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NBC5 adding veteran reporter Wayne Carter to consumer investigative unit (updated)

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
It will take him a while to get here, but veteran reporter Wayne Carter is set to join Fort Worth-based NBC5’s consumer investigative unit.

Carter, who has been with CBS affiliate WREG-TV in Memphis since August, 2011, is scheduled to arrive in December, according to the industry site tvspy.com, which first reported his hiring.

In an email message to unclebarky.com Tuesday night, Carter said he’ll be starting at NBC5 on Dec. 12th. “The wait allows my 2nd grade daughter to wrap up her current semester in school before a mid-year transfer. I’ll be in DFW just weeks ahead of my family, rather than months. I’m eager to get to work helping NBC5 viewers get results.”

Carter also has worked for WWL-TV in New Orleans and WVEC-TV in Hampton, VA. He began his TV news career in 1998 with WIVT-TV in Binghamton, NY.

Additionally, TV Spy reports that photojournalist Nefty Gonzalez will be leaving rival TEGNA8 to join NBC5’s news staff in September. He previously worked at NBC5 from 2000 to 2003.

NBC5 has been on something of a hiring binge of late, with reporters Larry Collins and Homa Bash being added this fall.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., Aug. 29) -- Ninja Warrior pummels Rangers

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The first-place Texas Rangers continued to roll Monday night, punching out the visiting Seattle Mariners 6-3 on Fox Sports Southwest.

Still, the top spot in the prime-time Nielsen ratings went to NBC’s 7 to 9 p.m. dose of American Ninja Warrior, which drew 240,802 D-FW viewers while Rangers-Mariners averaged 177,060. Ninja Warrior also drew twice as many viewers in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old age range, winning by a score of 107,974 to 53,987.

The 9 to 10 p.m. portion of the Rangers game then narrowly beat NBC’s competing Running with Bear Grylls (169,978) in total viewers. But the Bear had a decisive edge among 18-to-49-year-olds, drawing 92,095.

Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast took the prime-time bronzes in both ratings measurements with 148,730 total viewers and 69,865 in the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Here are Monday’s local news derby results in the four major four-way competitions.

NBC5 won at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 ran the table at 6 a.m. and also scored twin wins at 5 p.m. TEGNA8 took both of the 6 p.m. golds, leaving CBS11 as the day’s lone all-around loser.

LOCAL TV NEWS NOTE: Anchor/reporter Carla Wade, who left TEGNA8 in January of this year, has landed a new job in Vegas with ABC affiliate KNTV-TV. The station says she’ll anchor the 3 and 3:30 p.m. newscasts, plus helm the “breaking news desk” at 5, 6 and 11 p.m.

“It’s so much easier to feel like Beyonce in Vegas!” she tweeted Tuesday.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., Aug. 26-28) -- Rangers finally get a clear path

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Absent direct competition from a Dallas Cowboys pre-season game or the Summer Olympics, the first-place Texas Rangers at last got a clear field over the weekend in terms of marquee sports programming.

Still, the D-FW ratings weren’t that great, particularly for a Friday night 12-1 drubbing by the visiting Cleveland Indians.

Airing on Fox Sports Southwest, the game averaged just 99,154 viewers. NBC’s two-hour America’s Got Talent repeat, followed by the network’s Dateline, led all prime-time attractions with 113,318 viewers each. And Fox4’s local 9 p.m. newscasts and CBS’ Cleveland Browns-Tampa Bay Bucs pre-season game matched the Rangers’ average of 99,154 viewers.

Things went much better on Saturday, when the Rangers’ 7-0 rout of Cleveland on FSS led all programming throughout the day and night with 177,060 viewers.

Sunday afternoon’s 2-1 Rangers home win, again on FSS, had 162,895 viewers. Oddly, that fell short of Fox’s competing Houston Texans-Arizona Cardinals exhibition game, which drew 184,142 viewers. NBC’s prime-time fake game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars likewise pulled in 184,142 viewers to surpass the Rangers while CBS’ 7 p.m. hour of Big Brother equaled the North Texas Nine’s total of 162,895 viewers.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results:

NBC5 and TEGNA8 tied for the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but the Peacock led with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming) while TEGNA8 fell to fourth.

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions and NBC5 ran the table at 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. golds went to CBS11 in total viewers and Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., Aug. 25) -- The Cowboys, of course

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Dallas Cowboys’ pre-season “dress rehearsal” game -- although Tony Romo was out of costume after just three plays with a back strain -- expectedly dominated Thursday’s D-FW ratings.

Despite a late 9 p.m. start at Seattle, Cowboys-Seahawks averaged 602,004 viewers on CBS11, with 276,286 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old age range.

The first-place Texas Rangers’ 9-0 home win against the Cleveland Indians ranked third for the night with 169,978 total viewers on Fox Sports Southwest. CBS11’s 8 p.m. Countdown to Kickoff show had 219,554 viewers.

NBC’s competing Falcons-Dolphins pre-season game had no chance, drawing 120,401 viewers.

Here are Thursday’s local news derby numbers.

In a downsized three-way 10 p.m. race, TEGNA8 had the most total viewers while NBC5 won among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 ran first at 6 a.m. in total viewers, but the Peacock again prevailed with 25-to-54-year-olds.

NBC5 continued to prosper at 5 and 6 p.m., running the table in both competitions.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Reporter Philip Townsend leaving TEGNA8 after short stay

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Year of the Exodus continues, with TEGNA8 reporter Philip Townsend the latest to exit the D-FW market.

Townsend, who joined the Dallas-based station in December, 2014, is going back to the station he left -- Norfolk, VA’s ABC affiliate, WVEC-TV.

“He will return as their new weekend anchor!” TEGNA8 news director Carolyn Mungo said in a memo to staffers obtained by unclebarky.com.

His last day at TEGNA8 will be on Sept. 30th, Mungo said. “We wish him the very best.”

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Mike Garber out as CBS11 news director after rocky two-year tenure marked by major personnel changes/declining ratings

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Mike Garber is out as CBS11 news director after a two-year stay marked by numerous major personnel changes and departures, plus declining ratings.

Informed sources tell unclebarky.com that Garber has resigned, with some staffers told first-hand of his departure Thursday morning. Director of communications Lori Conrad later confirmed Garber’s resignation, saying he “has left to pursue other opportunities, and we wish him well.” Conrad said that assistant news director Laurie Passman will be CBS11’s interim news director.

Garber joined CBS11 in July of 2014 from WPTV/WFLX-TV in West Palm, Beach, FL, where he had been news director for two years. He replaced Adrienne Roark, who is now general manager at Fox affiliate KPTV-TV in Portland, Oregon after a four-year stay as CBS11’s news director.

Under Garber’s watch, longtime 6 and 10 p.m. weekday anchor Karen Borta was transferred to CBS11’s early morning newscasts (replacing Adrienne Bankert) while sports anchor Babe Laufenberg and chief meteorologist Larry Mowry both abruptly left the station after lengthy tenures. Garber’s replacement for Laufenberg, Keith Russell, was recently sent to weekends while veteran utility man Bill Jones took over the featured 6 and 10 p.m. weeknight sports anchor duties on a likely interim basis.

The early morning ratings initially perked up with the team of Borta, co-anchor Jason Allen, meteorologist Scott Padgett and traffic anchor Tammy Dombeck, who had been substituting for Whitney Drolen after she resigned early in Garber’s tenure. But CBS11’s first-ever third-place finish in the 6 a.m. ratings among key 25-to-54-year-old viewers (during the May 2015 “sweeps”) did not deter Garber from breaking up this team by hiring Chelsey Davis as traffic anchor and Russ McCaskey in place of Allen, who went back to the reporting pool. Ratings then plummeted.

In the May 2016 sweeps, CBS11 was the only station without any wins at 6 a.m. or 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in either total viewers or 25-to-54-year-olds (the main advertiser target audience for news programming).

CBS11 finished a distant last across the board among 25-to-54-year-olds and on the bottom in total viewers everywhere except 10 p.m., where it edged Fox4 for third place.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues.-Wed., Aug. 23-24) -- NBC/Fox flex in prime-time

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
NBC punched out all of its prime-time competitors on Tuesday before Fox and Fox4 joined in some of the fun on Wednesday night.

Helped by a dominating lead-in from America’s Got Talent, the Peacock’s 9 p.m. Tuesday premiere of Better Late Than Never won its 9 p.m. slot with 205,390 D-FW viewers and 60,338 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old age range. The series features William Shatner, Henry Winkler, George Foreman and Terry Bradshaw clumsily traipsing together through Asia while trying not to be Ryan Lochtes.

AGT easily won Tuesday’s 7 to 9 p.m. ratings battle with 290,378 total viewers and 92,095 in the 18-to-49 realm.

On Wednesday, CBS’ Big Brother drew the most total viewers in the 7 p.m. hour with 148,730. Fox’s competing Masterchef had a slight edge among 18-to-49-year-olds (66,690).

NBC’s AGT beat a second hour of Masterchef in total viewers at 8 p.m., but Gordon Ramsay’s volatile kitchen competition won with 18-to-49-year-olds.

Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast then drew Wednesday’s biggest prime-time audiences with 219,554 total viewers and 98,447 in the key 18-to-49 demographic. On Fox Sports Southwest, the Texas Rangers’ 6-5 win at Cincinnati averaged 134,566 total viewers and 25,406 in the 18-to-49 motherlode. It won’t get any easier Thursday night, with the Rangers partially going against the Dallas Cowboys’ pre-season “dress rehearsal” game at Seattle. But ratings then should perk up during a 10-game home stand.

Here are the Tuesday and Wednesday local news derby results.

Tuesday -- NBC5 and TEGNA8 tied for the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but the Peacock was alone on top with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

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

Wednesday -- NBC5 ran the table at 10 p.m. and Fox4 again had twin wins at 6 a.m.

The Peacock also drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 and 6 p.m. The total viewers spoils went to Fox4 at 5 p.m. and CBS11 at 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., Aug. 22) -- Fox4 remains at head of class on Back to School Day (plus a new start in TV news for former TEGNA8 anchor/reporter Shon Gables

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Consider it Super Bowl Monday for the early morning newscasts. Most kids went back to school yesterday, which generally means extra eyeballs as more moms and dads check on weather, traffic and whatever else might affect their star pupils’ paths to further education.

Fox4’s Good Day again passed with flying colors, winning by wide margins over its nearest competitor in both total D-FW viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (the main advertiser target audience for news programming). The station also came within a hair of achieving an exceedingly rare double grand slam in the four major local newscast face-offs.

At the principal early morning waking hour of 6 to 7 a.m. Monday, here’s how it looked:

Total Viewers
Fox4 -- 141,648
NBC5 -- 63,742
TEGNA8 -- 56,659
CBS11 -- 49,577

25-to-54-Year-Olds
Fox4 -- 86,313
NBC5 -- 50,597
TEGNA8 -- 20,834
CBS11 -- 14,882

Fox4 also swept the 5 and 6 p.m. local newscast competitions and had the most 25-to-54-year-olds at 10 p.m. But NBC5 slipped into first place in total viewers at 10 p.m., besting Fox4 by just one-tenth of a rating point.

In prime-time, NBC’s American Ninja Warrior won from 7 to 9 p.m. in both total viewers and with 18-to-49-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for entertainment programming). Fox4’s local news was tops at 9 p.m. in total viewers and shared the 18-to-49 lead with NBC’s Running with Bear Grylls.

LOCAL NEWS NOTE: More than two years after being dropped by Dallas-based TEGNA8, Shon Gables has landed an anchor/reporter position at KTBS-TV, the ABC affiliate station in Shreveport, LA.

“Got those nervous jitters out!” she tweeted Monday from Shreveport.

Gables’ previous legal problems have been extensively detailed in these spaces. And KTBS no doubt is well aware of them. But she deserves another chance, and it’s hoped that this time things go well for her.

Gables left TEGNA8 as the station’s weekend morning anchor in June 2014. She had remained in Dallas until recently after first joining TEGNA8 in January 2010. Post-TEGNA8, she regularly tweeted about her physical fitness regimen and diet.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., Aug. 19-21) -- Cowboys tie Olympics for Friday night top spot

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Torch’s last gasp at 2016 Rio Olympics. Photo: Ed Bark

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Friday’s Night 15 of the Rio Olympics and the Dallas Cowboys-Miami Dolphins pre-season game were the weekend’s top ratings draws in D-FW.

An abbreviated night of the Summer Games ran from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on NBC and averaged 488,686 viewers. The Cowboys’ rout of Miami started at the same hour on CBS11, but stretched to 10:12 p.m. It ended up averaging an identical 488,686 viewers.

Even though the Olympics went against the Cowboys, they still drew more viewers than the equivalent Night 15 of London’s Olympics, which had 440,317.

On Saturday night, the Olympics from Rio sank to their lowest total of 403,697 viewers in a 7 to 11 p.m. slot that included an extended package of closing credits and highlights. Still, that was barely good enough to nip Night 16 from London (399,672 viewers).

Then came Sunday night’s Closing Ceremonies, with Rio again taking a severe beating. An average of 446,191 viewers tuned in compared to 806,118 for the final show from London. Rio’s Opening Ceremonies also came up way short of London’s. An absence of familiar stars clearly hurt in both cases, with London’s opener crushing Rio’s by a score of 894,181 viewers to 531,180.

On the 15 competition nights, though, Rio held its own by outdrawing London on 7 of the 15 nights. Tuesday, Aug. 9th, during which Michael Phelps won his 20th and 21st gold medals in live coverage, easily ranked as Rio’s top draw with 970,289 viewers. That night also had taped coverage of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team’s gold medal performance.

NBC’s Sunday night cognac, a 9:30 p.m. half-hour “preview” episode of The Voice with new judges Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys, had a nice-sized 318,708 viewers to easily win its time slot.

On Friday, the Peacock’s 9:30 p.m. new episode of Superstore ran second to the Cowboys game with 290,378 viewers.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results.

NBC5 ran first at 6 a.m. and 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming). This double grand slam comes with an asterisk, though. CBS11’s 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts were either rubbed out or delayed by Cowboys specials or the game itself. And the closing portion of the pre-season game, plus some post-game coverage, dominated the 10 to 10:30 p.m. slot.

NBC5 newscasts are likely to enjoy a nice afterglow from NBC’s Olympics run, though. We’ll see how that pans out.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Strangis in a strange land as the principal star of Hospitality Suite

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Age-old sports voices: Norm Hitzges, Ralph Strangis. Photo: Ed Bark

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Get set for a torrent of dialogue, the bulk of it from Ralph Strangis, if you’re among those in the audience for Hospitality Suite.

It’s something of a latter-day meld of Death of A Salesman and Glengarry Glen Ross, with the former longtime voice of the Dallas Stars hockey team loudly emoting like crazy as industrial lubricant salesman Larry Mann.

A Thursday night preview performance of the male-centric play by Roger Rueff drew a sizable contingent of sports radio personalities, including Norm Hitzges (pictured with Strangis above), Brad Sham, Chuck Cooperstein, Bob Sturm, Tim Cowlishaw, Jeff “Skin” Wade and Corby Davidson. An open bar and free post-play food didn’t hurt a bit.

Originating from the 26th floor hospitality suite of a Wichita, Kansas hotel, the play focuses almost exclusively on three salesmen played by Strangis, Gary Walters (as Phil Bustamonte) and Brent Crable (as Bob Walker). Khalid Beard also is seen briefly but memorably as drunken hanger-on Keith Brewster.

Strangis’ Larry is the center ring antagonist, whether sparring with his beaten-down sales partner Phil or hectoring the pious young Bob about both his religious beliefs and his shortcomings as a deal-closer. He somehow manages to memorize enough lines to fill a full season of hockey games. For the most part it’s an effective, full-barreled performance, although a little modulation in spots might help to richen the texture.

“I wanted to be in this show and play this part, so I bought the rights and cast myself in the damned thing,” Strangis says in the Hospitality Suite play booklet. “I didn’t have all that much else going on so what the hell.”

Strangis voluntarily left the Stars in April of 2015 after a quarter-century of ice and puck. He’s since been roaming the world on his own terms while also writing occasional columns for The Dallas Morning News and lately completing an undergraduate degree at the University of North Texas.

Hospitality Suite also was adapted into a 1999 feature film, The Big Kahuna, starring Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito and Peter Facinelli. The new Dallas stage version continues on Aug. 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27 in the South Side Music Hall at Gilley’s Dallas, 1135 St. Lamar St.

For more details and ticket information, go here.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., Aug. 18) -- Olympics get a Bolt bump

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
NBC’s Summer Olympics from Rio reversed their steady decline Thursday, with Usain Bolt’s record-setting third straight 200 meters gold medal helping to push the D-FW ratings past 2012’s equivalent night from London.

Night 14 of the Games averaged 602,004 viewers, up from the 555,476 who watched the London Olympics four years ago. That reversed a six-night losing streak for Rio. But the London Games still lead Rio 9-5 in night-by-night comparisons. Just three nights remain, with the Olympics torch being snuffed out this Sunday. And Friday’s Olympics telecast will be pitted against the Dallas Cowboys-Miami Dolphins pre-season game on CBS11. That should be a close battle.

Thursday’s most-watched TV attraction opposite the Olympics, a 7 p.m. repeat of CBS’ The Big Bang Theory, drew 191,225 viewers.

Here are Thursday’s local news derby results, with NBC5’s 10 p.m. edition again counted out due to the Olympics’ over-run.

TEGNA8 ran first in total viewers at 10 p.m. but was nipped by Fox4 for the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions and NBC5 did likewise at 5 p.m. The Peacock also drew the most total viewers at 6 p.m. But for first time during NBC’s Olympics run, NBC5 had to share first place with a rival station (Fox4) in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., Aug. 17) -- Olympics fading badly

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
NBC’s Summer Games from Rio are hitting a big ratings rut down the stretch, with Wednesday night’s coverage sinking below even the Opening Ceremonies.

Night 13 of the Olympics averaged 502,850 D-FW viewers compared to 670,636 for the equivalent night from London in 2012. That dropped it below the 531,180 viewers for Rio’s Opening Ceremonies, which had been the least-watched of the Peacock’s 2016 presentations. Night 5 of the Rio Olympics, with Michael Phelps winning two gold medals, hit a ratings high of 970,289 viewers that clearly won’t be matched during the closing nights.

For the final 15-minute segment Wednesday (10:45 to 11 p.m.), the Olympics audience dipped all the way down to 361,202 viewers. A first-run episode of CBS’ NCIS generally does better than that. The London Games now have beaten the Rio Olympics on nine of the 13 nights, including the last six in a row.

On Fox Sports Southwest Wednesday night, the first-place Texas Rangers’ sweep of the visiting Oakland A’s averaged 169,978 viewers to finish second among all TV attractions.

Here are Wednesday’s local news derby results, with NBC5’s 10 p.m. edition again out of the mix due to NBC’s extended Olympics coverage.

TEGNA8 and CBS11 tied for the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while Fox4 joined a three-way first-place tie among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions and NBC5 did likewise at both 5 and 6 p.m., where it remains unbeaten in both ratings measurements throughout NBC’s Olympics run.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., Aug. 16 ) -- Olympics still in decline

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
For the fifth straight day, NBC’s coverage of the Summer Olympics from Rio fell short of the equivalent Night 12 from the 2012 London Games.

Stretching to 11:09 p.m., Tuesday night’s coverage averaged 630,334 D-FW viewers compared to 704,506 for the London Olympics. London now leads Rio 8-4 in nights won and lost.

The first place Texas Rangers’ dramatic 5-4 extra inning home win against Oakland -- after blowing a ninth inning lead and then falling behind by two runs in the top of the 10th -- averaged 148,730 viewers on Fox Sports Southwest. CBS’ 7 p.m. repeat of NCIS took the silver with 169,978 viewers, although portions of the Rangers game had a higher peak audience than that.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results, with NBC5 again counted out of the 10 p.m. competition due to the Olympics over-run.

CBS11 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while Fox4 and TEGNA8 tied for the top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 won in total viewers at 6 a.m. and tied NBC5 for first among 25-to-54-year-olds.

The Peacock remained unbeaten at 5 and 6 p.m. in both ratings measurements during NBC’s Olympics run.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed.-Mon., Aug. 10-15) -- Rio recap, with Olympics taking a dip

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Your friendly content provider is hovering over a computer again after a brief sojourn. And lately the D-FW ratings for the Rio Olympics haven’t been particularly kind compared to equivalent nights from London four summers ago.

After outdrawing the 2012 Summer Games for three straight nights (Sunday through Tuesday of last week), NBC’s prime-coverage fell behind in five of the last six competitions.

Only Thursday’s prime-time (and beyond) coverage performed better ratings-wise than the London Olympics. Let’s take a night-by-night look.

Wednesday -- The Rio Olympics averaged 602,004 D-FW viewers, the smallest audience since the Opening Ceremonies pulled in 531,180 viewers and Saturday’s first full night of competition averaged 538,262 viewers. NBC’s Night 6 from London had 785,796 viewers.

Thursday -- On Night 7, the Rio games drew 864,053 viewers, up from the 826,440 for the 2012 Olympics.

Friday -- The audience dropped to 616,169 viewers for Night 8, trailing the London Games’ 657,088 viewers.

Saturday -- The falloff continued on Night 9, with Rio averaging 609,086 viewers compared to 690,958 for the same night in 2012. On TEGNA8, the Dallas Cowboys’ first preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams averaged 311,626 viewers.

Sunday -- Usain Bolt’s record-setting third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the 100 meters helped to pump the Rio numbers up to 729,487 viewers. But that still trailed the 765,473 viewers for Night 10 of the London Games.

Monday -- Night 11 from Rio averaged 623,251 viewers, compared to 677,410 in 2012.

Over the first 11 nights, including the Opening Ceremonies, Rio has drawn more viewers on four occasions while London lately has surged ahead by winning the D-FW ratings battle on seven nights.

Of course, no other TV attraction is coming even remotely close to the Rio Olympics in the conventional same-night Nielsen ratings. Plus, viewers have more alternative ways to tune in the 2016 Games, with cell phone technology well ahead of where it was in 2012.

Here are the weekday local news derby results, with NBC5’s 10 p.m. edition out of the mix due to Olympics coverage stretching to 11 p.m.

Wednesday -- CBS11 nipped TEGNA8 for the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but TEGNA8 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 won in total viewers at 6 a.m. while NBC5 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds. The Peacock ran the table at both 5 and 6 p.m..

Thursday -- Fox4 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while TEGNA8 again ranked No. 1 with 25-to-54-year-olds.

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

Friday -- TEGNA8 won at 10 p.m. in both ratings measurements and tied Fox4 for first in total viewers at 6 a.m. NBC5 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds at 6 a.m. and once again swept the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions.

Monday -- CBS11 won at 10 p.m. in total viewers while Fox4 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds.

The 6 a.m. golds were split between Fox4 in total viewers and NBC5 in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Rack up another 5 and 6 p.m. sweep for the Peacock.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

CBS11 adds Brittany Jeffers to reporting team

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
It’s been a busy week of hires, with CBS11 now joining the crowd by adding Brittany Jeffers to its reporting staff.

Jeffers will be arriving on Aug. 17th from Tulsa’s KOKI-TV, where she’s been a weekend anchor and nightside reporter since October 2011. CBS11 director of communications Lori Conrad said there’s no firm date yet for her on-air debut with the station.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln broadcast journalism graduate was Miss Nebraska in the 2009 Miss America pageant, where she made the Top 10. She also has worked at KLKN-TV in LIncoln as a reporter.

Another CBS11 newcomer, Vanessa Brown, currently is working as a freelancer. Brown likewise reported for Lincoln’s KLKN-TV and also previously freelanced at Dallas-based KDAF-TV.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., Aug. 9) -- biggest boom yet for Rio Games

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Paced by live coverage of swimmer Michael Phelps’ 20th and 21st gold medals, Night 5 of NBC’s Summer Olympics from Rio neared an average of one million D-FW viewers while again surpassing the same night’s coverage from the 2012 Games in London.

Running from 7 to 11:04 p.m., the Olympics pulled in 970,289 viewers in easily outdrawing the 860,311 for Night 5 the last time around. A peak crowd of 1,229,368 watched from 8:30 to 8:45 p.m. Nielsen Media Research measures in 15-minute increments. And in seven of those quarter hours, the Olympics exceeded the one million viewers mark. The final full quarter hour -- 10:45 to 11 p.m. -- drew the fewest viewers with 743,652.

Nights 3 through 5 of the Summer Games have now all outdrawn their 2012 counterparts after Friday’s Opening Ceremony laid something of a ratings egg compared to the 2012 festivities from London. This year’s big chunks of live swimming, with Phelps stirring the drink, so far have given NBC a belated super liftoff in 2016 after the Friday and Saturday night ratings ran behind the first two nights in 2012.

Rival broadcast networks took a crushing, with CBS’ 7 p.m. repeat of NCIS ranking as Tuesday’s second biggest draw in prime-time with just 127,483 viewers.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results.

CBS11 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m. in a down-sized three-way race while Fox4 took the top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming). Provided with “hashmarks” (no measurable audience) for ABC’s 9:30 p.m. lead-in -- a rerun of Fresh Off the Boat, TEGNA8 possibly sank to its lowest total of 25-to-54-year-olds ever. The station drew just 5,953 viewers in this age range, compared to No. 1 Fox4’s 62,502.

Fox4 also won in total viewers at 6 a.m., but was beaten by NBC5 among 25-to-54-year-olds. The Peacock again dominated at 5 and 6 p.m. with sweeps in both time slots.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Larry Collins, Hannah Davis, Chris Sadeghi join D-FW TV newsrooms

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New D-FW reporters Larry Collins, Hannah Davis and Chris Sadeghi.

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Larry Collins is coming soon to NBC5, marking the Fort Worth station’s second announced reporter hiring this week. And Hannah Davis and Chris Sadeghi are newly in place at TEGNA8 as both stations gear up for the fall.

Collins, who has been with Baltimore’s WBFF-TV for the last two years, won’t be arriving at NBC5 until Oct. 15th, vice president of programming Brian Hocker confirmed Wednesday. He’ll be an early morning reporter. Collins also has worked at TV stations in Charleston, S.C., Alexandria, Louisiana and New Orleans, where he began as an assignments editor in 2003.

As previously posted, NBC5 also is adding reporter Homa Bash, who will join the station sometime in mid-September, Hocker said. The industry site tvspy.com reported Collins’ hiring earlier Wednesday, but had no specifics on his duties or start date.

TEGNA8 news director Carolyn Mungo as usual did not return a message asking about her station’s new hires. But in a memo to staffers obtained by unclebarky.com, Mungo said that Davis, a former producer who now bills herself as a “MMJ” (Multi-Media Journalist) on her resume, “will spend some of her time as a dayside MMJ in Collin County. I know Jobin (reporter Jobin Panicker) is thrilled to get some help in that ever growing part of our viewing area.”

Davis arrived last month from KWCH-TV in Wichita, Kansas, where she had been since 2011. During that time she transformed herself from a producer to an anchor/reporter. Both Davis and Collins are represented by the No Whining Talent Group.

TEGNA8 also has Sadeghi newly in play as an early morning reporter. He joins Monica Hernandez as a full-time Daybreak reporter while Marcus Moore will work that shift Wednesdays through Fridays after being transferred from TEGNA8’s 4 p.m. weekday newscast co-anchor to a weekend morning anchor post.

Sadeghi, who bears a resemblance to veteran sports radio talk personality Bob Sturm of “The Ticket” (1310 AM), previously had worked since 2010 at Austin’s KXAN-TV. He’s a University of Texas at Austin grad.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Homa Bash joins NBC5 reporting staff

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Distinctively named Homa Bash is leaving the city of champions (well, champion) to join Fort Worth-based NBC5 as a reporter.

She’s scheduled to arrive in September from Cleveland’s WEWS-TV, where she spent two years.

“After so long, I’ll finally be close to home and my family -- and isn’t that what it’s all about?” Bash says on her Facebook page. “Please don’t burn my jerseys.”

She grew up in Oklahoma and has a brother in Dallas and another brother in Houston.

Cleveland.com reported her departure earlier Tuesday, although Bash first announced her hiring by NBC5 in a July 22nd Facebook page entry. She also posted the news on her Twitter account. A Facebook respondent tells her, “If you see Johnny Manziel down there in the Lone Star state, tell him we don’t miss him up here.”

Before joining Cleveland’s WEWS, Bash worked at TV stations in Tulsa and Abilene.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., Aug. 8) -- Olympics continue to move on up

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Night 4 of NBC’s Summer Olympics from Rio continued the momentum established with Sunday night’s comeback ratings.

After a sharp drop in the Opening Ceremonies numbers and also a falloff on Night 2, the Sunday and Monday numbers have been improvements over the same nights in London four years ago.

Helped by another sizable portion of live coverage, Night 4 averaged 736,570 D-FW viewers compared to 684,184 in 2012. And that’s even with a considerable falloff in the closing 10 to 11 p.m. hour, which offered live beach volleyball and then taped coverage of the stumbling U.S. men’s gymnastics team.

The Texas Rangers again were the second most-watched nighttime attraction Monday, averaging 141,648 viewers on Fox Sports Southwest for their 9th inning comeback win at Colorado.

Here are Monday’s local news derby results.

At 10 p.m., CBS11 entered the winner’s circle for the first time in a while by running first in total viewers. But Fox4 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming) in a downsized three-way competition.

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

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., Aug. 5-7) -- Olympics dominate but sharply decline before recovering

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JC had a good view of Friday’s Opening Ceremonies. Photo: Ed Bark

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Awash in negative pre-publicity, NBC’s first three nights of the Summer Olympics from Rio won all the ratings gold medals while initially being no match for the 2012 Games from London.

Friday’s elongated Opening Ceremonies, which stretched all the way to 11:30 p.m., were an especially big shortfall in the D-FW Nielsens. They averaged 531,180 viewers, way down from the 894,181 four years ago.

Still, the next biggest ratings attraction, Fox Sports Southwest’s Texas Rangers-Houston Astros game, had just 106,236 viewers. So if everything’s relative, the Olympics are still a ratings monster.

Saturday’s prime-time Olympics telecast, which stretched well into late night with an 11:10 p.m. finish time, averaged 538,262 viewers compared to 663,862 for the second night from London. Rangers-Astros on FSS again were the night’s distant runner-up with 120,401 viewers.

On Sunday night, the Olympics easily made their biggest ratings impression with an average of 842,806 viewers. That was up a few notches from the 819,666 for Night 3 of the 2012 Games. NBC offered a considerable amount of live swimming coverage, highlighted by swimmer Michael Phelps’ 19th gold medal as part of the U.S. men’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay team.

The Rangers’ extra inning day game win over the Astros, again on FSS, took the silver with 184,142 viewers in a game that ran until 5:09 p.m.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results.

Fox4 won a downsized 10 p.m. competition in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

The station also had twin wins at 6 a.m. while NBC5 swept both the 5 and 6 p.m. races.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed.-Thurs., Aug. 3-4) -- scoreboarding with the Rangers

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Texas Rangers weren’t quite the biggest show in town for their final two road games in Baltimore. But they hit the D-FW ratings hard enough to make Fox Sports Southwest for the most part feel like a winner.

Thursday night’s 5-3 win over the Orioles averaged 212,472 viewers and 66,690 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic.

In total viewers, the game trailed only CBS’ 7 p.m. repeat of The Big Bang Theory (219,554). The Rangers also ran second with 18-to-49-year-olds, behind only CBS’ 8 p.m. hour of Big Brother (73,041).

Wednesday’s prime-time festivities were topped in total viewers by Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast (219,554) while NBC’s 7 p.m. edition of America’s Got Talent ran just behind with 212,472 viewers. The Rangers’ 3-2 loss to Baltimore came in third overall with 162,895 viewers.

Among 18-to-49-year-olds, the Rangers fell to sixth place behind Fox’s double dose of Masterchef, Fox4’s news, AGT and Big Brother.

ABC’s two-hour Country Music Association Festival had a pedestrian 120,401 total viewers to rank well behind Rangers-Orioles (162,895). The Rangers also outdrew the CMA special among 18-to-49-year-olds by a score of 53,987 viewers to 38,108.

Here are the Wednesday and Thursday local news derby results.

Wednesday -- TEGNA8 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but Fox4 prevailed among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again controlled the 6 a.m. competitions and NBC5 won by wide margins at 5 and 6 p.m. in both ratings measurements.

Thursday -- It was the same story as Wednesday at both 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

NBC5 drew the most total viewers at 5 and 6 p.m. while Fox4 broke through to win both competitions in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Brad, Babe, Kristi & "The Dooce" team up for the Dallas Press Club's Sept. 7th "Cowboys Kickoff" (updated with new autographed items)

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From top left clockwise: “Cowboys Kickoff” panelists Brad Sham, Babe Laufenberg, Kristi Scales and Mike Doocy. Coming Sept. 7th.

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Injuries and all, the Dallas Cowboys’ 2016 training camp is underway in Oxnard, CA.

Whatever shape the team ends up in, few if any know the Cowboys better than the veteran radio team of Brad Sham, Babe Laufenberg and Kristi Scales.

For the first time ever, they’ll gather together for an off-the-air panel on Wednesday, Sept. 7th, when the Press Club of Dallas sponsors a “Cowboys Kickoff” event. Longtime Fox4 sports anchor Mike Doocy will moderate.

As a first-year Press Club board member, your friendly content provider brought the four of them together for an inside view of whether the Cowboys can rebound from last year’s injury-pocked season and return to postseason play. Just four days later, the team begins its regular season with a Sunday, Sept. 11th game against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium. So the timing is perfect, no matter how things end up turning out.

Our venue is Dallas’ 3015 at Trinity Groves Event Center, which also accommodated two previous Press Club events -- a sendoff to WFAA-TV’s award-laden investigative reporter, Byron Harris, and a “Weathering Heights” gathering of trailblazing D-FW television meteorologists.

It’s the same highly affordable price of $25 for non-Press Club members and $20 for members. Included are dinner (the food is always terrific), wine, beer and soft drinks. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the panel will begin around 7:15 p.m. It’s a very cool, intimate setting at which about 200 people can be accommodated. So space is limited.

At the Feb. 29th “Weathering Heights” event, the Press Club donated $500 to the American Red Cross of North Texas for tornado relief efforts. “Cowboys Kickoff” also will include a charity component, but this time we’re trying something a little different.

In a raffle preceding the event, attendees can buy tickets for $2 apiece, with an extra two tickets for every $20 spent. An option to get 12 tickets for each $20 spent is available in advance on the pressclubdallas.com website. At the event itself, the price will go up to $3 a ticket, with eight provided for every $20 spent.

There’s no obligation, but we have an imposing and growing list of autographed sports collectibles and Cowboys game tickets. Our beneficiary is okaytosay.org, a mental health awareness initiative for which Brad, Mark Cuban, Eric Nadel, Emmitt Smith, Mayor Mike Rawlings and many others have cut supportive videos. Here’s some of what you could win at panel’s end, with the list still growing:

***A Dirk Nowitzki autographed jersey donated by the Dallas Mavericks.
***Baseballs signed by Cole Hamels and Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez donated by the Texas Rangers
***A football autographed by Drew Pearson donated by Fox4
***Two items signed and donated by Cowboys Hall of Famer Roger Staubach
***Jamie Benn autographed cap donated by Ralph Strangis
***Ezekiel Elliott signed football donated by the Dallas Cowboys
***Two tickets to the Oct. 9th home game vs. the Cincinnati Bengals donated by the Dallas Cowboys
***Marty Turco autographed puck donated by okaytosay.org
***Darrell Royal autographed book donated by Bill Young


Drawings of the winners will be at the end of the panel. But remember, the price will go up to $3 per raffle ticket at the “Cowboy Kickoff” event, with eight for every $20 spent. You must have bought a ticket to “Cowboys Kickoff” in order to also buy raffle tickets.

June’s annual North Texas Legends awards event, also sponsored by the Press Club, was a complete sell-out. Those who didn’t buy their tickets early enough had to be turned away because of fire marshal restrictions on capacity at the downtown Dallas Sixth Floor Museum.

So you’re advised to get your tickets now while they’re still available. Again, for more details and online ticket-buying and raffle ticket advance purchase information, please click right here.

Brief personal note: My primary objective as a first-year Press Club board member has been to help organize events that are both informational and entertaining. The Press Club, under the leadership of president Frank Librio, has made enormous strides in the past year. Besides the Trinity Groves Event Center panels and the North Texas Legends ceremony, the Press Club pulled off one of this year’s signature media events, the April 11th salute to Texas native and CBS newsman Bob Schieffer. It truly was an enormous success.

So if you enjoy reading unclebarky.com and want to see four Cowboys experts up-close, our Sept. 7th event welcomes your attendance. You will not regret it. That’s a guarantee.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

NBC5 tabs Samantha Chatman as new consumer reporter

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Reporter Samantha Chatman, who’s been with Louisville, KY’s WDRB-TV since June 2015, is leaving after just over a year to join NBC5.

She arrives at the Fort Worth-based station on Monday, and will make her on-air debut soon after, NBC5 vice president of programming Brian Hocker confirms. “Samantha will be our consumer reporter focusing on NBC5 Responds,” he said.

She fills the vacancy left by Deanna Dewberry, who resigned from NBC5 in mid-June of this year.

Chatman previously worked at WEEK-TV in Peoria, Illinois and also has interned at WCIA-TV (Champaign, Illiinois), WLS-TV (Chicago) and WFLD-TV (also Chicago). NBC5 will be her sixth television station since January, 2012.

WDRB notes that Chatman also was an American Idol contestant in the summer of 2008, when Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson were still the judges. But she didn’t make it to the Hollywood round.

Chatman has been a weekend weather anchor, too, with WEEK-TV.

The industry website tvspy.com reported Tuesday on its “On the Move/Revolving Door” page that Chatman would be coming to NBC5 at some point.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., Aug. 2) -- new look Rangers can't touch all the bases

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The new look Texas Rangers, with marquee pitcher Yu Darvish on the mound, drew a nice-sized audience for Fox Sports Southwest Tuesday night.

But a lackluster 5-1 loss and an early 6:05 p.m. start in Baltimore helped to put a lid on things and keep the Rangers from vaulting over NBC’s potent America’s Got Talent.

AGT was prime-time’s overall top draw in total D-FW viewers with 262,049 in the 7 to 9 p.m. slot. Rangers-Orioles ran second with 198,307. The North Texas Nine beat AGT among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds by a score of 69,865 viewers to 63,514. But Fox4’s 9 p.m. newscast was the biggest draw in this key demographic with 73,041 viewers. The newscast more than tripled the number of 18-to-49-year-olds for Fox’s 8 p.m. edition of Coupling, which had just 22,230.

ABC’s Season 3 launch of the brain-deadening Bachelor In Paradise ran third from 7 to 9 p.m. among the Big Four broadcast networks in total viewers (84,989). It moved up to second with 18-to-49-year-olds (41,284).

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results.

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

Fox4 ran first in total viewers at 6 a.m. and tied the Peacock for the top spot in the 25-to-54 realm.

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

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

TEGNA8's Shelly Slater leaving as anchor to spend more time with children

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
In a significant shakeup at Dallas-based TEGNA8, 10-year news staffer Shelly Slater is leaving her weekday 4 and 6 p.m. co-anchoring positions to spend more time with her husband and their three pre-teen children.

Staffers learned of the shakeup Tuesday afternoon. So far, newcomer Alisha Laventure and Jason Wheeler have been tabbed to co-anchor the 4 p.m. newscasts while Marcus Moore is being moved to the weekend morning co-anchor slot in place of Laventure. He’ll also contribute to the weekday Daybreak program.

Laventure joined TEGNA8 earlier this summer, and is so new that her picture and bio aren’t yet included on the station’s official “Meet the Team” roster on wfaa.com.

John McCaa currently co-anchors the 6 p.m. weekday newscasts. Incumbent news staffer Cynthia Izaguirre will be joining him in place of Slater. Izaguirre and McCaa also co-anchor the 10 p.m. newscasts. Wheeler’s nighttime weekend anchoring duties remain open for now. Slater will continue as an anchor through early September.

In comments to unclebarky.com, Slater said she was offered a “nice contract” by TEGNA8 “but I asked to step away from the 4 and 6 p.m. news as an anchor. I will be working only a few days per month turning special stories for the 10 p.m. news, on my mom schedule. It’s going to be great. I get to still tell stories and see my Channel 8 family, while focusing on the craziness that comes with three boys!”

Her third child was born in January after Slater went into labor while co-anchoring the 4 p.m. news.

Slater joined TEGNA8 in October 2006 when it was still locally owned by Belo. The Plano, TX native arrived from WDAF-TV in Kansas City and is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia. In her station bio, she says she first decided to become a journalist after meeting with longtime TEGNA8 anchor Gloria Campos, who retired in March of 2014.

TEGNA8 has struggled with its 4 p.m. newscast ratings, in part because of very low-rated 3 to 5 p.m. syndicated lead-in programming from FabLife, The Insider and Inside Edition.

The 6 p.m. newscasts do better, although NBC5 lately has taken charge in both total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., Aug. 1) -- Bachelorette finale spurs ABC

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Dallasite JoJo Fletcher finally selected her made-for-TV mate Monday night on the latest season finale of ABC’s The Bachelorette.

It was enough to tie the show for the night’s top honors in total viewers with NBC’s competing American Ninja Warrior. But ABC won the night outright among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds with Bachelorette and its 9 p.m. followup, a tabloid-slamming After the Final Rose. For the record, the dude with the final rose is Jordan Rodgers. Yeah, he’s Aaron Rodgers’ brother, but as a native Wisconsinite, I remain a loyal Green Bay Packer fan.

Bachelorette and Ninja Warrior both drew 184,142 total D-FW viewers in the 7 to 9 p.m. slot. After the Final Rose held almost all of that audience to win the 9 p.m. hour with 177,060 viewers.

Among 18-to-49-year-olds, Bachelorette ruled prime-time with 82,568 viewers before After the Final Rose took command at 9 p.m. with 79,393 viewers in this key audience demographic.

Here are Monday’s local news derby numbers.

NBC5 overcame TEGNA8’s rare lead-in advantage from ABC 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 also swept the 5 and 6 p.m. competitions while Fox4 as usual had twin wins at 6 a.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., July 29-31) -- Rangers get hot again

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Fox Sports Southwest enjoyed itself over the weekend, particularly on Friday night.

There’s nothing not to like about being the home network of the newly resurgent Texas Rangers. The team’s four-game home sweep of the visiting Kansas City Royals, which put the first-place Rangers six games ahead of the suddenly struggling Houston Astros, gave FSS Friday’s most-watched program in a landslide while the Saturday and Sunday games also performed well.

On Friday, Rangers-Royals averaged 233,719 D-FW viewers and 95,271 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49 age range. The next closest prime-time attraction in total viewers, NBC’s 9 p.m. edition of Dateline, drew 127,483 and also ran a distant second among 18-to-49-year-olds (50,811).

Saturday night’s Rangers game likewise was king of the hill with 184,142 total viewers and 44,460 in the 18-to-49 realm.

On Sunday afternoon, the Rangers averaged 169,978 total viewers and 60,338 in the 18-to-49 demographic. That was good enough to beat CBS’ competing portion of the PGA championship’s final round in both ratings measurements. Down the stretch, though, golf had a higher peak audience of total viewers, drawing 226,637 in the 6:15 to 6:30 p.m. increment measured by Nielsen Media Research.

In prime-time Sunday, ABC’s 9 p.m. hours of Match Game are starting to lag behind the network’s preceding Celebrity Family Feud and $100,000 Pyramid. But Match Game still had enough juice to win its time slot in total viewers (134,566) while trailing the second hour of NBC’s American Ninja Warrior and Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast among 18-to-49-year-olds.

Celebrity Family Feud remained ABC’s biggest retro game show draw, winning the 7 p.m. hour in total viewers (169,978) while barely beating CBS’ competing Big Brother and NBC’s Hollywood Game Night among 18-to-49-year-olds.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results.

TEGNA8 had the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but NBC won among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions and NBC5 did likewise at 6 p.m. The 5 p.m. golds were split between the Peacock in total viewers and Fox4 in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net