime-time spoils with its 8 to 10 p.m. bloc of Criminal Minds and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Criminal Minds won its time slot with 333,761 D-FW viewers before CSI held serve at 9 p.m. with 284,052 viewers. More surprisingly, both series also ran first among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds.

At 7 p.m., the first hour of Fox’s American Idol, with 220,140 total viewers, held off CBS’ competing Survivor (184,634). Idol also led at that hour among 18-to-49-year-olds.

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

Fox4 and CBS11 tied for the top spot in total viewers at 10 p.m., but Fox4 had first place to itself among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 and WFAA8 shared the 6 a.m. gold in total viewers, marking the first weekday that Fox4 hasn’t won outright in this measurement since way back on Jan. 15th (when NBC5 was narrowly alone in first). Fox4 again had the most 25-to-54-year-olds, though.

NBC5 had a big day in the early evening, sweeping both the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., April 8) -- some morning glory for CW33's Eye Opener

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The numbers for CW33’s comedy infused Eye Opener lately have been rather eye-popping.

The locally produced 5 to 8 a.m. waker-upper continues to run especially strong in its first hour. And seldom more so than in Tuesday’s D-FW Nielsens.

Among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming, Eye Opener outdrew both WFAA8 and CBS11 from 5 to 6 a.m. And it tied CBS11 in the 6 to 7 a.m. hour. The program also outpointed NBC5 from 5 to 5:30 a.m. before drawing slightly fewer viewers than the Peacock from 5:30 to 6 a.m.

CW33 does even better with 18-to-49-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for entertainment programming but a highly desirable audience no matter what the programming format. In that realm, Eye Opener beat all four of its early morning rivals, including kingpin Fox4, during the 5 to 6 a.m. hour. Here’s how it looked:

CW33 -- 42,337 viewers in the 18-to-49 age range
Fox4 -- 35,824
WFAA8 -- 29,310
NBC5 -- 26,054
CBS11 -- 6,153

Eye Opener fell to fourth place among 18-to-49-year-olds from 6 to 7 a.m., but still beat CBS11. The CW33 show also had more total viewers than CBS11 from 5 to 6 a.m. All of this bears further close watching, not only in these daily ratings reports but by the bean-counters at D-FW’s Big Four broadcast stations.

In Tuesday’s prime-time Nielsens, CBS won from start to stop in total viewers with its regular crime lineup of NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles and Person of Interest. NBC ran first from 7 to 8:30 p.m. among 18-to-49-year-olds with The Voice and About A Boy before the second half of NCIS: Los Angeles took the top spot from 8:30 to 9 p.m. Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast then won at that hour.

On ESPN, UConn’s demolishment of Notre Dame in the women’s basketball title game had 85,216 total viewers while the Texas Rangers’ win at Boston averaged 99,418. Both were outdrawn by the Dallas Mavericks win over Utah on TXA21 (134,925 viewers).

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

NBC5 and CBS11 tied for first at 10 p.m. in total viewers, but the Peacock was alone atop the 25-to-54 heap.

Fox4 had another doubleheader win at 6 a.m. and also swept the 5 p.m. competitions. The 6 p.m. golds went to NBC5 in total viewers and Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Fox4 adds Zahid Arab to reporting staff

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Zahid Arab, who’s been with NBC affiliate KING-TV in Seattle since August 2012, has joined Dallas-based Fox4 as a general assignment reporter.

His first day will be April 25th, news director Robin Whitmeyer announced Wednesday.

“When it comes to engaging and responsible reporting, KDFW (Fox4) sets the standard,” said Arab, a journalism and mass communications graduate of Arizona State University.

Arab also has worked at KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, KHNL/KFVE-TV in Honolulu and KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Iowa.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., April 7) -- for one shining moment, NCAA hoops prevail

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The post-championship game view outside Jerry’s Palace Monday. Photo: Ed Bark

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
D-FW’s overall appetite for NCAA hoops had been the equivalent of Kentucky’s missed free throws until Monday’s grand finale finally slam-dunked everything in sight.

UConn’s 60-54 win at Jerry’s Palace over the favored Wildcats put CBS atop the D-FW Nielsen ratings against formidable competition from the second halves of NBC’s The Voice and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.

The championship game averaged 582,307 viewers, with 276,820 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49 motherlode.

The Voice had respective totals of 312,457 and 159,578 viewers while Dancing drew 326,660 viewers with 74,904 in the 18-to-49 demographic. Both talent competitions aired from 7 to 9 p.m.

Monday’s 9 p.m. also-rans were led by ABC’s repeat of Castle in total viewers (191,735) and Fox4’s 9 p.m. newscast among 18-to-49-year-olds (68,391).
The NCAA championship had built to 617,813 total viewers from 9 to 10 p.m., with 296,360 of them 18-to-49-year-olds.

During Monday’s daytime hours, the Duck Commander NASCAR race at Texas Motor Speedway averaged 127,823 total viewers on Fox after being washed out by Sunday’s rains. Over on Fox Sports Southwest, the Texas Rangers’ nighttime loss at Boston had 92,317 total viewers.

Here are Monday’s local news derby results, with CBS11’s 10 p.m. edition preempted by basketball and the CBS post-game show.

WFAA8 topped the down-sized three-way race in total viewers, but NBC5 nipped Fox4 for the most 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming) while WFAA8 uncommonly fell to third.

Fox4 cruised to another pair of 6 a.m. wins and added a 5 p.m. first in the 25-to-54 demographic. NBC5 had the most total viewers at both 5 and 6 p.m. while tying Fox4 at 6 p.m. for the 25-to-54 gold.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

On site at the Final Four: Bucky just a shot short of Kentucky

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The view from ad hoc unclebarky.com media center well before tip-off of 1st Final Four game between UConn and Florida. Photo: Ed Bark

By ED BARK
@unclebarky;com on Twitter
It started out promisingly Saturday afternoon, with the discovery of a $5 (!!!) parking area within roughly a mile’s walk to the Final Four at Jerry’s Palace.

The attendant even offered free refreshments, something Jerry Jones would never condone had he known.

By the end of the night, though, the Wisconsin Badgers had gone down valiantly to the Kentucky Wildcats on a game-winning three-pointer from freshman guard Aaron Harrison, who did the same thing to Michigan a week earlier. So The End wasn’t happily ever after. But losing 74-73 is no disgrace. It’s a character-builder for a team that hadn’t advanced this far since 2000. So your friendly 1974 UW grad isn’t bitter or morose. It was just great to be there amid big pockets of red-clad kids, many of whom instigated “Go Badgers” hand-slaps upon encountering an ancient Mariner in Bucky attire. I’m old enough to be their grandpop and young enough to remember being a lot just like them. Except crazier.

A football arena obviously isn’t ideal for watching a basketball game. But the players at least looked like toy soldiers -- rather than ants -- from our behind-the-basket vantage point at unclebarky.com media central. The eyes alternated between watching the game in miniature or succumbing to the overhead video screen in front of us (not one of Jerry’s twin mega-gargantuan ones, but more than big enough).

The weather outside was drizzly. But the crowded pre-game “tailgate” area hummed with music, various sports talk shows and a chance to buy beer, wine or a margarita before entering the alcohol-forbidden stadium (save for the worlds apart luxury suites). Best buy: a plastic glass of wine for $8.

Some “bargains” could be found within as well. Jerry takes a lot of heat for his concession prices. But $9 “Ultimate Nachos” are enough to bloat two people. And $5.50 for a truly plump Nathan’s Hot Dog isn’t too terrible either.

The “atmosphere” can be priceless, though. Roars in unison from the student bodies. Battles of the bands. And all that mugging when pockets of fans are shown on the giant video screens.

Even better are the reactions to celebrities in the house. Jerry Jones as always drew the loudest boos while his luxury suite seat-mate, CBS Corporation chairman/CEO Leslie Moonves, responded by clapping.

Johnny Manziel and Dwight Howard also were jeered by some; Troy Aikman and Wisconsin alums Russell Wilson and JJ Watt (both now pro football gods) got the loudest cheers.

But in the final seconds, you could almost hear the stunned sounds of silence from the Badger red while the Kentucky Wildcat blues roared loud enough to send any jungle beast into retreat. We filed out quickly after that, beginning the long jaunt to the $5 parking spot while encountering one speechless Wisconsin fan after another. Nothing more needed to be said.

Except for this. If only Badger coach Bo Ryan had listened to his two red-shirt seniors below -- Ed and Madeline Bark. We implored him to put us in at crunch time, but we instead rode the pines after breaking training with those pre-game beers. Sometimes you just can’t win.

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Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., April 4-6) -- country music shebang on CBS outdraws Final Four on TBS

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Further proof that North Texas is no hoops haven: Sunday’s three-hour Academy of Country Music awards show on CBS (in which few awards were actually given) easily outdrew Saturday’s NCAA basketball Final Four on TBS (even though it originated from Jerry’s Palace).

Airing from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, the ACMs had 411,875 D-FW viewers, with 153,065 of them in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49 age range. Both totals dominated the night.

Saturday’s early evening UConn-Florida matchup on TBS averaged 163,330 viewers; 71,647 were in the 18-to-49 demographic. UConn upset Florida 63-53.

The second NCAA hoops matchup, which started at 8:15 p.m., pitted Uncle Barky’s alma mater Wisconsin Badgers against the Kentucky Wildcats. Bravehearted Bucky succumbed 74-73 on a dramatic three-pointer from Kentucky’s Texas-bred Aaron Harrison. An average of 227,242 viewers tuned in, with 123,755 of them in the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones attended both events, appearing on the ACMs with George Strait to announce that next year’s edition will originate from his Arlington temple. Last night’s ceremony was held in that citadel of country music -- Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, in country music’s official mecca -- Nashville -- the women’s NCAA Final Four on ESPN drew next to no one Sunday night. Unbeaten Notre Dame’s win over Maryland averaged 28,405 total viewers before unbeaten UConn’s win over Stanford inched up to 35,507 viewers. How bad is that? The Nielsens say that CW33’s Sunday afternoon presentation of the 2002 movie Catch Me If You Can outdrew the women hoopsters with 42,608 viewers.

The Dallas Mavericks’ key road win at Sacramento registered highest on Sunday’s hoops scale with 113,621 viewers on Fox Sports Southwest. The preceding Texas Rangers win over Tampa Bay, also on FSS, drew 120,722 viewers.

On Friday night, CBS’ return of the crime series Unforgettable performed nicely in the 7 p.m. hour with a time-slot winning 213,039 viewers. The network’s Blue Bloods again led all of Friday’s prime-time programming with 269,849 viewers at 9 p.m. The Rangers-Rays game on TXA21 had 106,520 viewers.

Among 18-to-49-year-olds, ABC’s 8 p.m. episode of Shark Tank as usual took Friday’s overall gold medal.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results.

WFAA8 swept the 10 p.m. competitions in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.

Fox4 notched another doubleheader win at 6 a.m. and also ran the table at 5 p.m. NBC5 and CBS11 tied for the most total viewers at 6 p.m., but the Peacock won outright among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., April 3) -- bad weather triggers preemptive strikes

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Turbulent North Texas weather, including big hail and tornado sightings, prompted Fox4, NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11 to preempt most of their networks’ prime-time lineups from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday.

CBS11 showed the first half of a 7 p.m. Big Bang Theory episode, however, before cutting away and staying away. That portion led the prime-time Nielsens with 468,686 D-FW viewers before CBS11’s 7:15 to 7:30 p.m. weather preemption dipped to 312,457 viewers. That was still good enough to win that 15-minute segment before Fox4’s weather coverage moved into first place at 7:30 p.m. and stayed there for the rest of the night.

In head-to-head weather coverage from 8 to 9 p.m., here’s how the four stations ranked in total viewers.

Fox4 -- 276,951
WFAA8 -- 227,242
CBS11 -- 191,735
NBC5 -- 163,330

In fairness, NBC’s prime-time lineup easily is the least-watched on Thursday nights. Some viewers may have gone to a rival station expecting to see their favorite show and then simply stuck with that station’s weather coverage when attractions such as Fox’s American Idol and ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy failed to materialize. On the other hand, all a viewer has to do is press a button to go elsewhere.

NBC5, WFAA8 and CBS11 all resumed network coverage at 9 p.m., respectively showing Parenthood, Scandal and Elementary. But Fox4’s regularly scheduled 9 p.m. newscast won the hour with 305,356 viewers, followed by Scandal (284,052), Elementary (220,140) and Parenthood (85,216).

In the cable universe, SMU’s narrow loss of the NIT championship to Minnesota drew 49,709 viewers on ESPN. Later Thursday, the Dallas Mavericks’ big win on the Los Angeles Clippers’ home floor averaged 92,317 viewers on TNT.

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

WFAA8 rolled to 10 p.m. wins n both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.

Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions and NBC5 had a doubleheader win at 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. golds went to CBS11 in total viewers and NBC5 in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., April 2) -- Fox4 within eyelash of very rare newscast double grand slam

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Two D-FW news stations have momentum in the local newscast ratings wars -- Fox4 and NBC5.

Two currently do not -- WFAA8 and CBS11.

In Wednesday’s Nielsens, Fox4 very nearly achieved an exceedingly rare double grand slam in the primary four-way battlegrounds at 6 a.m. and 5, 6 and 10 p.m.

It almost goes without saying that Fox4 again swept the early morning competitions in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.

The station likewise ran the table at 6 p.m. and added clear-cut wins at 5 p.m. in total viewers and 10 p.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds.

In the total viewers race at 10 p.m., CBS11 technically won with a 2.41 rating to Fox4’s 2.37. Those compute to 171,141 and 168,301 viewers respectively. But the general practice is to round these numbers off to the next lowest or highest decimal. So each station basically ends up with a 2.4 rating, even though CBS11 actually won. It’s sort of like determining a baseball batting champion. When the averages are extremely close, you break it down further until a winner is determined.

At 5 p.m., Fox4 had a 1.44 rating and NBC5 a 1.38 in the 25-to-54 demographic. Those compute to 43,875 viewers for Fox4 and 42,047 viewers for NBC5. But if the numbers are rounded off, both stations end up with a 1.4 rating in the so-called Nielsen “book.”

Maybe that’s too much information. But a double grand slam is so rare that we wanted to break it down further for you. Bottom line: Fox4 didn’t quite get to the top of the double grand slam mountain. But you can’t get much closer.

In Wednesday’s prime-time Nielsens, the Fox network’s American Idol was beaten in total viewers from 7 to 9 p.m. by the CBS combo of Survivor and Criminal Minds. CBS also had the most total viewers at 9 p.m. with CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Among 18-to-49-year-olds (the main advertiser target audience for non-news programming), Idol was nipped by NBC’s Revolution in the 7 p.m. hour, with Survivor dropping to third. Criminal Minds won from 8 to 9 p.m. and Fox4’s local newscast paced the 9 p.m. hour.

Over on Fox Sports Southwest, the Texas Rangers’ second consecutive ninth inning win averaged 106,520 total viewers. ESPN2’s presentation tacked on another 21,304 viewers. In comparison, the night’s top attraction, Criminal Minds, drew 355,065 viewers.

LOCAL TV NEWS NOTE -- CBS11 will expand its Sunday 10 p.m. newscasts to one hour, starting on April 20th.

“Sunday is a marquee day for television, and it is one of CBS11’s strongest nights for late news,” CBS11/TXA21 president and general manager Gary Schneider says in a publicity release. “We’re pleased to provide our viewers with more of the local news they need to start their week.”

Providing CBS11 with more local ad dollars in reality is a bigger impetus for the expansion. Sports anchor Babe Laufenberg’s The Score, which had been a stand-alone 10:30 p.m. program, will “become an expanded sports segment within the one-hour newscast,” CBS11 says.

NBC5 lately has been airing back-to-back half-hour local newscasts on Sundays from 10 to 11 p.m. Sports anchor Newy Scruggs says his stand-alone Out of Bounds program, which had aired at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, will return in time for football season.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Comedy gold: Conan trains to become Mary Kay beauty consultant

The D-FW Nielsen ratings say that only a relative handful of viewers -- 28,405 -- were tuned to Conan’s second show from Dallas Tuesday night.

Many instead were watching the Dallas Mavericks-Golden State Warriors in overtime or the ninth inning win by the Texas Rangers when Conan O’Brien went into training as a beauty consultant for Dallas-based Mary Kay Cosmetics.

You’re strongly encouraged to see what you missed in the below video, which keeps getting better and funnier. In this view it ends up being one of the better short comedy films of the year, even if we still have a long way to go.
Ed Bark

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., April 1) -- the address is CBS despite wealth of competing sports attractions

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
CBS and NCIS again ruled Tuesday’s prime-time landscape, with the network’s following crime dramas also scoring big against tightly contested games involving the Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs.

NCIS led off the night with 489,990 D-FW viewers before NCIS: Los Angeles (355,065) and Person of Interest (276,951) also won their time slots.

NBC’s 7 p.m. hour of The Voice as usual outdrew NCIS among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, but NCIS: Los Angeles and Person of Interest held serve in this key demographic.

Meanwhile, the Mavericks lost another key game in overtime, this time to the visiting Golden State Warriors. but the Rangers won in the ninth inning on a walk-off hit by Adrian Beltre. The Mavs were shifted to TXA21 to make room for the Rangers on Fox Sports Southwest. And SMU, which staged a big comeback to beat Clemson in the first of two NIT semi-final games, wound up on ESPN2 to accommodate the NCAA women’s basketball tournament on mothership ESPN.

The Rangers game, which stretched until 10:19 p.m., averaged 149,127 total viewers to draw the biggest crowd in this sports universe. The Mavericks game, which ended at 10:10 p.m., came in second with 85,216 viewers. As for the Mustangs, well, they played in relative obscurity with a paltry 21,304 viewers.

The Rangers also comfortably beat the Mavericks among 18-to-49-year-olds by a score of 68,391 to 39,080. This defies the conventional wisdom that only Grandpappy Amos watches baseball anymore. SMU lured a sub-pitiful 1,303 viewers in the 18-to-49 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The Mustangs will now play Minnesota for the NIT title on Thursday night. Ratings for that game can’t help but improve.

Conan O’Brien’s second Conan from Dallas initially went into the teeth of both the Rangers and the Mavericks. It emerged bloodied with an average of just 28,405 total viewers for the full 10 p.m. hour. That’s a significant dip from the 78,114 viewers for Monday’s opening night from Dallas’ downtown Majestic Theater.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results.

WFAA8 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but NBC5 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 ran the table at 6 a.m. and NBC5 did likewise at 5 p.m. The Peacock also had the most total viewers at 6 p.m. while sharing first place in the 25-to-54 demographic with Fox4 and WFAA8.

LOCAL NEWS NOTE

WFAA8 anchor John McCaa won’t be gone nearly as long as his automated email reply caused some viewers to fear.

McCaa, who was vacationing in South America, said a “screwup” had him returning in August when it should have said April. He’s due back on WFAA8’s 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts on Wednesday, April 2nd.

“I took the break now because I am about to start my re-write of my (PhD) dissertation,” McCaa told unclebarky.com. “Likely to take several months -- plus work!”

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Conan in Dallas for a winning opening night

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Conan O’Brien is master of domain in penthouse suite atop Big Tex’s gaudy boots. This is how it looked on TV Monday night. Photos: Ed Bark

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Bursting with Texas -- and German -- flavor on opening night, Conan began doing Dallas just three weeks after Jimmy Kimmel Live! fired up its first of five shows from Austin.

But no, Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show and David Letterman’s Late Show are not coming soon -- if ever -- to the land of “Everything’s bigger.”

After letting loose with a mandatory “Yee hah!!!” Monday night, Conan O’Brien scored with an opening joke about his larger than life coif. “Finally I’m in a city where my hair is big enough to fit in,” he said within the decidedly warm confines of the venerable Majestic Theater. How semi-stifling was it? During a commercial break, O’Brien fanned himself with a blue note card after doffing his suit coat. TV talk show environs tend to be cooled to near-meatlocker temperatures. This was a change of pace on a humid, windy day.

The Majestic seats roughly 1,700 people compared to the 2,400-seat capacity for Kimmel’s shows at the sleeker Long Center for the Performing Arts. Kimmel also won the battle of the backdrops with a superbly rendered, neon-lit collage of Austin’s long-lasting signature establishments.

The Conan treatment of Dallas’ skyline, with a big state of Texas map almost dwarfing it, paled in comparison in both its color mix and overall impact. But O’Brien had the better comedic material, including a friendly dig at the “Keep Austin Weird” motto down south of Dallas. He prefers the Dallas code -- “Keep That Weird Shit in Austin.” And yes, the “shit” remained intact during the TBS telecast at 10 p.m. Monday.

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Before the show went on: a mezzanine view of Conan’s set.

Monday’s taping was a model of efficiency, with the Majestic doors closing at 4:30 p.m. and the cameras already rolling by 4:56 p.m.

That left minimal but suitable time for talented warmup man Jimmy Pardo (no relation to legendary announcer Don Pardo) to grease the audience with help from a stage manager.

“We need just a scooch more for Big Red,” he said after the goosed audience reaction for sidekick Andy Richter seemed equally loud. “Otherwise he goes bananas backstage.”

Pardo later praised the crowd as “a bunch of good, decent people, not morons watching Honey Boo Boo.”

During his formative years as host of NBC’s New York-based Late Night, O’Brien used to warm up the audience himself. His big finish was “Hunka Burnin’ Love,” with the studio audience whipped into a frenzy by then. But O’Brien later got out of that business, explaining he was expending too much energy in the warmup. Coincidentally or not, he also had become a much bigger star by then.

Conan’s head publicist said the entire 170-member crew for the show hits the road on occasions such as this. It remains a considerable logistical challenge for all concerned. Build a new set, tailor the material to the venue, shoot some little films in which the star gets out and about.

Monday’s short film found O’Brien journeying to Johnson County in hopes of getting deputized by Sheriff Bob Alford, who played his part well. “You gotta eat the beans, wear the jeans, get in there,” he said of the hands-on work expected of a budding deputy.

After shooting a number of innocent civilians during video training exercises, Conan of course got his star. Post-film, he rose on risers to the top of Big Tex’s seemingly authentic boots, standing even taller in a cowboy hat during the night’s most inspired and impressive sight gag. O’Brien had licked the boots earlier. “Tastes like freedom -- and lead paint,” he enthused.

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Dirk Nowitzki signs autographs after appearance on Monday’s Conan.

Then along came Dirk Nowitzki -- and it got even better.

Relaxed and dapper in a dark suit and tieless window-paned dress shirt, Nowitzki popped in as an unannounced guest after O’Brien proclaimed himself “an expert on Texas.” Richter then brought in Nowitzki to administer an honorary Texas citizenship test. “From a true Texan -- me,” he said with solid comic timing.

Dirk reeled off a wide-ranging list of questions, including, “What is the leading cause of heart attacks in Dallas?”

“Tony Romo,” Conan answered correctly, drawing one of the night’s bigger laughs.

Nowitzki’s off-court abilities have improved immeasurably over the years. On Monday night, his broad smile and winning delivery were the equivalent of the signature Dirk fadeaway one-legged jump shot. One ideally goes swish and the other was a slam dunk for Nowitzki during his extended appearance opposite a show biz veteran.

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Anyone can be a poser in the Majestic Theater lobby.

Adam Sandler was the marquee announced guest and comedian Tig Notaro closed out the hour without getting enough time to really roll. Sandler has another movie coming, but not until May 23rd when he co-stars with Drew Barrymore in Blended. Yawn, can’t wait. Sandler is 47 now, but still acting the infant. A short film in which he strived to share an orange soda with Conan (his California neighbor) had precious little fizz. Sandler did, however, clasp hands with three front row admirers before leaving during a commercial break. He gets points for that.

O’Brien occasionally waved to the crowd during down times, but mostly kept to himself. He did, however, stick around to sing “It’s the end of the show song” for a few seconds after tape stopped rolling at 5:53 p.m. After a quick thanks to all, O’Brien left the stage with a pretty full night still ahead for one and all before Conan became a televised reality on TBS.

Three more shows are being taped at the Majestic this week. Here are the remaining announced guests.

Tuesday -- actor Seth Rogen (who appeared on Kimmel’s first show from Austin) and singer Phillip Phillips
Wednesday -- actor Simon Helberg (The Big Bang Theory) and the Eli Young Band
Thursday -- Charles Barkley and singer Lyle Lovett

Meanwhile, here are a couple of sights from the nearby “Cone Zone,” located a couple of blocks from the Majestic at Main Street Garden.

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Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., March 31) -- Rangers and Conan and Ewings, oh my

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Dirk Nowitzki made a winning impression Monday night during first of four Conan shows at Dallas’ Majestic Theatre. Photo: Ed Bark

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Monday’s TV plate was loaded -- with Texas-themed attractions plus the series finale of CBS’ How I Met Your Mother. Let’s go local first.

The Texas Rangers’ season opener, a 14-10 thrashing by the Philadelphia Phillies, filled the afternoon hours on Fox Sports Southwest. On an otherwise picture perfect day, the game averaged a not so hot 106,520 D-FW viewers. A total of 39,080 were within the advertiser-prized 18-to-49 motherlode.

Later Monday on TBS, the first of four Conan shows being taped in Dallas at the Majestic Theater drew 78,114 total viewers in the 10 p.m. hour. A sizable percentage -- 55,364 -- were in the 18-to-49 age range. That easily made Conan the biggest TBS draw of the day in this key demographic.

At 8 p.m., a new episode of TNT’s Dallas had 92,317 total viewers; but only a measly 6,513 of them were 18-to-49-year-olds.

So among “premium” viewers, Conan ranked highest and Dallas lowest. But the Rangers drew the biggest overall crowd.

Let’s move on to How I Met Your Mother, whose finale angered a lot of ardent fans -- in the Twitter-verse at least. HIMYM, with an expanded one-hour closer, drew 319,559 total viewers in a rock ‘em, sock ‘em matchup against the opening hours of NBC’s The Voice (No. 1 with 333,761 viewers) and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (No. 3 with 276,951).

Among 18-to-49-year-olds, The Voice also prevailed with 185,632, followed by HIMYM (162,835) and Dancing (a distant third with 55,364).

CBS’ post-HIYMY premiere of the sitcom Friends with Better Lives ran a way behind third in total viewers with 156,229. It also took the bronze with 18-to-49-year-olds in a relatively close race with Dancing. The Voice pounded both shows.

NBC also rolled to a big win at 9 p.m. with The Blacklist, which had 383,470 total viewers and 127,011 in the 18-to-49 measurement.

Here are Monday’s local news derby results.

NBC5 capitalized on its big lead-in advantage from The Blacklist to win at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming). The Peacock likewise swept the 6 p.m. competitions.

Fox4 as usual -- and bordering on “as always” -- took both ends of the 6 a.m. races. Fox4 also nipped NBC5 in total viewers at 5 p.m. but CBS11 won by a paper-thin margin over Fox4 in the 25-to-54 age range.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net