Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., Feb. 21)
02/22/07 09:48 AM
By ED BARK
Staggered but still not counted out, NBC5's 10 p.m. newscast battled back Wednesday night to beat Belo8 for a second successive night.
The Peacock's victory margin -- 211,820 homes to 176,120 -- tightened an already very close race between late night's two ratings leaders. Just five weeknights remain in the 20-night February sweeps, which end on Wednesday.
Belo8, which had a nine-night winning streak snapped Tuesday, had averaged an 8.75 Nielsen rating (208,250 homes) through the first 14 nights. NBC5 was close behind with an 8.42 rating (200,396 homes). The Peacock has what appears to be a safe but hardly dominating lead among 25-to-54-year-olds, the key advertiser target audience for news programming.
NBC5 hasn't been beaten at 10 p.m. in homes for 15 consecutive sweeps periods dating to February 2002. What kinds of alleged news stories will be put in play to gain a perhaps pivotal edge? Look for anything and everything short of the second coming of Jesus Christ in North Texas. Actually, that's a possibility, too -- on both stations.
Wednesday's other big news was Belo8's uncommon twin victories at 6 a.m. The ABC station likely won't finish any better than third in homes, where Fox4 inched closer to frontrunning NBC5 with a solid second place finish Wednesday. But Belo8 now has a slim lead over Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds.
Belo8 once again won in both ratings measurements at 5 and 6 p.m., with NBC5 still having a slight but fast-fading chance to finish first at 6 p.m. in the 25-54 demo. Belo8 otherwise has a hammerlock.
On the entertainment front, Fox's American Idol cruised to another overwhelming victory, averaging 378,420 homes from 7 to 9 p.m. That helped Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast to again beat ABC's Lost, this time by its biggest margin ever (28,560 homes). CBS' CSI: NY narrowly won the time period, though, while Lost was a clear choice with 18-to-49-year-olds, the target demographic for entertainment programming.
NBC's made-in-Austin Friday Night Lights, the season's best new drama, continued to struggle with fifth place finishes in both homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds. But the numbers are a bit more encouraging nationally, so let's not turn out the Lights just yet.
Staggered but still not counted out, NBC5's 10 p.m. newscast battled back Wednesday night to beat Belo8 for a second successive night.
The Peacock's victory margin -- 211,820 homes to 176,120 -- tightened an already very close race between late night's two ratings leaders. Just five weeknights remain in the 20-night February sweeps, which end on Wednesday.
Belo8, which had a nine-night winning streak snapped Tuesday, had averaged an 8.75 Nielsen rating (208,250 homes) through the first 14 nights. NBC5 was close behind with an 8.42 rating (200,396 homes). The Peacock has what appears to be a safe but hardly dominating lead among 25-to-54-year-olds, the key advertiser target audience for news programming.
NBC5 hasn't been beaten at 10 p.m. in homes for 15 consecutive sweeps periods dating to February 2002. What kinds of alleged news stories will be put in play to gain a perhaps pivotal edge? Look for anything and everything short of the second coming of Jesus Christ in North Texas. Actually, that's a possibility, too -- on both stations.
Wednesday's other big news was Belo8's uncommon twin victories at 6 a.m. The ABC station likely won't finish any better than third in homes, where Fox4 inched closer to frontrunning NBC5 with a solid second place finish Wednesday. But Belo8 now has a slim lead over Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds.
Belo8 once again won in both ratings measurements at 5 and 6 p.m., with NBC5 still having a slight but fast-fading chance to finish first at 6 p.m. in the 25-54 demo. Belo8 otherwise has a hammerlock.
On the entertainment front, Fox's American Idol cruised to another overwhelming victory, averaging 378,420 homes from 7 to 9 p.m. That helped Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast to again beat ABC's Lost, this time by its biggest margin ever (28,560 homes). CBS' CSI: NY narrowly won the time period, though, while Lost was a clear choice with 18-to-49-year-olds, the target demographic for entertainment programming.
NBC's made-in-Austin Friday Night Lights, the season's best new drama, continued to struggle with fifth place finishes in both homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds. But the numbers are a bit more encouraging nationally, so let's not turn out the Lights just yet.
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