Jun 2008
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun, June 27-29)
06/30/08 11:35 AM
By ED BARK
A homegrown newscast again reigned as Sunday's most-watched program, with WFAA8's late nighter trumping all of the day's other attractions.
The ABC station's 10 p.m. news drew 165,621 D-FW total homes, with NBC's two-hour Dateline (148,572 homes) the only other serious contender.
Tom Brokaw's debut as interim moderator of NBC's Meet the Press lured 85,246 homes from 9 to 10 a.m., good enough to easily beat ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos (51,148), CBS' Face the Nation (34,098) and Fox News Sunday (29,227).
In Sunday's three-way, 10:30 p.m. sports show competition, Babe Laufenberg's The Score on CBS 11 edged Dale Hansen's Sports Special on WFAA8 by a score of 65,761 homes to 63,325 homes. NBC5's Sports Extra came in third with 51,148 homes.
Mike Doocy's Sports Sunday on Fox4, which gets a half-hour jump at 10 p.m., had the most overall homes with 68,197. But all three competing local newscasts had larger audiences in that half-hour.
On Saturday, CBS11's very nicely done King Tut and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs drew 60,890 D-FW homes from 6 to 7 p.m. Anchored and reported by Tracy Rowlett and presented in high-definition, the special went abroad to preview the Tut exhibit's arrival in Dallas in October.
CBS11 didn't make it available for review, but Time Warner cable subscribers can watch the program at their convenience via the the cable supplier's On Demand channel.
All four major local news providers made it to the winner's circle in Friday's Nielsens, with a late nighter again pulling in more homes than any prime-time attraction. That would be CBS11's 10 p.m. newscast, which had 129,087 homes to nip WFAA8 (126,651).
WFAA8 took the 10 p.m. gold among 25-to-54-year-olds, the preferred advertiser audience for news programming.
At 6 a.m., Fox4 edged WFAA8 in total homes. But the ABC station ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds, ending Fox4's streak of seven straight weekdays with twin wins.
NBC5 won at 5 p.m. in total homes and tied WFAA8 for the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds.
WFAA8 ran the table at 6 p.m., extending its streak to five consecutive weekdays.
A homegrown newscast again reigned as Sunday's most-watched program, with WFAA8's late nighter trumping all of the day's other attractions.
The ABC station's 10 p.m. news drew 165,621 D-FW total homes, with NBC's two-hour Dateline (148,572 homes) the only other serious contender.
Tom Brokaw's debut as interim moderator of NBC's Meet the Press lured 85,246 homes from 9 to 10 a.m., good enough to easily beat ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos (51,148), CBS' Face the Nation (34,098) and Fox News Sunday (29,227).
In Sunday's three-way, 10:30 p.m. sports show competition, Babe Laufenberg's The Score on CBS 11 edged Dale Hansen's Sports Special on WFAA8 by a score of 65,761 homes to 63,325 homes. NBC5's Sports Extra came in third with 51,148 homes.
Mike Doocy's Sports Sunday on Fox4, which gets a half-hour jump at 10 p.m., had the most overall homes with 68,197. But all three competing local newscasts had larger audiences in that half-hour.
On Saturday, CBS11's very nicely done King Tut and the Golden Age of the Pharoahs drew 60,890 D-FW homes from 6 to 7 p.m. Anchored and reported by Tracy Rowlett and presented in high-definition, the special went abroad to preview the Tut exhibit's arrival in Dallas in October.
CBS11 didn't make it available for review, but Time Warner cable subscribers can watch the program at their convenience via the the cable supplier's On Demand channel.
All four major local news providers made it to the winner's circle in Friday's Nielsens, with a late nighter again pulling in more homes than any prime-time attraction. That would be CBS11's 10 p.m. newscast, which had 129,087 homes to nip WFAA8 (126,651).
WFAA8 took the 10 p.m. gold among 25-to-54-year-olds, the preferred advertiser audience for news programming.
At 6 a.m., Fox4 edged WFAA8 in total homes. But the ABC station ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds, ending Fox4's streak of seven straight weekdays with twin wins.
NBC5 won at 5 p.m. in total homes and tied WFAA8 for the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds.
WFAA8 ran the table at 6 p.m., extending its streak to five consecutive weekdays.
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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., June 26)
06/27/08 09:56 AM
By ED BARK
Yawn. Network prime-time programming went largely unnoticed in D-FW Thursday, leaving Fox4's 9 p.m. newscast with the biggest audience in the 7 to 10 p.m. combat zone.
Not that it was that big an audience. The news pulled in a medium-sized 119,344 homes while also ranking as the most-watched prime-time program among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds. In doing so, it whipped the premiere of ABC's competing Hopkins (104,731 homes), a non-fiction hospital drama with five more weeks to go.
Fox's So You Think You Can Dance, which evicted Flower Mound-dweller Chelsea Traille, won the 8 p.m. hour in both ratings measurements. Two North Texans remain in the competition -- Comfort Fedoke of Carrollton and Joshua Allen of Fort Worth.
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, also from Fox, ran first at 7 p.m. in total homes. But it fell to second place with 18-to-49-year-olds, behind the first hour of NBC's Last Comic Standing.
NBC also had good news of sorts with Fear Itself. The anthology series' fourth episode for the first time equaled the total homes audience for CBS' competing summer series Swingtown. And it handily beat it among 18-to-49-year-olds, even while finishing third in the 9 p.m. hour.
The local news wars saw WFAA8 tally wins at 10 p.m. in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 countered with a double victory at 6 a.m., stretching its winning streak to seven weekdays.
WFAA8 returned to the winner's circle at 5 p.m. with two golds. And it ran the table at 6 p.m. for the fourth consecutive weekday.
Yawn. Network prime-time programming went largely unnoticed in D-FW Thursday, leaving Fox4's 9 p.m. newscast with the biggest audience in the 7 to 10 p.m. combat zone.
Not that it was that big an audience. The news pulled in a medium-sized 119,344 homes while also ranking as the most-watched prime-time program among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds. In doing so, it whipped the premiere of ABC's competing Hopkins (104,731 homes), a non-fiction hospital drama with five more weeks to go.
Fox's So You Think You Can Dance, which evicted Flower Mound-dweller Chelsea Traille, won the 8 p.m. hour in both ratings measurements. Two North Texans remain in the competition -- Comfort Fedoke of Carrollton and Joshua Allen of Fort Worth.
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, also from Fox, ran first at 7 p.m. in total homes. But it fell to second place with 18-to-49-year-olds, behind the first hour of NBC's Last Comic Standing.
NBC also had good news of sorts with Fear Itself. The anthology series' fourth episode for the first time equaled the total homes audience for CBS' competing summer series Swingtown. And it handily beat it among 18-to-49-year-olds, even while finishing third in the 9 p.m. hour.
The local news wars saw WFAA8 tally wins at 10 p.m. in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 countered with a double victory at 6 a.m., stretching its winning streak to seven weekdays.
WFAA8 returned to the winner's circle at 5 p.m. with two golds. And it ran the table at 6 p.m. for the fourth consecutive weekday.
Internet confidential: WFAA8's John McCaa
06/26/08 03:01 PM
By ED BARK
For better and worse, D-FW's anchors and reporters still make their main impressions on your television screens.
Their stations' Web sites are hatching some increasingly important subplots, though. Viewers regularly are cued to myfoxdfw.com, nbc5i.com, wfaa.com and cbs11tv.com for extra added attractions. These include blogs by an escalating number of station personalities.
Some of them really work at it, others don't. But you're only going to see more of them, so it's time for unclebarky.com to start reviewing some of the more prominent and/or prolific practitioners.
We're first focusing on WFAA8 anchor John McCaa, who's something of a triple threat. He has a series of "Uncut" Web-only interviews on wfaa.com, plus a video "vlog" and a printed blog.
None are terribly dynamic so far. This is largely because McCaa's on-line work so far reflects his on-air persona. He's mostly sober and substantive to a fault, which can be a very good thing when you're in the midst of what sometimes can be a three-headed, on-air midway show starring sports anchor Dale Hansen, weathercaster Pete Delkus and co-anchor Gloria Campos.
On the Internet, though, McCaa should feel freer to put a little pop in his presentations. The "Uncut" interviews, some running more than 10 minutes, tend to be way too deferential. You don't have to be an attack dog in these one-on-ones. Still, McCaa's latest effort, opposite DISD superintendent Dr. Michael Hinojosa, fell well short of provoking his subject into saying much of anything.
"Speaking of someone special," McCaa began, immediately making it clear that Hinojosa had little to fear in this particular arena.
The DISD administration has been under constant fire from both WFAA8 investigative reporter Brett Shipp and The Dallas Morning News, which like McCaa's employer is owned by Belo Corp. But the anchor never came close to pressing Hinojosa on issues ranging from grade-fixing to poor test score performances. Instead McCaa told him generically, "In a district this size, you've got no shortage of critics . . . Is that tough for you?"
Yes, it can be, Hinojosa agreed, but "we cannot lose focus. We're here for the young people."
The interview ran for 10 minutes, a marathon in TV terms. It had no bite, though. It was both "Uncut" and lamentably unremarkable.
McCaa had a somewhat more interesting interview with historian Douglas Brinkley, who had been in Dallas as part of SMU's Tate Lecture series. And he commendably devoted 10 minutes, 23 seconds to Bob and Paulette Cooper, a middle-aged Dallas couple trying to alleviate suffering in Darfur with their "Thirst No More" initiative.
Another "Uncut" piece helped former Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson to plug his book on the importance of character. McCaa also had a briefer chat with World News anchor Charles Gibson during his early March stop in Dallas to cover the Texas presidential primary. They ended up talking about Gibson's two-year-old grandson. It was pleasant, but no more than that.
McCaa's numerous printed blogs, which WFAA8 seems to be phasing out in favor of his "vlogs," have yet to attract a single reader comment. The video component, in which he talks in extreme closeup for a minute or two, finds him attempting to be a bit more conversational on subjects ranging from blues/rock legend Bo Diddley's death to "Zimbabwe's election drama."
Few if any bloggers try to be more earnestly substantive than McCaa. He doesn't talk about his personal off-camera adventures, as many others do. Nor is he likely to ever blog about anything considered newsworthy by the stupefying Entertainment Tonight, which immediately follows McCaa's efforts on WFAA8's 6 p.m. newscasts.
In the end, his determination to focus solely on issues of import make him an endangered species in the blogosphere and just about anywhere else for that matter. But if McCaa is going to go that route, then he really should toughen up those "Uncut" interviews with various newsmakers.
For now they're mostly infomercials. And that's not good enough coming from a veteran journalist who easily could up his game and maybe even make a little news.
Grade: C
New arrival at Fox4
06/26/08 09:56 AM
By ED BARK
Fox4 has hired Sophia Reza from ABC station KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City to bolster its recently thinned reporting staff.
Reza, born in El Paso and raised in Houston, is scheduled to join her new station on July 28th according to a memo distributed Thursday.
She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1997 with a degree in broadcast journalism, says her KOCO bio. Before joining KOCO, Reza worked for nearly six years at KTSM Newschannel Nine in El Paso.
KOCO also notes that Reza was co-chair of the March of Dimes Walk America for three years and has two chihuahuas, Treasure and Mulan.
Fox4 has lost three full-time reporters -- Jeff Crilley, Jason Overstreet and Scott Sayres -- in the past month. And another of the station's veterans, Paul Adrian, has his last day on Friday (June 27th).
Earlier this year, longtime Fox4 reporter Rebecca Aguilar was dropped by the station after a lengthy and controversial suspension that received widespread national attention.
As previously reported, Crilley, Overstreet and Sayres all have chosen to get into other lines of work. Adrian will be studying for a year at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He then plans to return to Texas and set up his own independent news operation, with an emphasis on state government issues.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., June 25)
06/26/08 09:14 AM
By ED BARK
Western civilization sustained another kidney punch Wednesday night when the premiere of NBC's The Baby Borrowers topped all of the day's programming among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds.
Irresponsible parents delivered their toddlers unto goofy, self-absorbed teens while 126,136 D-FW viewers in the 18-to-49 range took it all in during the 8 p.m. hour. The concoction even beat the second half of Fox's formidable So You Think You Can Dance, which drew 104,062 viewers in this key demo opposite Baby Borrowers.
Dance beat NBC's dirty diaper by a smidgen in the less important total homes tally -- 143,700 to 141,265. Fox's biggest summertime attraction otherwise won the first hour of prime-time in both ratings measurements. At 9 p.m., a repeat of CBS' CSI: NY took the total homes competition while the premiere of ABC's Primetime: Crime narrowly outpointed Fox4's 9 p..m. local newscast among 18-to-49-year-olds.
In the local news derby, WFAA8's 10 p.m. entry was Wednesday's biggest draw in total homes with 197,284. But NBC5 again comfortably took the gold among 25-to-54-year-olds, the preferred advertiser audience for news programming.
Fox4 continued its winning ways at 6 a.m. by topping both ratings measurements. It's now done so for six straight weekdays after a month-long drought among 25-to-54-year-olds.
The Peacock took both 5 p.m. prizes for the second weekday in a row; WFAA8 ran the table at 6 p.m. for the third straight day.
Western civilization sustained another kidney punch Wednesday night when the premiere of NBC's The Baby Borrowers topped all of the day's programming among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds.
Irresponsible parents delivered their toddlers unto goofy, self-absorbed teens while 126,136 D-FW viewers in the 18-to-49 range took it all in during the 8 p.m. hour. The concoction even beat the second half of Fox's formidable So You Think You Can Dance, which drew 104,062 viewers in this key demo opposite Baby Borrowers.
Dance beat NBC's dirty diaper by a smidgen in the less important total homes tally -- 143,700 to 141,265. Fox's biggest summertime attraction otherwise won the first hour of prime-time in both ratings measurements. At 9 p.m., a repeat of CBS' CSI: NY took the total homes competition while the premiere of ABC's Primetime: Crime narrowly outpointed Fox4's 9 p..m. local newscast among 18-to-49-year-olds.
In the local news derby, WFAA8's 10 p.m. entry was Wednesday's biggest draw in total homes with 197,284. But NBC5 again comfortably took the gold among 25-to-54-year-olds, the preferred advertiser audience for news programming.
Fox4 continued its winning ways at 6 a.m. by topping both ratings measurements. It's now done so for six straight weekdays after a month-long drought among 25-to-54-year-olds.
The Peacock took both 5 p.m. prizes for the second weekday in a row; WFAA8 ran the table at 6 p.m. for the third straight day.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., June 24)
06/25/08 09:30 AM
By ED BARK
A slew of new reality series hit prime-time Tuesday, with ABC scoring points via a dumb fun combo while NBC made a game go of it with Celebrity Family Feud.
ABC's snarky, doubleplay launch of Wipeout and I survived a Japanese Game Show (contestant degradation at its best) both finished first in D-FW among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds. Game Show even nipped the first hour of NBC's America's Got Talent, which then dominated the 9 to 10 p.m. ratings in that demographic.
Feud, hosted by Today weatherman Al Roker, managed a second-place tie with CBS' NCIS rerun in the 18-to-49 competition.
In the overall total homes ratings, NCIS (165,621) edged Wipeout (163,185), with Feud a competitive third (133,958).
America's Got Talent won the last two hours of prime-time in total homes, with the premiere of ABC's PrimeTime: the Outsiders tying a repeat of CBS' Without A Trace for second place.
Fox lagged at 8 p.m. with a new episode of Hell's Kitchen, which ran fourth in total homes and third in the 18-to-49 demo.
Tuesday's biggest audience then gathered for NBC5's 10 p.m. newscast, which drew 216,768 homes in romping to a comfortable win over the usually formidable WFAA8. The Peacock also won big among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
After a late spring slump, Fox4 continued its recent winning ways at 6 a.m. with first place finishes in both ratings measurements. It was the fifth straight weekday doubleheader sweep for Fox4, although it shared Monday's 25-to-54 win with WFAA8. The ABC station managed only two bronzes on Tuesday.
NBC5 took two golds with its 5 p.m. newscast, but WFAA8 rebounded to run the table at 6 p.m.
A slew of new reality series hit prime-time Tuesday, with ABC scoring points via a dumb fun combo while NBC made a game go of it with Celebrity Family Feud.
ABC's snarky, doubleplay launch of Wipeout and I survived a Japanese Game Show (contestant degradation at its best) both finished first in D-FW among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds. Game Show even nipped the first hour of NBC's America's Got Talent, which then dominated the 9 to 10 p.m. ratings in that demographic.
Feud, hosted by Today weatherman Al Roker, managed a second-place tie with CBS' NCIS rerun in the 18-to-49 competition.
In the overall total homes ratings, NCIS (165,621) edged Wipeout (163,185), with Feud a competitive third (133,958).
America's Got Talent won the last two hours of prime-time in total homes, with the premiere of ABC's PrimeTime: the Outsiders tying a repeat of CBS' Without A Trace for second place.
Fox lagged at 8 p.m. with a new episode of Hell's Kitchen, which ran fourth in total homes and third in the 18-to-49 demo.
Tuesday's biggest audience then gathered for NBC5's 10 p.m. newscast, which drew 216,768 homes in romping to a comfortable win over the usually formidable WFAA8. The Peacock also won big among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
After a late spring slump, Fox4 continued its recent winning ways at 6 a.m. with first place finishes in both ratings measurements. It was the fifth straight weekday doubleheader sweep for Fox4, although it shared Monday's 25-to-54 win with WFAA8. The ABC station managed only two bronzes on Tuesday.
NBC5 took two golds with its 5 p.m. newscast, but WFAA8 rebounded to run the table at 6 p.m.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., June 23)
06/24/08 09:51 AM
By ED BARK
ABC pulled surprisingly strong numbers for The Bachelorette Monday, winning the first two hours of prime-time in total homes before CBS' CSI: Miami repeat took over with the biggest total homes haul of the day.
Bachelorette averaged 168,056 D-FW homes from 7 to 9 p.m. It also controlled the advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-old Nielsens except for a small pocket of resistance in the first half-hour from a rerun of CBS' The Big Bang Theory.
At 9 p.m., CSI: Miami lured 214,333 homes to crunch competition from two first-run reality competitions, the second half of NBC's Nashville Star (129,087) and ABC's The Mole (92,553). CSI also won, but by a smaller margin, among 18-to-49-year-olds.
In the local news derby, close three-way races were in play in both late night and early morning.
NBC5 and WFAA8 tied at 10 p.m. with 163,185 total homes. CBS11 close behind at 155,878 after inheriting a far bigger lead-in audience from the last quarter-hour of CSI.
At 6 a.m., Fox4 (85,246 homes) nipped WFAA8 (82,810), with NBC5 and the debut of meteorologist Jennifer Lopez a close third with 77,939.
The Peacock comfortably won at 10 p.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds, the preferred advertiser audience for news programming. Fox4 and WFAA8 tied for first in that demo at 6 a.m.
WFAA8 took golds in both ratings measurements at 6 p.m. and added a 5 p.m. victory among 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 ran first at 5 p.m. in total homes.
ABC pulled surprisingly strong numbers for The Bachelorette Monday, winning the first two hours of prime-time in total homes before CBS' CSI: Miami repeat took over with the biggest total homes haul of the day.
Bachelorette averaged 168,056 D-FW homes from 7 to 9 p.m. It also controlled the advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-old Nielsens except for a small pocket of resistance in the first half-hour from a rerun of CBS' The Big Bang Theory.
At 9 p.m., CSI: Miami lured 214,333 homes to crunch competition from two first-run reality competitions, the second half of NBC's Nashville Star (129,087) and ABC's The Mole (92,553). CSI also won, but by a smaller margin, among 18-to-49-year-olds.
In the local news derby, close three-way races were in play in both late night and early morning.
NBC5 and WFAA8 tied at 10 p.m. with 163,185 total homes. CBS11 close behind at 155,878 after inheriting a far bigger lead-in audience from the last quarter-hour of CSI.
At 6 a.m., Fox4 (85,246 homes) nipped WFAA8 (82,810), with NBC5 and the debut of meteorologist Jennifer Lopez a close third with 77,939.
The Peacock comfortably won at 10 p.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds, the preferred advertiser audience for news programming. Fox4 and WFAA8 tied for first in that demo at 6 a.m.
WFAA8 took golds in both ratings measurements at 6 p.m. and added a 5 p.m. victory among 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 ran first at 5 p.m. in total homes.
Jennifer Lopez dawns -- "That's for sure" -- on NBC5
06/23/08 11:45 AM
By ED BARK
Perky for now but forecasting a droop-off by week's end, Jennifer Lopez put her first 12 weather segments behind her Monday as NBC5's new waker-upper meteorologist.
"The early time slot is going to be an eye-opener," she told co-anchor Scott Friedman at the halfway point of her 5 to 7 a.m. shift. "And I'm sure I've got some bags by Friday under my eyes."
Arriving from the Atlanta-based Weather Channel, Lopez is replacing Rebecca Miller, who had been at NBC5 since 1991 before the station dropped her in early March. The abrupt dismissal triggered an onslaught of protesting comments from viewers, leaving Lopez with a very tough act to follow in the eyes of many.
Her first words -- at 5:05 a.m. -- went like this: "I am so excited to be here in North Texas. And it looks like we're off to -- a warm start."
Friedman, subbing for Brendan Higgins, and Deborah Ferguson gave Lopez an even warmer welcome. There was no kidding about the name she shares with a certain famous actress/singer. But an amped-up Lopez got ample opportunity to both communicate her enthusiasm and test-drive what seems to be her tagline. "That's for sure," she said five times.
"You've got a lot of energy in the morning," Friedman told her early on. "I can tell already. That's gonna serve you well."
"I'll calm down," said Lopez before Ferguson asked whether she'd been fortified with a big cup of joe.
"I had a good caffeine on my way in, that's for sure," Lopez replied.
She wore white pants and a matching blouse, a baby blue jacket and an oversized necklace for her NBC5 debut. And the weather prospects didn't overly challenge her. It's going to be in the high 90s for the next week, with a slight possibility of showers on Wednesday, Lopez said in each and every segment.
Her voice had a bit of an upward squeak on occasion. And there understandably were a few awkward phrasings during what's going to be a major transition.
"Just not staying very rainy for you. Can't really blame the commute on the rain this morning, that's for sure," she told viewers shortly before 5:30 a.m.
Down the homestretch, she seemed a little punchy. "And good morning to you, North Texas," Lopez said as the clock finally neared 7 a.m. "Jennifer coming from -- my first day here. But I'm glad you're allowing me to be in your homes and I hope I get to come in every morning."
Obviously she deserves a chance to establish herself. Monday's first outing seemed fine for starters. But Lopez has only begun to experience the grind of early morning television. Bad weather inevitably will be on the way, too. How will she hold up?
Both NBC5 management and Miller fans will be watching closely. That's for sure.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., June 20-22)
06/23/08 11:44 AM
By ED BARK
It's a truism, among naysayers at least, that local TV newscasts have lost their relevance and ratings punch in a crowded media environment.
In reality, though, it just doesn't happen to be true -- at least not in D-FW and particularly in the late night arena.
On Saturday and Sunday, local 10 p.m. newscasts were the most-watched programs of the day. And sometimes two or more of them had larger audiences than the next closest attraction.
Sunday's overall gold medalist, WFAA8's 10 p.m. newscast, drew 185,106 total homes. And NBC5 (160,750 homes) and CBS11 (148,572 homes) were both within hailing distance.
A repeat of CBS' Cold Case also had 148,572 homes to tie as Sunday's third biggest attraction. NBC's two-hour dose of prime-time Summer Olympics trials averaged just 82,810 homes.
On Saturday, NBC5's 10 p.m. newscast, with 138,829 homes, had a larger audience than anything else. Fox's America's Most Wanted (129,087 homes) ran second. ABC's splashy three-hour broadcast premiere of the movie Camp Rock managed just 41,405 homes. It also fell short of the night's three 10 p.m. newscasts among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
On Friday, only CBS' repeat of Numb3rs (163,185 homes) had a larger audience than CBS11's 10 p.m. news (143,700 homes) and NBC5's competing late night newscast (129,087 homes). ABC's live, two-hour Daytime Emmys celebration drew only 87,682 homes. It used to do much better than that.
It's true that network summertime schedules are pockmarked with reruns. But there's ample firstrun entertainment programming as well, and one or more of the late night local newscasts repeatedly outdraw most of that, too. This also happens with some frequency in the "regular" season.
In Friday's other local news competitions, NBC5 and WFAA8 tied for first at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
At 6 a.m., Fox4 continued a recent mini-resurgence by winning in both ratings measurements for the third consecutive weekday.
NBC5 had a big day in the early evening, running the table at 6 p.m. and also winning at 5 p.m. in the 25-to-54 demo. Fox4 took first place at 5 p.m. in total homes.
It's a truism, among naysayers at least, that local TV newscasts have lost their relevance and ratings punch in a crowded media environment.
In reality, though, it just doesn't happen to be true -- at least not in D-FW and particularly in the late night arena.
On Saturday and Sunday, local 10 p.m. newscasts were the most-watched programs of the day. And sometimes two or more of them had larger audiences than the next closest attraction.
Sunday's overall gold medalist, WFAA8's 10 p.m. newscast, drew 185,106 total homes. And NBC5 (160,750 homes) and CBS11 (148,572 homes) were both within hailing distance.
A repeat of CBS' Cold Case also had 148,572 homes to tie as Sunday's third biggest attraction. NBC's two-hour dose of prime-time Summer Olympics trials averaged just 82,810 homes.
On Saturday, NBC5's 10 p.m. newscast, with 138,829 homes, had a larger audience than anything else. Fox's America's Most Wanted (129,087 homes) ran second. ABC's splashy three-hour broadcast premiere of the movie Camp Rock managed just 41,405 homes. It also fell short of the night's three 10 p.m. newscasts among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
On Friday, only CBS' repeat of Numb3rs (163,185 homes) had a larger audience than CBS11's 10 p.m. news (143,700 homes) and NBC5's competing late night newscast (129,087 homes). ABC's live, two-hour Daytime Emmys celebration drew only 87,682 homes. It used to do much better than that.
It's true that network summertime schedules are pockmarked with reruns. But there's ample firstrun entertainment programming as well, and one or more of the late night local newscasts repeatedly outdraw most of that, too. This also happens with some frequency in the "regular" season.
In Friday's other local news competitions, NBC5 and WFAA8 tied for first at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
At 6 a.m., Fox4 continued a recent mini-resurgence by winning in both ratings measurements for the third consecutive weekday.
NBC5 had a big day in the early evening, running the table at 6 p.m. and also winning at 5 p.m. in the 25-to-54 demo. Fox4 took first place at 5 p.m. in total homes.
NBC5's Snyder vows to take it off
06/23/08 05:57 AM
By ED BARK
NBC5 anchor Mike Snyder wants to be 66 pounds lighter 66 days from now. Fat chance?
The veteran TV newsman, on vacation for the next two weeks, says he's ready to be roughly three-quarters of the man he is now. In a dispatch posted Friday (June 20th) on his "Mike's Open Mic" blog, Snyder divulges details of his burgeoning weight and his plans to take it off.
"Okay, I get it," he says. "I can see in the mirror, I feel the tightness of my clothes and I hear the comments from many of you, friends and foe alike, that the girth has got to go. I get it! Full disclosure here, I weighed in at 256 lbs. this morning, the heaviest I have ever been in my life. Enough."
Snyder, who joined KXAS (Channel 5) in April 1980 as an investigative reporter, has ballooned during the recent years of his 16-year tenure with co-anchor Jane McGarry. Now he has the gut -- and the guts -- to do something about it. And while vacationing no less. He wants to get down to 190 pounds in just a little over two months by shedding a pound a day.
"I will be first taking a very simple approach, cutting each meal in half, purposely leaving half of what I used to eat on the plate," Snyder writes. "I am going to avoid the fried stuff, breads and pastas I love. I am going to be drinking buckets of water. And the big part of my lower calorie intake equation is to burn more than I take in by walking. Five miles a day is my initial goal."
Snyder says he'll update his weight loss efforts on his blog. He has a soul mate, of sorts, in WFAA8 sports anchor Dale Hansen, who began a Slim-Fast/banana regimen on New Year's Day and lost roughly 50 pounds by the end of the February "sweeps" ratings period.
Here's video of how Snyder looked when he made his debut with McGarry in April 1992.
Wouldn't it be nice?
06/20/08 10:10 AM
By ED BARK
There's been a debate among unclebarky.com commenters about the niceness of former NBC5 early morning meteorologist Rebecca Miller, whose activities were updated earlier this week.
A few seem to think she's an off-camera shrew, which goes against the grain of what most people have been saying about her. I've always found Miller to be very nice, but have only met her once in person. So what do I really know?
First impressions count for a lot, though. They stay with you. As a kid I sat through many of the late Perry Como's prime-time variety hours, mainly because my parents and live-in grandma loved both them and him.
It was torture at first, but his Christmas specials particularly stuck with me. I kept watching them as a younger adult, and finally got a chance to interview Como in person while he taped his last holiday special in San Antonio in 1986.
It's damned disillusioning when people you revere turn out to be jackals. But Como was anything but. He couldn't have been nicer. Not just to his interviewer, but to everybody.
Paul Molitor and Ernie Banks, two of my all-time favorite baseball players, also turned out to be really nice guys off the field as well. I interviewed Molitor as an adult and got Banks' autograph several times as a kid. Came away with good feelings each time.
There also are many authentically nice people working in D-FW television news. NBC5's Deborah Ferguson stands out, though. Again, I've only met her once in person. That was while doing a story on what it's like to get up at ungodly hours to anchor the increasingly important early morning newscasts.
I arrived at NBC5 at about 4:30 a.m. Ferguson was busily putting on her own makeup, and didn't mind a bit that a photographer started snapping pictures when she was plucking her eyebrows or something. She was instantly friendly and forthcoming, as was co-anchor Brendan Higgins.
They had every reason to be guarded, being that I was from a newspaper whose parent company also owned arch rival WFAA8. But there was none of that at all. And Ferguson in particular seemed almost too genuine to be true.
At the network level, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams is funny, knowledgeable, approachable and completely without pretense. At least that's the way he's always seemed to me, whether talking to him one-on-one or amid a group of TV critics.
A few years ago, on one of the semi-annual Television Critics Association "press tours" in Los Angeles, Williams made it a point to ask several beat veterans about his late brother, Dave Williams, who recently passed away. Dave had been a TV critic for several years, and is a past president of the TCA. But none of us knew he was Brian's older brother. Or that the future standardbearer of NBC News tagged along with him once on a 1980s press tour.
Brian now was looking for little remembrances that others had of his brother. It was a very thoughtful gesture on his part. You don't forget things like that.
This is by no means an all-inclusive list of TV's nice people. There are many jerks as well, but I'm not going to name any of them here. They already get enough ink and attention while the quality human beings often are overlooked.
That's where you and your comments come in. Based on firsthand experiences, who are the really decent local or national TV people? Those who work in the business have a wealth of firsthand knowledge about this. Those who don't can rely on their first -- and often lasting -- impressions.
Accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative. Let's hear from you.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., June 19)
06/20/08 09:24 AM
By ED BARK
Fox and Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast made the best of another lazy hazy ratings night in the hot weather D-FW Nielsen ratings.
The network's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? opened at 7 p.m. with wins in both total homes and with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds.
Another vote-off on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance followed with a decisive win among 18-to-49-year-olds, but fell a bit short of CBS' Criminal Minds repeat in total homes.
Fox4's 9 p.m. news then drew prime-time's biggest overall audience (163,185 homes) while also topping the charts with 18-to-49-year-olds and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. CBS' third episode of Swingtown took the 9 p.m. runnerup spot in all three measurements; NBC's competing Fear Itself, also in its third outing, burrowed into fourth place.
WFAA8's 10 p.m. newscast had Thursday's largest audience (180,234 homes) and also won with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Fox4 took both golds at 6 a.m. for the second straight weekday, with WFAA8 likewise controlling the 5 and 6 p.m. news competitions.
Fox and Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast made the best of another lazy hazy ratings night in the hot weather D-FW Nielsen ratings.
The network's Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? opened at 7 p.m. with wins in both total homes and with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds.
Another vote-off on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance followed with a decisive win among 18-to-49-year-olds, but fell a bit short of CBS' Criminal Minds repeat in total homes.
Fox4's 9 p.m. news then drew prime-time's biggest overall audience (163,185 homes) while also topping the charts with 18-to-49-year-olds and 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. CBS' third episode of Swingtown took the 9 p.m. runnerup spot in all three measurements; NBC's competing Fear Itself, also in its third outing, burrowed into fourth place.
WFAA8's 10 p.m. newscast had Thursday's largest audience (180,234 homes) and also won with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Fox4 took both golds at 6 a.m. for the second straight weekday, with WFAA8 likewise controlling the 5 and 6 p.m. news competitions.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., June 18)
06/19/08 10:00 AM
By ED BARK
Wednesday brought Tinytown ratings to D-FW, with NBC5's 10 p.m. newscast ranking as the day's most-watched program with a modest haul of 163,185 homes.
More typical was ABC's largely invisible prime-time lineup of Wife Swap (70,632 homes), Supernanny (63,327) and another Supernanny (70,632).
NBC's ludicrous Celebrity Circus fared little better, with its second 90-minute episode conning 94,988 homes from 8:30 to 10 p.m.
The Peacock's Deal or No Deal won the 7 to 8 p.m. hour with 116,909 homes. CBS then took over with repeats of Criminal Minds (116,909) and CSI: NY (126,651).
Among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, CBS' The Price Is Right edged Fox's So You Think You Can Dance in prime-time's opening hour. Dancing won from 8 to 9 p.m. and Celebrity Circus managed to out-scrap Supernanny for audience scraps in the 9 p.m. closeout.
The local news derby saw NBC5 adding to its 10 p.m. total homes win with a first-place finish among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. WFAA8, usually a powerhouse in that demographic, fell to an unaccustomed fourth place behind the Peacock, CBS11 and Fox4.
Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions, returning to the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds for the first time since -- holy smokes -- Friday, May 16th. The station also won at 5 p.m. in total homes, with WFAA taking the rest of the golds at that hour and at 6 p.m.
Wednesday brought Tinytown ratings to D-FW, with NBC5's 10 p.m. newscast ranking as the day's most-watched program with a modest haul of 163,185 homes.
More typical was ABC's largely invisible prime-time lineup of Wife Swap (70,632 homes), Supernanny (63,327) and another Supernanny (70,632).
NBC's ludicrous Celebrity Circus fared little better, with its second 90-minute episode conning 94,988 homes from 8:30 to 10 p.m.
The Peacock's Deal or No Deal won the 7 to 8 p.m. hour with 116,909 homes. CBS then took over with repeats of Criminal Minds (116,909) and CSI: NY (126,651).
Among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, CBS' The Price Is Right edged Fox's So You Think You Can Dance in prime-time's opening hour. Dancing won from 8 to 9 p.m. and Celebrity Circus managed to out-scrap Supernanny for audience scraps in the 9 p.m. closeout.
The local news derby saw NBC5 adding to its 10 p.m. total homes win with a first-place finish among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. WFAA8, usually a powerhouse in that demographic, fell to an unaccustomed fourth place behind the Peacock, CBS11 and Fox4.
Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions, returning to the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds for the first time since -- holy smokes -- Friday, May 16th. The station also won at 5 p.m. in total homes, with WFAA taking the rest of the golds at that hour and at 6 p.m.
Rebecca Miller bakes and bides her time
06/18/08 10:50 AM
By ED BARK
Rebecca Miller is baking away -- and probably simmering a bit, too -- while her early morning replacement at NBC5, former Weather Channel meteorologist Jennifer Lopez, prepares to make her on-air debut.
Lopez officially began at the station on Monday (June 16th), but is "learning the systems" before joining NBC5's pre-dawn yawn patrol, vice president of programming Brian Hocker said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Miller continues to sit out a six-month "non-compete" clause, even though NBC5 chose not to renew her contract and dropped her in early March.
"Here's the dilemma," Miller told unclebarky.com in an email sent Tuesday. "Channel 5 probably couldn't enforce my 'non-compete.' What I have found out is that other stations (in the D-FW market) can't talk to me during my non-compete because they have their own non-competes with their own employees. By talking to me and violating my non-compete, they would send the wrong signals to their own employees, and that's something they don't want to do."
Non-competes are standard in the TV business, with stations wanting to protect themselves from talent jumping to a rival station after they've built their names up. CBS11 anchor Tracy Rowlett was "on the beach" for a while after he decided to leave WFAA8. And former WFAA8 anchor John Criswell likewise had to stay off the air for several months after signing a deal with KDFW-TV (Channel 4) long before it became a Fox-owned station.
In both cases, the warring stations worked out compromises that decreased the anchors' off-air down time. In the interim, Ch. 4 put up billboards showing Criswell with his mouth taped shut.
Miller's case is notably different, because she didn't choose to leave NBC5. But stations can still enforce non-compete clauses in their former employees' contracts. (NBC5 generally does not comment on "personnel matters," particularly sticky ones. That's standard operating procedure with their competitors as well.)
Miller says she'll officially be "available" -- as a TV meteorologist -- in early September. And she'd still like to get back in that game despite recurring bad dreams.
"I thought by now I'd be completely rested," she said. "But I still wake up with nightmares where I'm being yelled at for wearing the wrong jacket or pants, having the wrong hairstyle or color, saying the wrong thing, showing the wrong map."
Her on-line courses in Homeland Security at Texas A&M University will resume in the fall, she says.
"So I continue taking the summer off, but I've been busy . . . I've always loved baking for people and baking for dogs, so I've started a line of gourmet treats."
Some of her canine platters are pictured above, and look tempting to a human named Ed Bark. But no, best not place an order. And our cats probably would pass, too.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., June 17)
06/18/08 10:49 AM
By ED BARK
Boston's Game 6 crunching of L.A. to win the NBA championship expectedly paced the D-FW ratings Tuesday, but settled for a tie in direct competition with NBC's two-hour season premiere of America's Got Talent.
ABC's climactic telecast, which ended at 10:54 p.m. before trophy presentations kicked in, averaged 268,728 D-FW homes overall, with a high of 353,162 in its concluding minutes. From 8 to 10 p.m., Lakers-Celtics and Talent both drew 238,689 total homes. And among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, the game nipped Talent by just one-tenth of a rating point (3,153 viewers).
Over on CBS, a three-hour special devoted to the American Film Institute's latest lists limped in with 90,117 homes, beating only Fox's still onerous The Moment of Truth in the 7 to 8 p.m. hour.
The local news wins were split between NBC5 and WFAA8, with the Peacock crowing loudest.
NBC5 romped to easy wins at 10 p.m. in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. Its 302,014 total homes barely lost to the competing 10 to 10:30 p.m. segment of the NBA Finals (316,628 homes).
The Peacock also won at 6 a.m. in both ratings measurements for the second straight day, although its margin in total homes over Fox4 was just one-tenth of a point.
WFAA8 swept the 5 and 6 p.m. news competitions.
Boston's Game 6 crunching of L.A. to win the NBA championship expectedly paced the D-FW ratings Tuesday, but settled for a tie in direct competition with NBC's two-hour season premiere of America's Got Talent.
ABC's climactic telecast, which ended at 10:54 p.m. before trophy presentations kicked in, averaged 268,728 D-FW homes overall, with a high of 353,162 in its concluding minutes. From 8 to 10 p.m., Lakers-Celtics and Talent both drew 238,689 total homes. And among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, the game nipped Talent by just one-tenth of a rating point (3,153 viewers).
Over on CBS, a three-hour special devoted to the American Film Institute's latest lists limped in with 90,117 homes, beating only Fox's still onerous The Moment of Truth in the 7 to 8 p.m. hour.
The local news wins were split between NBC5 and WFAA8, with the Peacock crowing loudest.
NBC5 romped to easy wins at 10 p.m. in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. Its 302,014 total homes barely lost to the competing 10 to 10:30 p.m. segment of the NBA Finals (316,628 homes).
The Peacock also won at 6 a.m. in both ratings measurements for the second straight day, although its margin in total homes over Fox4 was just one-tenth of a point.
WFAA8 swept the 5 and 6 p.m. news competitions.
NBC5 comes up snake eyes again
06/17/08 01:42 PM
By ED BARK
Hey, NBC5, Snakes On a Plane pretty much bombed.
No matter. D-FW's most consistent pseudo news provider struck again on Monday's 10 p.m. newscast after anchor Mike Snyder primed the prime-time pump by teasing a snake "explosion" and "invasion."
Reporter Brett Johnson did the honors this time, reporting from Ellis County on a woman who had a non-poisonous snake die and decompose inside her dryer exhaust vent after it slithered aboard from a nearby pond.
Snyder and co-anchor Jane McGarry first stood before a giant "Snake Alert" graphic. She grinned and even he looked perhaps slightly chagrinned. Johnson said that North Texans are "seeing more of the slithering reptiles" this year. Or at least on NBC5 they are.
Return with us now to that thrilling Meredith Land May ratings "sweeps" story, teased by full-blown carnival barking from the ever-dependable Snyder.
"They are poisonous, slimy and invading North Texas," he informed viewers. "See where snakes are slithering."
He then went for the kill: "A Dallas neighborhood is on edge tonight as deadly snakes invade their area. Good evening, I'm Mike Snyder."
Land then led the May 9th late night newscast with the tale of a Texas coral snake spotted in a backyard. No slouch in the overkill department, Land intoned, "Herpetologists say pick one up and you are dancing with death."
Both stories were garnished with appearances by congenial Daryl Sprout of snakeencounters.com. He's the go-to guy whenever NBC5 needs a snake story, which is all too often.
Johnson took a more benign approach than Land Monday night, noting that the snake that died in the dryer exhaust vent was adept at killing rats and mice. Nonetheless, the aggrieved woman said her husband is shooting them on sight with his shotgun.
Johnson then closed his middle-of-the-newscast piece by placing a mouse trap with cheese on what looked to be some utilitarian NBC5 metal shelving.
Kill those rodent-eating snakes and you'll only have yourselves to blame for an increase in the rat and mice population, he warned.
NBC5 no doubt will be right on that one, too. Suggested Snyder promo: "North Texans aren't Mickey Mouse-ing around tonight as a deadly battalion of diseased, killer rats marches toward unsuspecting homeowners after outlasting a batch of slithering reptiles gunned down by a vigilante homeowner. Our team coverage begins with . . ."
***Meanwhile, McGarry's at times bizarro nbc5i.com blog is touting Laura Bush as the optimum Republican candidate for president in 2012.
"I would say there's no way that would ever happen . . . But can you think of a better candidate?" McGarry theorizes. "Mrs. Bush is poised, intelligent, well-thought of by Republicans and Democrats alike. And she IS a Texan. She's a woman who might win the White House, if she wanted to."
Clearly, too much exposure to Mike Snyder can be very hazardous to a co-anchor's mental prowess. Or vice versa.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., June 16)
06/17/08 09:32 AM
By ED BARK
NBC had a Tiger in its tank Monday afternoon, particularly in the dramatic last 15 minutes of the U.S. Open playoff.
Tigers Woods' 19-hole, one-stroke victory over resilient Rocco Mediate drew 209,462 D-FW homes from 3:15 to 3:30, making it the most-watched 15-minute bloc of the day. That may be unprecedented, even in a summertime sea of reality series and repeats. And it doesn't count all the workplaces sneaking a peek at one of the all-time dramatic finishes to a major golf championship.
NBC's portion of the playoff overall averaged 142,239 homes after high-jumping from an almost non-existent lead-in from the Martha Stewart's syndicated hour (19,485 homes).
In prime-time, NBC's mostly live 90-minute edition of Nashville Star had a weak-kneed 104,731 homes, even though four Texas-tied competitors, including Melissa Lawson of Arlington, are now among the Final 10. That relegated the show to a fourth place finish against competing programming. But its final half-hour, from 9 to 9:30 p.m., won that slot among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
ABC's The Mole continued to dig a hole for itself, finishing fourth in both ratings measurements.
In the local news derby, WFAA8 nipped CBS11 for first place at 10 p.m. in total homes while doing the same to NBC5 among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The Peacock retaliated with twin wins at 6 a.m., in each case edging Fox4. In the total homes measurement, CBS11 finished unusually close to third-place WFAA8, with just two-tenths of a rating point (4,871 homes) between them.
WFAA8 prevailed in total homes at 6 p.m. and ran in a rare three-way tie with Fox4 and NBC5 for first place in the 25-to-54 demo.
The ABC station took both news competitions at 5 p.m.
NBC had a Tiger in its tank Monday afternoon, particularly in the dramatic last 15 minutes of the U.S. Open playoff.
Tigers Woods' 19-hole, one-stroke victory over resilient Rocco Mediate drew 209,462 D-FW homes from 3:15 to 3:30, making it the most-watched 15-minute bloc of the day. That may be unprecedented, even in a summertime sea of reality series and repeats. And it doesn't count all the workplaces sneaking a peek at one of the all-time dramatic finishes to a major golf championship.
NBC's portion of the playoff overall averaged 142,239 homes after high-jumping from an almost non-existent lead-in from the Martha Stewart's syndicated hour (19,485 homes).
In prime-time, NBC's mostly live 90-minute edition of Nashville Star had a weak-kneed 104,731 homes, even though four Texas-tied competitors, including Melissa Lawson of Arlington, are now among the Final 10. That relegated the show to a fourth place finish against competing programming. But its final half-hour, from 9 to 9:30 p.m., won that slot among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
ABC's The Mole continued to dig a hole for itself, finishing fourth in both ratings measurements.
In the local news derby, WFAA8 nipped CBS11 for first place at 10 p.m. in total homes while doing the same to NBC5 among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
The Peacock retaliated with twin wins at 6 a.m., in each case edging Fox4. In the total homes measurement, CBS11 finished unusually close to third-place WFAA8, with just two-tenths of a rating point (4,871 homes) between them.
WFAA8 prevailed in total homes at 6 p.m. and ran in a rare three-way tie with Fox4 and NBC5 for first place in the 25-to-54 demo.
The ABC station took both news competitions at 5 p.m.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., June 13-15)
06/16/08 01:01 PM
By ED BARK
A pair of drama-rich sports events dominated Sunday's Nielsens from early afternoon to late night.
NBC's final round of the U.S. Open began by putt-putting along with 77,939 D-FW homes in its first 15 minutes (2 to 2:15 p.m.). But that number swelled to 309,321 between 7:45 and 8 p.m., when Tiger Woods drained a last-ditch birdie putt to force Monday's 18-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate.
Overall, the Open averaged a very nice-sized 185,106 homes in winning every 15-minute increment against competing programming. Then ABC's Game 5 of the NBA Finals took over, peaking at a giant-sized 355,598 homes between 10:45 and 11 p.m. as Los Angeles held off Boston.
The game-long average of 250,492 homes was the best to date, topping the audience for June 5th's Game 1 (242,342).
That left scraps for CBS' noble but doomed three-hour prime-telecast of the Tony Awards, which drew just 63,326 homes in D-FW. Worse yet, the Tonys attracted an average of just 12,614 viewers in the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic. Game 5 of Lakers-Celtics averaged more than 15 times as many advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
Earlier Sunday, NBC's Meet the Press tribute to the late Tim Russert, who died Friday, drew 92,553 homes from 9 to 10 a.m. to easily beat all of the competing network public affairs programs.
In Friday's local news derby, WFAA8 notched twin wins at 10 p.m. in total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 ran first at 6 a.m. in total homes, with WFAA8 taking the 25-to-54 gold.
WFAA8 won across the board at 6 p.m. and took the 5 p.m. news competition among 25-to-54-year-olds. Fox4 took first place at the earlier hour in total homes.
A pair of drama-rich sports events dominated Sunday's Nielsens from early afternoon to late night.
NBC's final round of the U.S. Open began by putt-putting along with 77,939 D-FW homes in its first 15 minutes (2 to 2:15 p.m.). But that number swelled to 309,321 between 7:45 and 8 p.m., when Tiger Woods drained a last-ditch birdie putt to force Monday's 18-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate.
Overall, the Open averaged a very nice-sized 185,106 homes in winning every 15-minute increment against competing programming. Then ABC's Game 5 of the NBA Finals took over, peaking at a giant-sized 355,598 homes between 10:45 and 11 p.m. as Los Angeles held off Boston.
The game-long average of 250,492 homes was the best to date, topping the audience for June 5th's Game 1 (242,342).
That left scraps for CBS' noble but doomed three-hour prime-telecast of the Tony Awards, which drew just 63,326 homes in D-FW. Worse yet, the Tonys attracted an average of just 12,614 viewers in the key 18-to-49-year-old demographic. Game 5 of Lakers-Celtics averaged more than 15 times as many advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
Earlier Sunday, NBC's Meet the Press tribute to the late Tim Russert, who died Friday, drew 92,553 homes from 9 to 10 a.m. to easily beat all of the competing network public affairs programs.
In Friday's local news derby, WFAA8 notched twin wins at 10 p.m. in total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 ran first at 6 a.m. in total homes, with WFAA8 taking the 25-to-54 gold.
WFAA8 won across the board at 6 p.m. and took the 5 p.m. news competition among 25-to-54-year-olds. Fox4 took first place at the earlier hour in total homes.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., June 12)
06/13/08 09:41 AM
By ED BARK
Looking like a blowout but ending with a spectacular comeback, Thursday's pulsating Game 4 of the NBA Finals underachieved compared to the previous three.
The Celtics' resurrection from a 24-point deficit averaged 197,487 D-FW homes on ABC, the smallest overall crowd to date. Last week's Game 1 attracted 242,342 homes overall, with Games 2 and 3 respectively drawing 231,788 homes and 222,451 homes.
Thursday's near-miracle Boston win peaked at 292,272 homes between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m. That matched Sunday's high point and nipped Tuesday's topper (289,836 homes). Game 1 hit a zenith of 309,321 homes.
Thursday's Game 4 also controlled the ratings among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, with the first vote-off on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance ranking as the No. 2 attraction in this key demo. All three North Texas contestants survived to hoof and puff again next week.
The second episodes of CBS' Swingtown and NBC's Fear Itself both had limited appeal at 9 p.m. Swingtown managed 109,602 homes in outdrawing Fear Itself (90,117 homes). But both shows ran behind Fox4's competing 9 p.m. newscast in both total homes (112,038) and with 18-to-49-year-olds.
In the local news derby, CBS11 won in total homes at 10 p.m. in a downsized three-way race. NBC5 regrouped by edging CBS11 among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 had the 6 a.m. gold in total homes, but again slipped to third in the 25-54 demo behind the Peacock and WFAA8.
The 5 p.m. firsts went to Fox4 in both ratings measurements, with WFAA8 turning the same trick at 6 p.m.
Looking like a blowout but ending with a spectacular comeback, Thursday's pulsating Game 4 of the NBA Finals underachieved compared to the previous three.
The Celtics' resurrection from a 24-point deficit averaged 197,487 D-FW homes on ABC, the smallest overall crowd to date. Last week's Game 1 attracted 242,342 homes overall, with Games 2 and 3 respectively drawing 231,788 homes and 222,451 homes.
Thursday's near-miracle Boston win peaked at 292,272 homes between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m. That matched Sunday's high point and nipped Tuesday's topper (289,836 homes). Game 1 hit a zenith of 309,321 homes.
Thursday's Game 4 also controlled the ratings among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, with the first vote-off on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance ranking as the No. 2 attraction in this key demo. All three North Texas contestants survived to hoof and puff again next week.
The second episodes of CBS' Swingtown and NBC's Fear Itself both had limited appeal at 9 p.m. Swingtown managed 109,602 homes in outdrawing Fear Itself (90,117 homes). But both shows ran behind Fox4's competing 9 p.m. newscast in both total homes (112,038) and with 18-to-49-year-olds.
In the local news derby, CBS11 won in total homes at 10 p.m. in a downsized three-way race. NBC5 regrouped by edging CBS11 among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Fox4 had the 6 a.m. gold in total homes, but again slipped to third in the 25-54 demo behind the Peacock and WFAA8.
The 5 p.m. firsts went to Fox4 in both ratings measurements, with WFAA8 turning the same trick at 6 p.m.
Selling Good Day in a sunny black-and-white spot
06/12/08 09:47 AM
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., June 11)
06/12/08 09:05 AM
By ED BARK
Biding time between Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals, ABC endured super-anemic ratings Wednesday for a prime-time lineup of Wife Swap, Supernanny and the series finale of the canceled Men In Trees.
All three series ran fourth in their time periods in both total D-FW homes and with advertiser-favored 18-to-49-year-olds. The last first-run episode of Trees drew just 53,583 homes opposite CBS' repeat of CSI: NY (148,572); Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast (112,038) and the premiere of NBC's dismal Celebrity Circus (87,682).
Circus left a ring around the screen, with fatuous Joey Fatone looking like a bearded stuffed sausage in his ringmaster's getup. Faded R&B singer Blu Cantrell provided the lone highlight after judges panned her "Spanish Web" performance. She pronounced their verdict "bull crap," nicely summing up the show as a whole.
Fox's two-hour So You Think You Can Dance, with three North Texans among the 20 finalists, drew 121,780 homes to finish a close second overall opposite a 90-minute edition of NBC's Deal Or No Deal (129,067 homes). But Dance won its time slot in the 18-to-49 demo.
In the local news derby, WFAA8 took the 10 p.m. gold in total homes, but NBC5 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
WFAA8 had twin wins at 6 a.m., with Fox4 the runnerup in each measurement.
The 5 p.m. firsts were split between WFAA8 in total homes and Fox4 with 25-to-54-year-olds. WFAA8 won across the board at 6 p.m.
Biding time between Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals, ABC endured super-anemic ratings Wednesday for a prime-time lineup of Wife Swap, Supernanny and the series finale of the canceled Men In Trees.
All three series ran fourth in their time periods in both total D-FW homes and with advertiser-favored 18-to-49-year-olds. The last first-run episode of Trees drew just 53,583 homes opposite CBS' repeat of CSI: NY (148,572); Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast (112,038) and the premiere of NBC's dismal Celebrity Circus (87,682).
Circus left a ring around the screen, with fatuous Joey Fatone looking like a bearded stuffed sausage in his ringmaster's getup. Faded R&B singer Blu Cantrell provided the lone highlight after judges panned her "Spanish Web" performance. She pronounced their verdict "bull crap," nicely summing up the show as a whole.
Fox's two-hour So You Think You Can Dance, with three North Texans among the 20 finalists, drew 121,780 homes to finish a close second overall opposite a 90-minute edition of NBC's Deal Or No Deal (129,067 homes). But Dance won its time slot in the 18-to-49 demo.
In the local news derby, WFAA8 took the 10 p.m. gold in total homes, but NBC5 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
WFAA8 had twin wins at 6 a.m., with Fox4 the runnerup in each measurement.
The 5 p.m. firsts were split between WFAA8 in total homes and Fox4 with 25-to-54-year-olds. WFAA8 won across the board at 6 p.m.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., June 10)
06/11/08 10:38 AM
By ED BARK
ABC's Game 3 of the NBA Finals ran strong again Tuesday, peaking at 289,836 D-FW homes in its late night closing minutes (10:30 to 10:45 p.m.).
Overall, the Lakers' home court win over the Celtics averaged 222,451 homes after building from a slow start. It's half-hour Jimmy Kimmel prelude, from 7 to 7:30 p.m., drew a sub-anemic 46,276 homes to run fourth in that slot. The 7 to 8 p.m. hour was dominated by CBS' NCIS repeat, with 228,946 homes in tow.
NCIS, an oft-unsung ratings juggernaut in these parts, also won from 7 to 8 p.m. among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds. Fox ran second in that key demo from 7 to 9 p.m. with a firstrun lineup of The Moment of Truth and Hell's Kitchen.
The local newscast returns gave CBS11 a comfortable total homes win at 10 p.m. in a downsized three-way race. CBS11 also edged Fox4 for the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
NBC5 continued to fare well in the early mornings, winning for the second straight weekday at 6 a.m. in total homes and racking up a fourth consecutive first place finish among 25-to-54-year-olds. (Two of the wins in the latter measurement have been statistical dead heats with WFAA8.)
WFAA8 resumed control of the 5 and 6 p.m. newscast races with across-the-board wins in both measurements.
ABC's Game 3 of the NBA Finals ran strong again Tuesday, peaking at 289,836 D-FW homes in its late night closing minutes (10:30 to 10:45 p.m.).
Overall, the Lakers' home court win over the Celtics averaged 222,451 homes after building from a slow start. It's half-hour Jimmy Kimmel prelude, from 7 to 7:30 p.m., drew a sub-anemic 46,276 homes to run fourth in that slot. The 7 to 8 p.m. hour was dominated by CBS' NCIS repeat, with 228,946 homes in tow.
NCIS, an oft-unsung ratings juggernaut in these parts, also won from 7 to 8 p.m. among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds. Fox ran second in that key demo from 7 to 9 p.m. with a firstrun lineup of The Moment of Truth and Hell's Kitchen.
The local newscast returns gave CBS11 a comfortable total homes win at 10 p.m. in a downsized three-way race. CBS11 also edged Fox4 for the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
NBC5 continued to fare well in the early mornings, winning for the second straight weekday at 6 a.m. in total homes and racking up a fourth consecutive first place finish among 25-to-54-year-olds. (Two of the wins in the latter measurement have been statistical dead heats with WFAA8.)
WFAA8 resumed control of the 5 and 6 p.m. newscast races with across-the-board wins in both measurements.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., June 9)
06/10/08 11:45 AM
By ED BARK
CBS gunned its reruns Monday night, topping the prime-time Nielsens from start to finish against an array of summertime reality competitions on NBC and ABC.
The Peacock's two-hour premiere of Nashville Star, with four Texas-tied contestants among the 12 finalists, averaged 116,909 D-FW homes from 8 to 10 p.m. But CBS controlled those two hours with a retread lineup of Two and a Half Men (165,621 homes), Rules of Engagement (141,265) and CSi: Miami (180,234 homes).
Nashville Star also ran behind a repeat of Fox's House in its first hour but did manage to edge Fox4's local newscast for second place at 9 p.m.
ABC's The Mole had the night's lowest reality series numbers, sucking in just 63,326 homes between 9 and 10 p.m. It also ran fourth in that time slot among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, with the final hour of Nashville Star taking third in that measurement.
At 7 p.m., a planned one-time only-showing on CBS of TBS' The Bill Engvall Show took the gold in both total homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds. CBS' following How I Met Your Mother did likewise. So repeat after me: Repeats aren't a bad idea if you're CBS.
In the local news derby, WFAA8 bucked a lousy lead-in from The Mole to win at 10 p.m. in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
NBC5 countered with a comfortable 6 a.m. win in total homes while nipping WFAA8 by three-hundredths of a rating point in the 25-to-54-demo.
Fox4 won its third consecutive weekday at 5 p.m. in total homes, with WFAA8 tops among 25-to-54-year-olds. The ABC station ran the table at 6 p.m.
CBS gunned its reruns Monday night, topping the prime-time Nielsens from start to finish against an array of summertime reality competitions on NBC and ABC.
The Peacock's two-hour premiere of Nashville Star, with four Texas-tied contestants among the 12 finalists, averaged 116,909 D-FW homes from 8 to 10 p.m. But CBS controlled those two hours with a retread lineup of Two and a Half Men (165,621 homes), Rules of Engagement (141,265) and CSi: Miami (180,234 homes).
Nashville Star also ran behind a repeat of Fox's House in its first hour but did manage to edge Fox4's local newscast for second place at 9 p.m.
ABC's The Mole had the night's lowest reality series numbers, sucking in just 63,326 homes between 9 and 10 p.m. It also ran fourth in that time slot among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, with the final hour of Nashville Star taking third in that measurement.
At 7 p.m., a planned one-time only-showing on CBS of TBS' The Bill Engvall Show took the gold in both total homes and with 18-to-49-year-olds. CBS' following How I Met Your Mother did likewise. So repeat after me: Repeats aren't a bad idea if you're CBS.
In the local news derby, WFAA8 bucked a lousy lead-in from The Mole to win at 10 p.m. in both total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
NBC5 countered with a comfortable 6 a.m. win in total homes while nipping WFAA8 by three-hundredths of a rating point in the 25-to-54-demo.
Fox4 won its third consecutive weekday at 5 p.m. in total homes, with WFAA8 tops among 25-to-54-year-olds. The ABC station ran the table at 6 p.m.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., June 6-8)
06/10/08 11:24 AM
By ED BARK
Peak D-FW ratings for the NBA's thoroughbreds couldn't match those for Big Brown's shocking last-place finish in the Belmont.
Saturday afternoon's last leg of horseracing's Triple Crown hit a high of 304,450 total homes to easily rank as the day's top attraction.
Sunday night's Game 2 of the NBA Finals between Boston and L.A. topped out at 292,272 homes between 10 and 10:15 p.m.
Friday's most-watched attraction, CBS11's 10 p.m. newscast, hit roughly half those numbers with 148,572 total homes. WFAA8 won at that hour among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
In the waker-upper hour, Fox4 took the 6 a.m. gold in total homes but sunk to third with 25-to-54-year-olds behind fronrunner NBC5 and WFAA8.
Fox4 ran the table at 5 p.m., though, with WFAA8 doing the same at 6 p.m.
Peak D-FW ratings for the NBA's thoroughbreds couldn't match those for Big Brown's shocking last-place finish in the Belmont.
Saturday afternoon's last leg of horseracing's Triple Crown hit a high of 304,450 total homes to easily rank as the day's top attraction.
Sunday night's Game 2 of the NBA Finals between Boston and L.A. topped out at 292,272 homes between 10 and 10:15 p.m.
Friday's most-watched attraction, CBS11's 10 p.m. newscast, hit roughly half those numbers with 148,572 total homes. WFAA8 won at that hour among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
In the waker-upper hour, Fox4 took the 6 a.m. gold in total homes but sunk to third with 25-to-54-year-olds behind fronrunner NBC5 and WFAA8.
Fox4 ran the table at 5 p.m., though, with WFAA8 doing the same at 6 p.m.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., June 5)
06/10/08 10:59 AM
By ED BARK
Game 1 of the NBA Finals routed all competed programming Thursday night, with the premiere of CBS' new Swingtown taking the consolation prize.
ABC's historically potent matchup between Boston and L.A. averaged a robust 242,342 D-FW homes, peaking at 309,321 between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m.
Swingtown, set in the sexually ripe '70s, ran second at 9 p.m., luring 151,007 homes against the first outing for NBC's Fear Itself (fourth with 102,295 homes).
In the local news derby, CBS11 won a three-way competition at 10 p.m. in total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. NBC5 was a close second in both measurements.
WFAA8 took the 6 a.m. competition in total homes and tied for first with the Peacock in the 25-to-54 demo.
The 6 p.m. races went to WFAA8 in both measurements. At 5 p.m., Fox4 won in total homes and NBC5 took the gold with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals routed all competed programming Thursday night, with the premiere of CBS' new Swingtown taking the consolation prize.
ABC's historically potent matchup between Boston and L.A. averaged a robust 242,342 D-FW homes, peaking at 309,321 between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m.
Swingtown, set in the sexually ripe '70s, ran second at 9 p.m., luring 151,007 homes against the first outing for NBC's Fear Itself (fourth with 102,295 homes).
In the local news derby, CBS11 won a three-way competition at 10 p.m. in total homes and among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. NBC5 was a close second in both measurements.
WFAA8 took the 6 a.m. competition in total homes and tied for first with the Peacock in the 25-to-54 demo.
The 6 p.m. races went to WFAA8 in both measurements. At 5 p.m., Fox4 won in total homes and NBC5 took the gold with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Good Grieve: "Mr. Ranger" gets a half-hour showcase
06/05/08 04:49 PM
By ED BARK
Tom Grieve, as he readily admits, has been the Texas Rangers' ultimate utility man.
As a member of the charter 1972 club, he went on to spend six years as a part-time player for mostly losing teams.
He later was the team's general manager for 10 seasons, never reaching the playoffs.
And since 1995 he's been a member of the Rangers' broadcast team, relying on his various partners to do most of the heavy lifting.
FSN Southwest's 30-minute In My Own Words: Tom Grieve, airing Sunday, June 8th at 10 p.m. (central), affords the subject a chance to be his usual self-effacting self. Some have dubbed him "Mr. Ranger," and it "makes me feel good that someone would say that," he tells interviewer John Rhadigan.
On the other hand, he quickly adds, "I know it's based pretty much on longevity."
The special, being repeated throughout June, premieres at a crossroads for Grieve. After the June 8th Rangers game, he'll have surgery for prostate cancer and miss at least two weeks of telecasts. FSN says that the final version of In My Words will incorporate a brief segment in which Grieve, 60, talks about suddenly having to cope with cancer.
This otherwise is a breezy outing, beginning with Grieve's recollection of taking batting practice at Randol Mill Park in 50 miles per hour winds.
Major League players were on strike at the time, and Grieve initially didn't think much of Arlington in comparison to his previous tenure in the picturesque nation's capitol with the woeful Washington Senators.
"All of us are thinking we're not a very good team so we probably don't have the right to complain too much," he tells Rhadigan. "But this doesn't feel like the big leagues."
Rhadigan is a bit prone to making statements -- "You have grown up with a baseball family" -- rather than posing questions. And some points of interest are never broached -- such as his favorite Rangers anecdote or what it was like to play for the volatile Billy Martin.
Time goes by fast, though, and there's a lot of ground to cover. Grieve also generously diverts attention to his first Rangers broadcast partner, the late Mark Holtz, who groomed him to be successful in the booth.
"He could make something out of nothing," Grieve says. "And if he ever did have a great game coming down to the end, there was absolutely nobody better that you could be listening to than Mark Holtz."
The program includes Holtz's climactic calls of Kenny Rogers' perfect game and Nolan Ryan's last no-hitter, his seventh. A nice selection of early Grieve photos also make the cut.
Grieve isn't namby pamby in the broadcast booth, and over time has become more willing to deliver verbal brushbacks. Mostly, though, he's a very nice guy who brims with enthusiasm for the game and is always willing to talk about others' exploits.
That comes through again and again in this generally engaging half-hour, minus the usual seven-minute load of commercials. And after all the verbiage, it goes without saying that we wish this man for all Ranger seasons a full and speedy recovery.
TCM vs. HDNet Movies: there's no comparison
06/05/08 02:52 PM
By ED BARK
Maybe Mark Cuban should consider throwing some of his Mavs mad money at his most underpublicized asset -- HDNet Movies.
He should do so quickly, while Turner Classic Movies remains in the old analog mode.
TCM inevitably will make the transition to high-definition. But it hasn't done so yet, giving HDNet a candy-coated opportunity to position itself as television's best venue for quality, commercial-free movies presented in all their crystal-clear, wide-screen glory.
As a relatively new owner of an HD set, I'm amazed at the attractions available on HDNet Movies. Cuban's got some clinkers to be sure. But on this weekend alone (June 6-8), you could watch these very worthy films:
***Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
***The Searchers
***Thelma & Louise
***The Sting
***The Bridge on the River Kwai
***Dirty Harry
***Amadeus
***Harper
***Groundhog Day
***The Outlaw Josey Wales
The upcoming June menu also includes Easy Rider; Days of Wine and Roses; Badlands; Cool Hand Luke; Spartacus; Places In the Heart; Apollo 13; A Passage to India; Serpico; Splendor In the Grass; Prince of the City; The Music Man and Steve McQueen's last movie, Tom Horn.
That's a roster that rivals anything TCM has to offer. But the big difference maker is HD, which makes these movies come alive anew no matter what their vintage. On TCM these same movies look as though they're shot through a Vaseline jar. It's all in the eye of the beholder, and if you have HD your eyes can quickly get spoiled.
Cuban should take advantage of this competitive edge by sinking some hard cash into a showy commercial campaign spread across at least a dozen or so cable networks. It's an optimum time to spike demand and drive traffic to HDNet movies. This is a great, but still largely undiscovered venue for both old and new generations of film buffs.
For now, though, what we have here is a failure to communicate.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., June 4)
06/05/08 09:14 AM
By ED BARK
Viewing levels swooned Wednesday, with Fox, CBS and WFAA8 making the most of the hot/windy weather malaise.
Fox's latest two-hour edition of So You Think You Can Dance drew the most advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds from 7 to 9 p.m., with a repeat of CBS' CSI: NY taking the throttle at 9 p.m.
The first hour of Dance also won prime-time's opening hour in the total homes Nielsens. CBS then controlled the last two hours with CSI: NY and a Criminal Minds repeat.
On NBC, Detroit's closeout of Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup finale ran fourth overall in total homes with just 63,326 of 'em. Still, the last hour of the matchup skated to second place among 18-to-49-year-olds, outdrawing Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast and a repeat of ABC's Men In Trees.
No program came close to hitting a double-digit rating, with WFAA8's 10 p.m. newscast qualifying as the biggest show in town Wednesday with 207,026 total homes. That was a considerable vault from the 80,375 homes tuned to Trees from 9:45 to 10 p.m.
WFAA8 also won at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. And it completed a hard-to-achieve double grand slam by likewise running the table with its 6 a.m. and 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.
Viewing levels swooned Wednesday, with Fox, CBS and WFAA8 making the most of the hot/windy weather malaise.
Fox's latest two-hour edition of So You Think You Can Dance drew the most advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds from 7 to 9 p.m., with a repeat of CBS' CSI: NY taking the throttle at 9 p.m.
The first hour of Dance also won prime-time's opening hour in the total homes Nielsens. CBS then controlled the last two hours with CSI: NY and a Criminal Minds repeat.
On NBC, Detroit's closeout of Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup finale ran fourth overall in total homes with just 63,326 of 'em. Still, the last hour of the matchup skated to second place among 18-to-49-year-olds, outdrawing Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast and a repeat of ABC's Men In Trees.
No program came close to hitting a double-digit rating, with WFAA8's 10 p.m. newscast qualifying as the biggest show in town Wednesday with 207,026 total homes. That was a considerable vault from the 80,375 homes tuned to Trees from 9:45 to 10 p.m.
WFAA8 also won at 10 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. And it completed a hard-to-achieve double grand slam by likewise running the table with its 6 a.m. and 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., June 3)
06/04/08 10:06 AM
By ED BARK
CBS and Fox carried the most weight in prime-time Tuesday, but more than a few D-FW homes bought into a history-making night on the cable news networks.
Hillary Clinton's intransigence and Barack Obama's emergence as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee were center stage on CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. Republican standardbearer John McCain also tried to make his presence felt with an at times awkwardly delivered speech from New Orleans.
FNC controlled the first hour of prime-time (7 to 8 p.m.) in the total homes Nielsens, drawing 46,276 of 'em opposite MSNBC (31,663) and CNN (21,920).
CNN then took over from 8 to 9 p.m. with 53,583 homes, followed by FNC and MSNBC with 46,276 homes apiece. The 9 to 10 p.m. hour also went to CNN (58,454 homes), with MSNBC (43,841) moving into second place ahead of FNC (36,534).
In the broadcast arena, only ABC interrupted entertainment programming -- Boston Legal -- to bring viewers a portion of Obama's live speech and an excerpt from Clinton's earlier non-concession remar
CBS and Fox carried the most weight in prime-time Tuesday, but more than a few D-FW homes bought into a history-making night on the cable news networks.
Hillary Clinton's intransigence and Barack Obama's emergence as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee were center stage on CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. Republican standardbearer John McCain also tried to make his presence felt with an at times awkwardly delivered speech from New Orleans.
FNC controlled the first hour of prime-time (7 to 8 p.m.) in the total homes Nielsens, drawing 46,276 of 'em opposite MSNBC (31,663) and CNN (21,920).
CNN then took over from 8 to 9 p.m. with 53,583 homes, followed by FNC and MSNBC with 46,276 homes apiece. The 9 to 10 p.m. hour also went to CNN (58,454 homes), with MSNBC (43,841) moving into second place ahead of FNC (36,534).
In the broadcast arena, only ABC interrupted entertainment programming -- Boston Legal -- to bring viewers a portion of Obama's live speech and an excerpt from Clinton's earlier non-concession remar