Dec 2019
Joy to the world -- and to WFAA8 as newest reporter
12/11/19 10:04 AM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Dallas-based WFAA8 is in sync with the holiday season by adding William Joy to its reporting staff.
After two years with Kansas City’s KMBC-TV, he’ll be leaving the ABC affiliate later this month.
“In about a week, I’ll be saying goodbye,” Joy said Tuesday on his Twitter account. “I’ve enjoyed Kansas City, and it’s tough to leave. I’m excited, though, to share I’ve accepted a new position as a reporter at WFAA in Dallas.”
The University of Missouri-Columbia graduate previously worked at TV stations in Louisville, KY and Charleston, SC. He also was a London bureau intern with Fox News Channel and a sports/news intern with WTVF-TV in Nashville.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
Former Daybreak co-anchor Ron Corning gets back on home screens Saturday via CW33's first Dallas Holiday Parade presentation
12/06/19 10:19 AM
Making spirits bright: Ron Corning returns to TV screens Saturday. Photo: Ed Bark
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Nine months removed from co-anchoring WFAA8’s Daybreak, Ron Corning in a manner of speaking will be back among the living Saturday.
His return to TV screens is as co-host of the 31st annual Dallas Holiday Parade, which this year will air on CW33 from 10 a.m. to noon on Dec. 7th.
Corning will be joined by another ex-early morning personality, Jenny Anchondo, who co-anchored weekend editions of Fox4’s Good Day before having a short stay with the since canceled Morning Dose, which originated from CW33 studios.
This is CW33’s first year of presenting the parade, which used to air on WFAA8. Corning says he was never a participant, but came close with two stints on the station’s Big D NYE telecasts. He also co-hosted three editions of WFAA8’s Fourth of July fireworks specials.
Corning still lives in Dallas, and otherwise has been doing media training consulting and solo-hosting the Morning After podcast, on which he originally teamed with former Daybreak co-anchor Alexa Conomos.
Saturday’s parade telecast will also feature contributions from The Beat on 33 personalities J-Kruz and Jazzi Black, who will “interact with parade participants and parade goers,” according to a CW33 publicity release.
The Holiday Parade dates to 1988. CW33 has previous parade experience with telecasts this year of the Dallas Mavs St. Patrick’s Parade and the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., Nov. 28-Tues., Dec. 3) -- the Cowboys' Thanksgiving turkey and other post-"sweeps" stuff(ing)
12/05/19 09:58 AM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The November ratings “sweeps” are history, with the local newscast results duly and exhaustively chronicled in these spaces.
So let’s at long last look at the numbers for the Dallas Cowboys’ annual Thanksgiving Day game, in which they got stuffed by the visiting Buffalo Bills.
Airing on CBS11, the 26-15 loss easily set a season high in total D-FW viewers, soaring past the two million mark with 2,094,893. In the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old age range, Cowboys-Bills also hit a high point of 753,390 viewers.
Both totals are way up from last year’s Thanksgiving game, in which the Cowboys beat the Washington Redskins 31-23. That one averaged 1,651,886 total viewers, with 652,147 in the 18-to-49 realm.
NBC’s nighttime matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons drew 605,342 total viewers, falling short of the audience for the Peacock’s Macy’s parade presentation, which amassed an eye-popping 693,763 total viewers. Fox’s early afternoon Chicago Bears-Detroit Lions game ran second on Thanksgiving with -- holy crap -- 1,163,074 total viewers. It’s the first non-Cowboys NFL game to crack the one million mark this season.
OK, let’s fast-forward to Tuesday, where CBS11’s syndicated Wheel of Fortune drew the most viewers of the day with 278,866. Among 18-to-49ers, Fox’s 7 p.m. episode of The Resident led all TV attractions with 57,292 viewers.
On Monday, ESPN’s marquee Monday Night Football matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings of course easily topped the field with 367,286 total viewers and 143,230 in the 18-to-49 age range.
The NFL also ruled as always on Sunday, with NBC’s nighttime Houston Texans-New England Patriots face-off leading the way with 584,938 total viewers.
Close behind were Fox’s early afternoon Baltimore Ravens-San Francisco 49ers game (544,128 total viewers) and CBS’ following Kansas City Chiefs-Oakland Raiders mismatch (537,326).
Saturday’s college football parade was paced by Fox’s prime-time Oklahoma-Oklahoma State rivalry game, which drew 346,882 total viewers.
Friday’s prime-time leader, CBS’ annual reprise of Frosty Returns, pulled in 142,834 total viewers while its running mate, the preceding Frosty the Snowman, was the runner-up with 129,230 viewers. Both of them froze out and beat the first hour of Fox’s Friday Night Smackdown, which is kind of refreshing. But among 18-to-49ers, wrestling was the prime-time king.
Here are the Monday-Tuesday local news derby results. A majority of the combatants took holiday exemptions on Friday.
Monday -- WFAA8 led at 10 p.m. in total viewers while NBC5 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).
Fox4 swept both the 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. competitions and added a 6 p.m. win with 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 drew the most total viewers at 6 p.m.
Tuesday -- WFAA8 again won in total viewers at 10 p.m., but this time it was Fox4 taking the 25-to-54 gold.
Fox4 also had twin wins at 6 a.m. and drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 and 6 p.m. NBC5 was tops in total viewers in both early evening competitions.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The November ratings “sweeps” are history, with the local newscast results duly and exhaustively chronicled in these spaces.
So let’s at long last look at the numbers for the Dallas Cowboys’ annual Thanksgiving Day game, in which they got stuffed by the visiting Buffalo Bills.
Airing on CBS11, the 26-15 loss easily set a season high in total D-FW viewers, soaring past the two million mark with 2,094,893. In the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old age range, Cowboys-Bills also hit a high point of 753,390 viewers.
Both totals are way up from last year’s Thanksgiving game, in which the Cowboys beat the Washington Redskins 31-23. That one averaged 1,651,886 total viewers, with 652,147 in the 18-to-49 realm.
NBC’s nighttime matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons drew 605,342 total viewers, falling short of the audience for the Peacock’s Macy’s parade presentation, which amassed an eye-popping 693,763 total viewers. Fox’s early afternoon Chicago Bears-Detroit Lions game ran second on Thanksgiving with -- holy crap -- 1,163,074 total viewers. It’s the first non-Cowboys NFL game to crack the one million mark this season.
OK, let’s fast-forward to Tuesday, where CBS11’s syndicated Wheel of Fortune drew the most viewers of the day with 278,866. Among 18-to-49ers, Fox’s 7 p.m. episode of The Resident led all TV attractions with 57,292 viewers.
On Monday, ESPN’s marquee Monday Night Football matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings of course easily topped the field with 367,286 total viewers and 143,230 in the 18-to-49 age range.
The NFL also ruled as always on Sunday, with NBC’s nighttime Houston Texans-New England Patriots face-off leading the way with 584,938 total viewers.
Close behind were Fox’s early afternoon Baltimore Ravens-San Francisco 49ers game (544,128 total viewers) and CBS’ following Kansas City Chiefs-Oakland Raiders mismatch (537,326).
Saturday’s college football parade was paced by Fox’s prime-time Oklahoma-Oklahoma State rivalry game, which drew 346,882 total viewers.
Friday’s prime-time leader, CBS’ annual reprise of Frosty Returns, pulled in 142,834 total viewers while its running mate, the preceding Frosty the Snowman, was the runner-up with 129,230 viewers. Both of them froze out and beat the first hour of Fox’s Friday Night Smackdown, which is kind of refreshing. But among 18-to-49ers, wrestling was the prime-time king.
Here are the Monday-Tuesday local news derby results. A majority of the combatants took holiday exemptions on Friday.
Monday -- WFAA8 led at 10 p.m. in total viewers while NBC5 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).
Fox4 swept both the 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. competitions and added a 6 p.m. win with 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 drew the most total viewers at 6 p.m.
Tuesday -- WFAA8 again won in total viewers at 10 p.m., but this time it was Fox4 taking the 25-to-54 gold.
Fox4 also had twin wins at 6 a.m. and drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 and 6 p.m. NBC5 was tops in total viewers in both early evening competitions.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
November "sweeps" end with WFAA8 taking command of late night while Fox4 remains shakily in charge of early morn
12/04/19 09:39 AM
By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Delayed a bit by the holidays, the November “sweeps” ratings results have arrived -- and in a big way for WFAA8 and Fox4.
After going winless in November 2018, WFAA8 rebounded to run first at 10 p.m. in both total D-FW viewers and in the key 25-to-54-year-old age range (main advertiser target audience for news programming).
CBS11, which had been the 10 p.m. champ in total viewers for three consecutive sweeps periods, fell to a second place tie with NBC5 in that measurement. Fox 4, last November’s late night winner among 25-to-54-year-olds, was the runner-up this time out.
WFAA8 also won in total viewers at 6 p.m. after placing third in November of last year. Of equal import, it was the only station to show year-to-year viewer gains in all eight competitions.
Fox4 retained its long held crowns at 6 a.m., but the victory margins suffered major shrinkage from November 2018. The station also won at 5 and 6 p.m. in the 25-to-54 demographic to emerge as the overall top performer with four wins. NBC5 broke in to claim first place in total viewers at 6 p.m., repeating its win from a year ago.
Here are the complete results, with the year-to-year audience gains or losses in parentheses.
10 P.M.
Total Viewers
WFAA8 -- 183,643 (plus 45,869)
NBC5/CBS11 -- 136,032 apiece (minus 1,039/minus 8,069)
Fox4 -- 95,222 (minus 29,197)
25-to-54-Year-Olds
WFAA8 -- 51,880 (plus 10,359)
Fox4 -- 40,958 (minus 6,862)
NBC5 -- 35,497 (minus 3,160)
CBS11 -- 21,844 (minus 8,223)
Comments: This is clearly a resounding win for WFAA8 and in part for longtime anchor John McCaa’s replacement, Chris Lawrence. The station was helped somewhat by the ABC network’s stronger performances from 9 to 10 p.m. In each case, WFAA8 then built on the lead-in audiences it inherited and ended as the only station to show year-to-year gains in both audience measurements.
CBS11 in large part has been soloing with Doug Dunbar at 10 p.m. since co-anchor Kaley O’Kelley left way back in May 2018. Given these latest results, it might finally want to give him some company in time for the February sweeps. At Fox4, anchor dean Clarice Tinsley continues to go it alone, which was fine when the station was winning among 25-to-54-year-olds. Is it possibly time for a change? The question at least has to be asked as Tinsley nears her 42nd year at Fox4.
6 A.M.
Total Viewers
Fox4 -- 122,429 (minus 9,722)
NBC5 -- 102,024 (plus 44,384)
WFAA8 -- 88,421 (plus 29,375)
CBS11 -- 47,611 (plus 11,059)
25-to-54-Year-Olds
Fox4 -- 46,419 (minus 31,182)
WFAA8 -- 38,227 (plus 11,310)
NBC5 -- 35,497 (plus 22,325)
CBS11 -- 19,114 (plus 5,942)
Comments: A win’s a win, but this is a pretty hollow one for Fox4, which last November more than doubled the audience of its closest competitor in both ratings measurements. As the only station to suffer year-to-year audience drop-offs in this hot battleground, Fox4 now faces strong pushes from both NBC5 and WFAA8. The Peacock’s cheery “Wake Up to Something Good” campaign appears to be resonating, with NBC5 the only station with female co-anchors in a replication of the NBC network’s Today show.
WFAA8 in turn has showcased its morning crew in a lavishly produced song-and dance video while continuing to go heavy on social media segments. The loss of showy traffic anchor Demetria Obilor, who left in October, may have dented the station’s momentum a bit, though. Going into the “sweeps,” WFAA8 looked ready to topple Fox4. Now it’s also in a battle with NBC5, which flexed the largest year-to-year audience gains.
Fox4 has a veteran, battle-tested foursome in place, and this may have been just a big hiccup. Or not. Meanwhile, even CBS11 inched up a wee bit from November to November, but remains essentially an afterthought in this volatile early morning mix.
6 P.M.
Total Viewers
WFAA8 -- 163,238 (plus 40,225)
NBC5 -- 156,437 (plus 19,366)
Fox4 -- 115,627 (plus 6,673)
CBS11 -- 102,024 (minus 25,206)
25-to-54-Year-Olds
Fox4 -- 49,149 (plus 9,993)
NBC5/WFAA8 -- 38,277 apiece (plus 4,201/plus 14,510)
CBS11 -- 19,114 (minus 5,798)
Comments: WFAA8 moved up two notches from a year ago to win in total viewers while rising from last to a second-place tie with 25-to-54-year-olds. Fox4 retained its top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds and joined NBC5 and WFAA8 in showing November-to-November viewer increases. Then there’s CBS11, which fell to last place across the board and was the only station to also suffer audience minuses. There’s a long, long way to go over there.
5 P.M.
Total Viewers
NBC5 -- 142,834 (plus 4,357)
Fox4/WFAA8 -- 129,230 apiece (plus 9,029/plus 30,117)
CBS11 -- 74,818 (plus 3,119)
25-to-54-Year-Olds
Fox4 -- 40,958 (plus 7,169)
NBC5 -- 30,036 (minus 1,749)
WFAA8 -- 24,575 (plus 11,689)
CBS11 -- 13,653 (minus 2,383)
Comments: NBC5 and Fox4 replicated their respective first-place finishes from a year ago, but WFAA8 registered the biggest audience gains. Among 25-to-54-year-olds in particular, WFAA8 came close to doubling the audience it drew last November. But the station still finished third, a notch up from November 2018. CBS11 in contrast is virtually nowhere in sight, especially in the 25-to-54 demographic.
Other November sweeps results of note:
*** Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast ran first in that hour with 18-to-49-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for entertainment programmings), outdrawing the offerings on ABC, NBC and CBS. The news tied ABC for second in total viewers, with CBS winning the hour.
*** In the 6:30 p.m. slot, CBS11’s syndicated Wheel of Fortune continued to crush the three competing entertainment rag mags in total viewers while also outdrawing Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and Extra among 18-to-49-year-olds. Pat Sajak, 73, and Vanna White, 62, still show no signs of growing old with “the kids.”
*** The three-way 4 p.m. local newscast wars were won by NBC5 in total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds. But Fox4’s competing double dose of Judge Judy was still No. 1 in that hour in both ratings measurements.
*** Fox4’s 7 to 9 a.m. portion of Good Day continued to easily outdraw the three network morning shows in both total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds. The 9 a.m. portion of Good Day likewise won its slot while WFAA8’s competing homegrown Good Morning Texas ran fourth in also losing to network fare on NBC and CBS.
*** Fox4’s locally produced Free 4 All fared well at 10:30 p.m. among 18-to-49-year-olds, running second to the first half-hour of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel while outpointing the 10:30 to 11 p.m. portions of NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and CBS’ Stephen Colbert.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Delayed a bit by the holidays, the November “sweeps” ratings results have arrived -- and in a big way for WFAA8 and Fox4.
After going winless in November 2018, WFAA8 rebounded to run first at 10 p.m. in both total D-FW viewers and in the key 25-to-54-year-old age range (main advertiser target audience for news programming).
CBS11, which had been the 10 p.m. champ in total viewers for three consecutive sweeps periods, fell to a second place tie with NBC5 in that measurement. Fox 4, last November’s late night winner among 25-to-54-year-olds, was the runner-up this time out.
WFAA8 also won in total viewers at 6 p.m. after placing third in November of last year. Of equal import, it was the only station to show year-to-year viewer gains in all eight competitions.
Fox4 retained its long held crowns at 6 a.m., but the victory margins suffered major shrinkage from November 2018. The station also won at 5 and 6 p.m. in the 25-to-54 demographic to emerge as the overall top performer with four wins. NBC5 broke in to claim first place in total viewers at 6 p.m., repeating its win from a year ago.
Here are the complete results, with the year-to-year audience gains or losses in parentheses.
10 P.M.
Total Viewers
WFAA8 -- 183,643 (plus 45,869)
NBC5/CBS11 -- 136,032 apiece (minus 1,039/minus 8,069)
Fox4 -- 95,222 (minus 29,197)
25-to-54-Year-Olds
WFAA8 -- 51,880 (plus 10,359)
Fox4 -- 40,958 (minus 6,862)
NBC5 -- 35,497 (minus 3,160)
CBS11 -- 21,844 (minus 8,223)
Comments: This is clearly a resounding win for WFAA8 and in part for longtime anchor John McCaa’s replacement, Chris Lawrence. The station was helped somewhat by the ABC network’s stronger performances from 9 to 10 p.m. In each case, WFAA8 then built on the lead-in audiences it inherited and ended as the only station to show year-to-year gains in both audience measurements.
CBS11 in large part has been soloing with Doug Dunbar at 10 p.m. since co-anchor Kaley O’Kelley left way back in May 2018. Given these latest results, it might finally want to give him some company in time for the February sweeps. At Fox4, anchor dean Clarice Tinsley continues to go it alone, which was fine when the station was winning among 25-to-54-year-olds. Is it possibly time for a change? The question at least has to be asked as Tinsley nears her 42nd year at Fox4.
6 A.M.
Total Viewers
Fox4 -- 122,429 (minus 9,722)
NBC5 -- 102,024 (plus 44,384)
WFAA8 -- 88,421 (plus 29,375)
CBS11 -- 47,611 (plus 11,059)
25-to-54-Year-Olds
Fox4 -- 46,419 (minus 31,182)
WFAA8 -- 38,227 (plus 11,310)
NBC5 -- 35,497 (plus 22,325)
CBS11 -- 19,114 (plus 5,942)
Comments: A win’s a win, but this is a pretty hollow one for Fox4, which last November more than doubled the audience of its closest competitor in both ratings measurements. As the only station to suffer year-to-year audience drop-offs in this hot battleground, Fox4 now faces strong pushes from both NBC5 and WFAA8. The Peacock’s cheery “Wake Up to Something Good” campaign appears to be resonating, with NBC5 the only station with female co-anchors in a replication of the NBC network’s Today show.
WFAA8 in turn has showcased its morning crew in a lavishly produced song-and dance video while continuing to go heavy on social media segments. The loss of showy traffic anchor Demetria Obilor, who left in October, may have dented the station’s momentum a bit, though. Going into the “sweeps,” WFAA8 looked ready to topple Fox4. Now it’s also in a battle with NBC5, which flexed the largest year-to-year audience gains.
Fox4 has a veteran, battle-tested foursome in place, and this may have been just a big hiccup. Or not. Meanwhile, even CBS11 inched up a wee bit from November to November, but remains essentially an afterthought in this volatile early morning mix.
6 P.M.
Total Viewers
WFAA8 -- 163,238 (plus 40,225)
NBC5 -- 156,437 (plus 19,366)
Fox4 -- 115,627 (plus 6,673)
CBS11 -- 102,024 (minus 25,206)
25-to-54-Year-Olds
Fox4 -- 49,149 (plus 9,993)
NBC5/WFAA8 -- 38,277 apiece (plus 4,201/plus 14,510)
CBS11 -- 19,114 (minus 5,798)
Comments: WFAA8 moved up two notches from a year ago to win in total viewers while rising from last to a second-place tie with 25-to-54-year-olds. Fox4 retained its top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds and joined NBC5 and WFAA8 in showing November-to-November viewer increases. Then there’s CBS11, which fell to last place across the board and was the only station to also suffer audience minuses. There’s a long, long way to go over there.
5 P.M.
Total Viewers
NBC5 -- 142,834 (plus 4,357)
Fox4/WFAA8 -- 129,230 apiece (plus 9,029/plus 30,117)
CBS11 -- 74,818 (plus 3,119)
25-to-54-Year-Olds
Fox4 -- 40,958 (plus 7,169)
NBC5 -- 30,036 (minus 1,749)
WFAA8 -- 24,575 (plus 11,689)
CBS11 -- 13,653 (minus 2,383)
Comments: NBC5 and Fox4 replicated their respective first-place finishes from a year ago, but WFAA8 registered the biggest audience gains. Among 25-to-54-year-olds in particular, WFAA8 came close to doubling the audience it drew last November. But the station still finished third, a notch up from November 2018. CBS11 in contrast is virtually nowhere in sight, especially in the 25-to-54 demographic.
Other November sweeps results of note:
*** Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast ran first in that hour with 18-to-49-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for entertainment programmings), outdrawing the offerings on ABC, NBC and CBS. The news tied ABC for second in total viewers, with CBS winning the hour.
*** In the 6:30 p.m. slot, CBS11’s syndicated Wheel of Fortune continued to crush the three competing entertainment rag mags in total viewers while also outdrawing Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and Extra among 18-to-49-year-olds. Pat Sajak, 73, and Vanna White, 62, still show no signs of growing old with “the kids.”
*** The three-way 4 p.m. local newscast wars were won by NBC5 in total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds. But Fox4’s competing double dose of Judge Judy was still No. 1 in that hour in both ratings measurements.
*** Fox4’s 7 to 9 a.m. portion of Good Day continued to easily outdraw the three network morning shows in both total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds. The 9 a.m. portion of Good Day likewise won its slot while WFAA8’s competing homegrown Good Morning Texas ran fourth in also losing to network fare on NBC and CBS.
*** Fox4’s locally produced Free 4 All fared well at 10:30 p.m. among 18-to-49-year-olds, running second to the first half-hour of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel while outpointing the 10:30 to 11 p.m. portions of NBC’s Jimmy Fallon and CBS’ Stephen Colbert.
Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net