May 2007
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., May 30)
05/31/07 10:06 AM
By ED BARK
ABC made a decent first impression in D-FW Wednesday night with its new reality competition among amateur impressionists.
The Next Best Thing racked up 164,220 homes to win its 7 to 8 p.m. time slot while also reigning as the top draw among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds. So maybe there's a future in commoners dressing the parts and then mimicking the likes of Lucille Ball, Little Richard and President Bush. ABC's grand prize is a relatively stingy $100 grand.
The return of ABC's serial drama Traveler had a tougher road. An 8 p.m. reprise of the pilot episode ranked fourth in total homes, with a new hour at 9 p.m. improving a bit to third place. The latter episode moved up another notch to finish second with 18-to-49-year-olds behind a repeat of CBS' CSI: NY.
Fox's two-hour edition of So You Think You Can Dance drew a wallflower-ish 114,240 homes to finish third in its first hour and second in its second. It was the same story among 18-to-49-year-olds.
Fox4 continuing its recent big winning ways at 6 a.m., topping the field by sizable margins in both homes and with 25-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Belo8 and NBC5 split the booty at 10 p.m., with the ABC station winning in total homes and the Peacock among 25-to-54-year-olds. CBS11 again blew a sizable lead-in advantage, this time from CSI: NY. Its 10 p.m. newscast ran third in homes and fifth with 25-to-54-year-olds, where Univision23's Spanish language Noticias 23 newscast took second place ahead of Belo8.
The 5 and 6 p.m. races again were no contests, with Belo8 running the table.
The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric had another rough night, placing 6th in total homes and ninth in the 25-to-54 demo.
ABC made a decent first impression in D-FW Wednesday night with its new reality competition among amateur impressionists.
The Next Best Thing racked up 164,220 homes to win its 7 to 8 p.m. time slot while also reigning as the top draw among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds. So maybe there's a future in commoners dressing the parts and then mimicking the likes of Lucille Ball, Little Richard and President Bush. ABC's grand prize is a relatively stingy $100 grand.
The return of ABC's serial drama Traveler had a tougher road. An 8 p.m. reprise of the pilot episode ranked fourth in total homes, with a new hour at 9 p.m. improving a bit to third place. The latter episode moved up another notch to finish second with 18-to-49-year-olds behind a repeat of CBS' CSI: NY.
Fox's two-hour edition of So You Think You Can Dance drew a wallflower-ish 114,240 homes to finish third in its first hour and second in its second. It was the same story among 18-to-49-year-olds.
Fox4 continuing its recent big winning ways at 6 a.m., topping the field by sizable margins in both homes and with 25-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Belo8 and NBC5 split the booty at 10 p.m., with the ABC station winning in total homes and the Peacock among 25-to-54-year-olds. CBS11 again blew a sizable lead-in advantage, this time from CSI: NY. Its 10 p.m. newscast ran third in homes and fifth with 25-to-54-year-olds, where Univision23's Spanish language Noticias 23 newscast took second place ahead of Belo8.
The 5 and 6 p.m. races again were no contests, with Belo8 running the table.
The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric had another rough night, placing 6th in total homes and ninth in the 25-to-54 demo.
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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., May 29)
05/30/07 11:15 AM
By ED BARK
A pair of delayed season finales sucked up most of the rarefied ratings air Tuesday night.
ABC's Boston Legal had prime-time's biggest numbers, luring 257,040 D-FW homes. Fox's House came in second for the night with 197,540 homes. Both shows also easily won their respective time slots among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
Two other first-run attractions bottomed out. Fox's On the Lot, the film competition produced by heavyweights Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg, attracted just 71,400 homes in finishing fifth at 7 p.m. opposite an array of rival network reruns and the Univision telenovela La Fea Mas Bella.
The CBS News special Flashpoint, which documented the serious injuries suffered by Iraq war correspondent Kimberly Dozier, likewise finished fifth in total homes. But it did beat the Texas Rangers-Oakland A's game on MY27.
The four major local news wars again were controlled by Belo8 and Fox4. The ABC station won at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. Fox4 did likewise at 6 a.m. and also whipped all the competing network morning shows with the 7 to 9 a.m. portion of its Good Day
CBS11 had another bad day. Its 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts finished fifth in a five-horse field in the two major audience measurements.
Univision23's competing local Spanish language newscasts at those hours again performed impressively in the key 25-to-54 demo. Noticias 23 finished second, behind Belo8, in both competitions.
A pair of delayed season finales sucked up most of the rarefied ratings air Tuesday night.
ABC's Boston Legal had prime-time's biggest numbers, luring 257,040 D-FW homes. Fox's House came in second for the night with 197,540 homes. Both shows also easily won their respective time slots among advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds.
Two other first-run attractions bottomed out. Fox's On the Lot, the film competition produced by heavyweights Mark Burnett and Steven Spielberg, attracted just 71,400 homes in finishing fifth at 7 p.m. opposite an array of rival network reruns and the Univision telenovela La Fea Mas Bella.
The CBS News special Flashpoint, which documented the serious injuries suffered by Iraq war correspondent Kimberly Dozier, likewise finished fifth in total homes. But it did beat the Texas Rangers-Oakland A's game on MY27.
The four major local news wars again were controlled by Belo8 and Fox4. The ABC station won at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. Fox4 did likewise at 6 a.m. and also whipped all the competing network morning shows with the 7 to 9 a.m. portion of its Good Day
CBS11 had another bad day. Its 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts finished fifth in a five-horse field in the two major audience measurements.
Univision23's competing local Spanish language newscasts at those hours again performed impressively in the key 25-to-54 demo. Noticias 23 finished second, behind Belo8, in both competitions.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Mon., May 25-28)
05/29/07 11:39 AM
By ED BARK
Overall puny Memorial Day viewing levels kept two new network series from making any tread marks.
The premiere of ABC's Ex-Wives Club dug a Death Valley at 8 p.m. between the network's Wife Swap and Supernanny. It drew just 85,680 homes in D-FW, less than half the Monday night crowd for a competing Two and a Half Men repeat on CBS.
Fox's first two-hour edition of the already struggling On the Lot had an even worse go of it. Slated to run for most of the summer, the Mark Burnett/Steven Spielberg-produced film directing competition may be nearing "The End" way ahead of schedule. It attracted a sub-measly 45,220 homes Monday, with the opening hour outpointed by TXA21's local newscast among many other competing programs.
Friday night's Nielsens were a bit of a boost for the second episode of ABC's interactive National Bingo Night. It tied for first place in homes, albeit with just 99,960 of them. But it handily won its 8 to 9 p.m. slot among 18-to-49-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for entertainment programming.
Sunday afternoon's Indy 500 on ABC easily sped past all competing programs, drawing 128,520 homes. The final round of Fort Worth's Colonial golf tournament managed 52,360 homes on CBS.
In the local news derby, Belo8 won at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. on Friday in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. Fox4 did likewise at 6 a.m.
Monday's news ratings saw NBC5 win twice at 10 p.m., with Belo8 again turning the same trick at 5 and 6 p.m.
The 6 a.m. ratings were miniscule on a rainy, sleep-in Memorial Day morning. NBC5 finished first in total homes with just 40,460 of 'em. Belo8 won among 25-to-54-year-olds, but its bounty was a mere 22,960 persons in that demographic.
Postscript: Answering a reader's request, here are the D-FW May "sweeps" results for late night network programming:
ABC's Nightline and the syndicated The Insider led the way from 10:35 to 11:35 p.m., averaging 101,150 homes. NBC's Tonight Show (97,580) and CBS' Late Show with David Letterman (61,880) trailed.
ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live won from 11:35 p.m. to 12:35 a.m. with 42,840 homes. Close behind was NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien (40,460 homes). Late Show with Craig Ferguson placed out of the money with 21,420 homes. The overall time slot winner, TXA21's repeats of Sex and the City and Will & Grace, averaged 49,980 homes.
Overall puny Memorial Day viewing levels kept two new network series from making any tread marks.
The premiere of ABC's Ex-Wives Club dug a Death Valley at 8 p.m. between the network's Wife Swap and Supernanny. It drew just 85,680 homes in D-FW, less than half the Monday night crowd for a competing Two and a Half Men repeat on CBS.
Fox's first two-hour edition of the already struggling On the Lot had an even worse go of it. Slated to run for most of the summer, the Mark Burnett/Steven Spielberg-produced film directing competition may be nearing "The End" way ahead of schedule. It attracted a sub-measly 45,220 homes Monday, with the opening hour outpointed by TXA21's local newscast among many other competing programs.
Friday night's Nielsens were a bit of a boost for the second episode of ABC's interactive National Bingo Night. It tied for first place in homes, albeit with just 99,960 of them. But it handily won its 8 to 9 p.m. slot among 18-to-49-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for entertainment programming.
Sunday afternoon's Indy 500 on ABC easily sped past all competing programs, drawing 128,520 homes. The final round of Fort Worth's Colonial golf tournament managed 52,360 homes on CBS.
In the local news derby, Belo8 won at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. on Friday in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming. Fox4 did likewise at 6 a.m.
Monday's news ratings saw NBC5 win twice at 10 p.m., with Belo8 again turning the same trick at 5 and 6 p.m.
The 6 a.m. ratings were miniscule on a rainy, sleep-in Memorial Day morning. NBC5 finished first in total homes with just 40,460 of 'em. Belo8 won among 25-to-54-year-olds, but its bounty was a mere 22,960 persons in that demographic.
Postscript: Answering a reader's request, here are the D-FW May "sweeps" results for late night network programming:
ABC's Nightline and the syndicated The Insider led the way from 10:35 to 11:35 p.m., averaging 101,150 homes. NBC's Tonight Show (97,580) and CBS' Late Show with David Letterman (61,880) trailed.
ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live won from 11:35 p.m. to 12:35 a.m. with 42,840 homes. Close behind was NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien (40,460 homes). Late Show with Craig Ferguson placed out of the money with 21,420 homes. The overall time slot winner, TXA21's repeats of Sex and the City and Will & Grace, averaged 49,980 homes.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot and May sweeps wrapup (Thurs., May 24)
05/25/07 10:43 AM
By ED BARK
Network reruns hit the ground running Thursday, so we'll mostly give you some more May sweeps ratings odds and ends after first noting a bit of a switch in the 10 p.m. news rankings.
Belo8 again won in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the key advertiser target audience for news programming. But CBS11 logged a rare second place finish in both measurements, knocking NBC5 into third.
Then again, the Peacock's late night newser got next to nothing to work with at 9 p.m. NBC's burn-off return of the canceled Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip drew just 52,360 D-FW homes to finish a distant fourth opposite repeats on CBS and ABC, and Fox4's 9 p.m. newscast.
Fox4 continued its winning ways at 6 a.m., topping the field in homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds. And Belo8 did likewise at 5 and 6 p.m.
Now for some May sweeps postscripts:
***At 6:30 p.m., CBS11's Wheel of Fortune managed a narrow win in total homes against Belo8's Entertainment Tonight. But the longrunning game show fell to a fifth place tie with Fox4's Access Hollywood and TXA21's King of Queens repeats among 18-to-49-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for entertainment programming. Tying for first in that demo were ET and Univision23's Duelo de Pasiones, followed by CW33's repeats of The Simpsons and NBC5's Extra.
***Fox4's Live with Regis & Kelly took the hotly competitive 9 to 10 a.m. slot in total homes, edging Belo8's homegrown Good Morning Texas. GMT slipped to fourth with 18-to-49-year-olds, where the top three finishers were Univision23's Casos de Familia, Regis & Kelly and CW33's Jerry Springer.
***Belo8's Oprah Winfrey Show maintained its solid hold on first place in the 4 to 5 p.m. competition, easily winning in both ratings measurements. Fox4's Judge Judy placed second in total homes, but fourth with 18-to-49-year-olds. Univision23's Primer Impacto was the runnerup to Oprah among 18-to-49-year-olds, with CW33's Reba repeats holding down third.
***The ABC World News with Charles Gibson handily won at 5:30 in total homes and among the key news target audience of 25-to-54-year-olds. The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric had another tough sweeps, finishing fifth in homes and tying for sixth in the 25-to-54 demo with TXA21's repeats of My Wife and Kids.
Network reruns hit the ground running Thursday, so we'll mostly give you some more May sweeps ratings odds and ends after first noting a bit of a switch in the 10 p.m. news rankings.
Belo8 again won in both total homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds, the key advertiser target audience for news programming. But CBS11 logged a rare second place finish in both measurements, knocking NBC5 into third.
Then again, the Peacock's late night newser got next to nothing to work with at 9 p.m. NBC's burn-off return of the canceled Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip drew just 52,360 D-FW homes to finish a distant fourth opposite repeats on CBS and ABC, and Fox4's 9 p.m. newscast.
Fox4 continued its winning ways at 6 a.m., topping the field in homes and with 25-to-54-year-olds. And Belo8 did likewise at 5 and 6 p.m.
Now for some May sweeps postscripts:
***At 6:30 p.m., CBS11's Wheel of Fortune managed a narrow win in total homes against Belo8's Entertainment Tonight. But the longrunning game show fell to a fifth place tie with Fox4's Access Hollywood and TXA21's King of Queens repeats among 18-to-49-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for entertainment programming. Tying for first in that demo were ET and Univision23's Duelo de Pasiones, followed by CW33's repeats of The Simpsons and NBC5's Extra.
***Fox4's Live with Regis & Kelly took the hotly competitive 9 to 10 a.m. slot in total homes, edging Belo8's homegrown Good Morning Texas. GMT slipped to fourth with 18-to-49-year-olds, where the top three finishers were Univision23's Casos de Familia, Regis & Kelly and CW33's Jerry Springer.
***Belo8's Oprah Winfrey Show maintained its solid hold on first place in the 4 to 5 p.m. competition, easily winning in both ratings measurements. Fox4's Judge Judy placed second in total homes, but fourth with 18-to-49-year-olds. Univision23's Primer Impacto was the runnerup to Oprah among 18-to-49-year-olds, with CW33's Reba repeats holding down third.
***The ABC World News with Charles Gibson handily won at 5:30 in total homes and among the key news target audience of 25-to-54-year-olds. The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric had another tough sweeps, finishing fifth in homes and tying for sixth in the 25-to-54 demo with TXA21's repeats of My Wife and Kids.
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Wed., May 23)
05/24/07 02:44 PM
By ED BARK
We've just got to stop meeting this way, and for awhile we will.
Ready for a padded cell and a very long weekend, your faithful correspondent at long last has finished a May "sweeps" marathon of 80 late night D-FW newscasts in 20 weeknights.
Oh the crime and tragedy I've seen. The twisted metal, the scared citizenry. "Breaking News" up the ying-yang. Reporters constantly caught in the act of molding something from nothing. Mistress of the Dark Susan Risdon emerging time and again from the North Texas cesspool she dives into every night on NBC5's 35-minute contribution to truth, justice and nothing of the sort.
Verily we've also seen bottomless vats of youth-rendering goop being spread nightly on women's wrinkled or cellulite-ravaged pusses, thighs and midsections. Pills for every conceivable ailment. All-purpose medical research on the plusses and minuses of just about everything you've ever stuffed into your yapper.
And let's not forget all that chuckletalk, most of it from the mouths of Pete, Dale, Gloria and John on Belo8's now first-place 10 p.m. newscasts.
Some solid enterprise reporting also has crept in, the great majority of it on Belo8 or Fox4. And yes, we've saluted you for pursuing genuine stories of worth.
But it's the excesses we tend to remember, and Wednesday's closing night of the sweeps seemed to set a new standard. Fox4's entire one-hour 9 p.m. newscast was hijacked by American Idol, save for Dan Henry's interloping weather segment.
Maria Sotolongo, Fox4's incredibly excited Hollywood correspondent, likely set a world's record for non-stop talking about essentially nothing. I mean, she kept going and going and going until "Idol insider" and former contestant Celena Rae took over at the Dallas anchor desk.
Poor Steve Eagar, who had to sit next to her, seemed way out of his element. And maybe a little irked, too, when the coverage piled up like a five-car wreck.
"All right, where we goin' now?" he asked at one point. "Help me out."
He was going, of course, back to Sotolongo, who had breathless news. "They just told me that we're 10 minutes away from all of the contestants coming out," she said.
You might have thought Fox4 was covering the first American landing on the moon -- or at least an imminent "weather event" in Palo Pinto County. But no, no chance of that.
Sotolongo told each and every interviewee how much she loved them. But her love for runnerup Blake Lewis was extra-special. When he finally bopped into view on the 10 p.m. newscast, she greeted him with a hug and a big "Mwaah!" on one of his authentic American Idol cheeks. He got another "Mwaah!" upon leaving.
Rae lavished a good deal of her love on Sanjaya Malakar, who first was caught on camera with that constantly sobbing little girl whom Idol viewers have gotten to know all too well.
"OK, at some point does that become abuse or something?" Eagar gamely wondered. "That poor little girl, she's bawling every time we see her."
Rae flicked Eagar away, dubbing Malakar an "amazing performer" who's going to make it all the way to Nickelodeon.
"I'm all about Sanjaya," she proclaimed. "I love Sanjaya. And I will go to my grave loving Sanjaya."
Yes, she actually said that.
The Idol coverage went on for so long that Eagar had to deal out consumer reporter Steve Noviello's "Deal or Dud" piece on women's wrinkle creams. No kidding.
In the end, Wednesday's sixth season Idol finale drew 30.7 million viewers nationally, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's considerably shy of the 36.4 million who watched Taylor Hicks win last year's competition.
But in D-FW -- and this is all that really matters -- Fox4's 9 p.m. Idol extravaganza proved to be a ratings bonanza. It drew 302,260 homes and 213,900 advertiser-craved 18-to-49-year-olds, resoundingly winning its time period against competition that included ABC's season finale of Lost.
Some people might have watched Fox4's Idol-athon just to goof on it. No matter. Maria Sotolongo and Celena Rae brought in the viewers and thereby the money. So that's the lesson that station management will take from this.
Buh-bye.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot -- May sweeps finale edition
05/24/07 09:42 AM
By ED BARK (copyright
unclebarky.com)
It's official. Belo8's 10 p.m. newscasts now wear both ratings crowns for the first time since 2001.
The ABC station's big stretch run among advertiser-craved 25-to-54-year-olds pushed NBC5 into an unaccustomed second place and marked a stark reversal from a year ago. Belo8 also won comfortably in the total homes Nielsens, extending its streak to two sweeps periods.
Powerful lead-ins this week from three potent ABC season finales gave Belo8 the push it needed to overtake the Peacock. Sequentially, Belo8's late night newscasts were gifted with lead-ins from The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentlemen, Dancing with the Stars and Lost.
The NBC network, in the throes of its worst ratings season ever, couldn't come close to matching that kind of firepower. But in previous sweeps periods, NBC5 has benefited immensely from its network's lead-ins, particularly when ER was an unstoppable force. This time around, Belo8 won the 25-to-54 battles on seven of the sweeps' last eight nights.
Fox4 got good news, too. Its Good Day returned to the winner's circle in both the total homes ratings and among 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 and Belo8 respectively had won those competitions in the February sweeps. In May, the Peacock virtually fell off the map, finishing third in both measurements.
Also of note: the 7 to 9 a.m. portion of Good Day beat the three network morning shows among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Belo8 ran the table at 5 and 6 p.m., reversing a 6 p.m. loss to Fox4 last May in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic. The ABC station showed significant audience increases in all four major newscast time slots in registering its best ratings book this century.
Despite winning at 6 a.m., Fox4 experienced audience declines across the board. Save for the 6 p.m. 25-to-54 ratings, so did NBC5.
CBS11 had the most dismal ratings performance of all, though, in its first sweeps under new news director Regent Ducas. The station's vastly retooled 10 p.m. newscast dropped more than two ratings points from last May while also falling below its performance in the February sweeps. At 10 p.m., CBS11 finished a distant third in total homes and fifth with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Univision23's Noticias 23 Spanish language newscast finished an eye-opening second among 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 p.m. and placed third at 10 p.m. in that demographic.
Here are the total home and 25-to-54 ratings for the four major local newscast competitions. The Noticias 23 newscast is included at 5 and 10 p.m., where it competes directly against Belo8, Fox4, NBC5 and CBS11. May 2006 performances also are included, with ups or downs in parentheses.
10 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 8.8 rating -- 209,440 homes (plus 30,940)
NBC5 -- 7.1 rating -- 168,980 homes (minus 40,460)
CBS11 -- 5.1 rating -- 121,380 homes (minus 57,120)
Fox4 -- 4.2 rating -- 99,960 homes (minus 30,940)
Univision23 -- 3.7 rating -- 88,060 homes (minus 2,380)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 4.7 rating -- 134,890 persons (plus 22,960)
NBC5 -- 4.5 rating -- 129,150 persons (minus 40,180)
Univision 23 -- 2.8 rating -- 80,360 persons (minus 8,610)
Fox4 -- 2.1 rating -- 60,270 persons (minus 34,440)
CBS11 -- 1.9 rating -- 54,530 persons (minus 43,050)
6 A.M
Fox4 -- 3.9 rating -- 92,820 homes (minus 16,660)
Belo8 -- 3.4 rating -- 80,920 homes (plus 9,520)
NBC5 -- 3.3 rating -- 78,540 homes (minus 33,320)
CBS11 -- 1.3 rating -- 30,940 homes (minus 4,760)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Fox4 -- 2.4 rating -- 68,880 persons (minus 8,610)
Belo8 -- 2.3 rating -- 66,010 persons (plus 20,090)
NBC5 -- 1.6 rating -- 45,920 persons (minus 20,090)
CBS11 -- .7 rating -- 20,090 persons (same as last May)
6 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 7.4 rating -- 176,120 homes (plus 52,360)
NBC5 -- 4.7 rating -- 111,860 homes (minus 9,520)
Fox4 -- 3.7 rating -- 88,060 homes (minus 7,140)
CBS11 -- 3.5 rating -- 83,300 homes (minus 19,040)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 3.2 rating -- 91,840 persons (plus 28,700)
NBC5 -- 2.0 rating -- 57,400 persons (plus 5,740)
Fox4 -- 1.8 rating -- 51,660 persons (minus 14,350)
CBS11 -- 1.0 rating -- 28,700 persons (minus 8,610)
5 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 6.6 rating -- 157,080 homes (plus 28,560)
NBC5 -- 4.0 rating -- 95,200 homes (minus 21,420)
Univision23 -- 3.1 rating -- 73,780 homes (same as last May)
Fox4 -- 3.0 rating -- 71,400 homes (minus 23,800)
CBS11 -- 2.3 rating -- 54,740 homes (minus 16,660)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 2.8 rating -- 80,360 persons (plus 8,610)
Univision23 -- 2.1 rating -- 60,270 persons (minus 2,870)
NBC5 -- 1.6 rating -- 45,920 persons (minus 8,610)
Fox4 -- 1.2 rating -- 34,440 persons (minus 14,350)
CBS11 -- .7 rating -- 20,090 persons (minus 2,870)
It's official. Belo8's 10 p.m. newscasts now wear both ratings crowns for the first time since 2001.
The ABC station's big stretch run among advertiser-craved 25-to-54-year-olds pushed NBC5 into an unaccustomed second place and marked a stark reversal from a year ago. Belo8 also won comfortably in the total homes Nielsens, extending its streak to two sweeps periods.
Powerful lead-ins this week from three potent ABC season finales gave Belo8 the push it needed to overtake the Peacock. Sequentially, Belo8's late night newscasts were gifted with lead-ins from The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentlemen, Dancing with the Stars and Lost.
The NBC network, in the throes of its worst ratings season ever, couldn't come close to matching that kind of firepower. But in previous sweeps periods, NBC5 has benefited immensely from its network's lead-ins, particularly when ER was an unstoppable force. This time around, Belo8 won the 25-to-54 battles on seven of the sweeps' last eight nights.
Fox4 got good news, too. Its Good Day returned to the winner's circle in both the total homes ratings and among 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 and Belo8 respectively had won those competitions in the February sweeps. In May, the Peacock virtually fell off the map, finishing third in both measurements.
Also of note: the 7 to 9 a.m. portion of Good Day beat the three network morning shows among 25-to-54-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for news programming.
Belo8 ran the table at 5 and 6 p.m., reversing a 6 p.m. loss to Fox4 last May in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic. The ABC station showed significant audience increases in all four major newscast time slots in registering its best ratings book this century.
Despite winning at 6 a.m., Fox4 experienced audience declines across the board. Save for the 6 p.m. 25-to-54 ratings, so did NBC5.
CBS11 had the most dismal ratings performance of all, though, in its first sweeps under new news director Regent Ducas. The station's vastly retooled 10 p.m. newscast dropped more than two ratings points from last May while also falling below its performance in the February sweeps. At 10 p.m., CBS11 finished a distant third in total homes and fifth with 25-to-54-year-olds.
Univision23's Noticias 23 Spanish language newscast finished an eye-opening second among 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 p.m. and placed third at 10 p.m. in that demographic.
Here are the total home and 25-to-54 ratings for the four major local newscast competitions. The Noticias 23 newscast is included at 5 and 10 p.m., where it competes directly against Belo8, Fox4, NBC5 and CBS11. May 2006 performances also are included, with ups or downs in parentheses.
10 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 8.8 rating -- 209,440 homes (plus 30,940)
NBC5 -- 7.1 rating -- 168,980 homes (minus 40,460)
CBS11 -- 5.1 rating -- 121,380 homes (minus 57,120)
Fox4 -- 4.2 rating -- 99,960 homes (minus 30,940)
Univision23 -- 3.7 rating -- 88,060 homes (minus 2,380)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 4.7 rating -- 134,890 persons (plus 22,960)
NBC5 -- 4.5 rating -- 129,150 persons (minus 40,180)
Univision 23 -- 2.8 rating -- 80,360 persons (minus 8,610)
Fox4 -- 2.1 rating -- 60,270 persons (minus 34,440)
CBS11 -- 1.9 rating -- 54,530 persons (minus 43,050)
6 A.M
Fox4 -- 3.9 rating -- 92,820 homes (minus 16,660)
Belo8 -- 3.4 rating -- 80,920 homes (plus 9,520)
NBC5 -- 3.3 rating -- 78,540 homes (minus 33,320)
CBS11 -- 1.3 rating -- 30,940 homes (minus 4,760)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Fox4 -- 2.4 rating -- 68,880 persons (minus 8,610)
Belo8 -- 2.3 rating -- 66,010 persons (plus 20,090)
NBC5 -- 1.6 rating -- 45,920 persons (minus 20,090)
CBS11 -- .7 rating -- 20,090 persons (same as last May)
6 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 7.4 rating -- 176,120 homes (plus 52,360)
NBC5 -- 4.7 rating -- 111,860 homes (minus 9,520)
Fox4 -- 3.7 rating -- 88,060 homes (minus 7,140)
CBS11 -- 3.5 rating -- 83,300 homes (minus 19,040)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 3.2 rating -- 91,840 persons (plus 28,700)
NBC5 -- 2.0 rating -- 57,400 persons (plus 5,740)
Fox4 -- 1.8 rating -- 51,660 persons (minus 14,350)
CBS11 -- 1.0 rating -- 28,700 persons (minus 8,610)
5 P.M.
TOTAL HOMES
Belo8 -- 6.6 rating -- 157,080 homes (plus 28,560)
NBC5 -- 4.0 rating -- 95,200 homes (minus 21,420)
Univision23 -- 3.1 rating -- 73,780 homes (same as last May)
Fox4 -- 3.0 rating -- 71,400 homes (minus 23,800)
CBS11 -- 2.3 rating -- 54,740 homes (minus 16,660)
25-to-54-YEAR-OLDS
Belo8 -- 2.8 rating -- 80,360 persons (plus 8,610)
Univision23 -- 2.1 rating -- 60,270 persons (minus 2,870)
NBC5 -- 1.6 rating -- 45,920 persons (minus 8,610)
Fox4 -- 1.2 rating -- 34,440 persons (minus 14,350)
CBS11 -- .7 rating -- 20,090 persons (minus 2,870)
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Tues., May 22)
05/23/07 02:11 PM
By ED BARK
Pandering to women. It's standard operating procedure on D-FW's two 10 p.m. ratings leaders. Why so? Let's look at Tuesday night's numbers before getting to the games stations play.
Night after night, Nielsen Media Research numbers show that many many more women than men watch late night newscasts. This is of most import in the key 25-to-54-year-old sales demographic. Tuesday night went like this:
A total of 296,234 women aged 25-to-54 watched the 10 p.m. newscasts on Belo8, NBC5 and CBS11, plus the 9 p.m. program on Fox4. A heavy majority of them -- 223,599 -- were tuned to either Belo8 or NBC5.
The figures for 25-to-54-year-old men aren't nearly as imposing. A grand total of 175,014 watched those same four late night local newscasts. Only Fox4's 9 p.m. news had more men than women on hand -- but just barely. For the others, it obviously wasn't even close.
Given those numbers, is it any wonder that Belo8 anchor Gloria Campos was instructed to tease these two stories during the final hour of ABC's Dancing with the Stars finale?
"The pill to stop your period for good!" she exclaimed shortly after 9 p.m. "Watch News 8 at 10."
And at 9:26 p.m.: "Fake designer handbags and how to spot the knockoffs! Watch News 8 at 10."
NBC5 uses the same tactics. Women are very much in the Peacock's crosshairs, too. So its Tuesday night news menu made room for the period-preempting pill, yet another facial wrinkle treatment story and "the secret to never wasting another minute in checkout lines."
Regent Ducas, CBS11's new news director, so far isn't playing this game. He told unclebarky.com last month that he wouldn't know how to do a "female newscast." And Fox4 hardly ever hypes stories that clearly are targeted at women. Maybe they're both paying a price for that.
The pill story turned out to be one of Belo8's briefer of the night, despite all that heavy promotion. Anchor John McCaa spent all of 18 seconds touting the new, FDA-appoved Lybrel birth control pill.
Rival stations also brought news of Lybrel, with CBS11 deploying anchor Karen Borta to read a much lengthier video report. But no one flogged it the way Belo8 did.
The "Real . . . or Replica" story on Belo8 had reporter Shelly Slater on the scent of high-priced handbags. Some "purse parties" apparently sell cheap knockoffs instead of the real thing. But at least one seemingly well-to-do young woman apparently got lucky enough to purchase a genuine designer tote for a mere $450.
"You actually have a real bag," she was told by a saleswoman at a rich people's retailer.
"I do!" she exclaimed. "Yay!"
You can imagine how much male appeal that one had.
Over at NBC5, correspondent Meredith Land got an exclusive "first look" at a new facial injection that supposedly can make Grandma Moses look like an Olsen twin. One grateful beneficiary had "been working to get a plumper pucker," Land told viewers. Cry me a river.
Then came Brian Curtis with a complete fraud of a story on how to spend less time standing in checkout lines. After all, "my time is very, very valuable," a woman told him.
OK, so what's the secret to waiting less? Go to stores on weekday mornings, but never during lunch, Curtis told viewers.
That's it? Yep. Epilogue: women sure are treated as imbeciles by some stations.
Tuesday's big story otherwise was the successful bid to host the 2011 Super Bowl at the Dallas Cowboys' eventual new stadium in Arlington.
It must have been really important because CBS11 scrapped its "urgent" new "First Five Minutes" crime-a-thon to offer a series of live reports on "the big play that has all of North Texas cheering," as anchor Doug Dunbar put it.
One citizen said he'd even think about driving to the game, but only after a reporter goosed him.
"Yeah, I might consider doing that," he then revealed. "I would."
Fox4's parent network will be telecasting the 2011 Super Bowl, a Fox spokesman confirmed Wednesday. Amazingly, the station forgot to mention this during its extensive 9 p.m. news coverage of the successful bid. Commendably, though, it offered some respite from the rampant cheerleading.
First came a woman's sour outlook: "I hear some people are excited about it . . . We're not, frankly," she told reporter Brandon Todd. "I don't know how it (the new stadium) got voted in in the first place."
Reporter Scott Sayres later looked at the often inflated claims of economic booms for cities that host the Super Bowl. A projected $400 million will be pumped into the North Texas economy, supporters say. But some surveys contend that Houston's hosting of the 2004 game netted the city only $913,397 in net profits after all the pre-game expenditures were subtracted.
Still, the big game can bring priceless amounts of free publicity while also generating civic pride, Sayres said. We'll have a three-and-a-half year wait before being able to make cents and sense of it all.
Fox4 otherwise threw itself into post-American Idol coverage, with the station's Maria Sotolongo putting on an embarrassing display from the show's media area.
"We love you in North Texas," she told finalist Jordin Sparks after the 17-year-old phenom walked up and hugged her. Sotolongo later hugged her back before brandishing a "Team Jordin" t-shirt.
"Ya know what, I'm allowed to give my opinion," she old viewers.
It got worse.
Sotolongo also was intent on interviewing co-finalist Blake Edwards live.
"He might come to me in a few seconds," she said while otherwise narrating highlights from Tuesday night's sing-off. "I feel like I'm in the Super Bowl. C'mon, Blake. C'mon! Come to mama!"
He finally came, with Sotolongo hugging him, too. That makes her ready-made for Extra, Access Hollywood or Entertainment Tonight. But you just don't pull that kind of piffle when you're on an otherwise mostly respectable newscast.
Fox4 then segued to an actual news report from Jason Overstreet, who said that many McKinney residents are upset about their city's continued once-a-week watering restrictions.
Too bad he couldn't have hosed off Sotolongo at report's end. She really needs to look at her Tuesday night performance, and then take it way down for Wednesday's Idol finale.
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Mon., May 21)
05/22/07 04:30 PM
By ED BARK
Investigative reporting can be a valuable addition to any newscast's arsenal, especially when so much of the menu otherwise goes to quick-hit crime or tragedy coverage.
CBS11 is back in the game after an earlier layoff, Belo8 has always been there and Fox4 keeps going deeper, too. Only NBC5 is without any sort of investigative unit, unless one counts Brian Curtis' occasional pursuits of "Big Fat Savings."
In the real world of dig and delve, Fox4, Belo8 and CBS11 all had distinctly different reports Monday night. But this can be a tricky business. When does a reporter go too far in upbraiding an alleged wrongdoer? Do theatrics sometimes make a reporter look like a bigger ass than his or her prey? Let's investigate further.
CBS11's Bennett Cunningham told the sad story of Nellie Fleming, an impoverished Dallas woman living in a roach- and termite-infested apartment with a hole in the ceiling. She's a Section 8 client, meaning that the government pays most of her rent.
Lately, though, Nellie's been accused of being behind on the rent she does pay. Cunningham offered no further evidence as to who might be right in this matter, but did show viewers how the woman has to crawl out a window to leave her residence. That's because the management of her apartment building has placed an interior lock on her door that would keep her out if she closed it behind her. Not only that, but the place looked virtually uninhabitable.
Cunningham questioned Dallas Housing Authority personnel in a reasonable manner about this. But then he burst into the offices of the apartment managers to show them pictures of Nellie's abode while demanding an explanation.
"I'm not allowed to speak with you about this matter," a man politely kept saying before finally closing but not slamming the doors on Cunningham.
"Guess he doesn't want to talk to me," the reporter said rhetorically -- and self-importantly.
He then began squeezing the evidence through the office door. "Here, I'll leave the pictures of the roaches here for you. And this is the picture of her lock that you put on her door so that way you'll be able to see what it's like. There you go."
OK, OK, we get it. In the end, Cunningham reported, the hole in Nellie's ceiling got fixed and her apartment was sprayed for pests. Clearly Cunningham had something to do with that. But his extra added grandstanding cheapened the whole enterprise.
Over on Belo8, Brett Shipp followed up on Friday's investigation of former drag car racing legend Gene Snow, who seemed to get unusually lenient treatment after being accused of raping a boy who at the time was in the fifth grade and now is in his late teens.
A judge who had been on vacation reopened the case Monday and ordered that Snow must undergo further evaluation and possibly be treated as a sex offender. Shipp, who was in the courtroom, pointedly questioned attorneys from both sides. None would answer his questions, but really, how could they? Just what do you say when a reporter inquires, "Ma'am, do you think you had a child molester on your hands?"
Shipp for the most part didn't show off, although his last confrontation seemed unnecessary.
"Despite the victim's change of heart (he and his family had settled out of court with Snow), the question remains," Shipp told viewers before zeroing in on defense attorney Tim Evans.
"Did he sexually molest that child?" he asked Evans of his client.
"I'm gonna tell you, Mr. Shipp, that anything we had to say about this case was said on the record before this judge," Evans told him. "And you were in there."
Yes, he certainly was. So this last line of questioning in reality was kind of pointless.
Fox4's effort came from "On Your Side" reporter Steve Noviello, who looked at the legalities of merchants refusing to accept credit or debit cards unless minimums of $3 or $5 were spent.
"This is one of my personal pet peeves, and it is time we address it," he told anchors Steve Eagar and Natalie Solis, who probably didn't care one way or the other.
Most merchants have signs posted with debit or credit minimums. But Noviello found that three major credit card companies -- Visa, Mastercard and Discovery -- forbid such refusals.
Before making this point, Noviello tried to buy a $1 bottle of water with a credit card. But a merchant told him it would be no sale because his processing costs wouldn't be worth it to him.
"As opposed to taking my money, you'd rather me report you?" Noviello asked him.
"Go ahead," the man said.
"OK." said Noviello.
OK, this is interesting information to a point. But really, is it that big a deal? Or was it a nickel-and-dime story dressed up to look like a $10 hamburger?
As a postscript, Belo8 investigator Byron Harris deserves congratulations. He didn't have a story Monday night, but was named Tuesday as a finalist in the 2007 Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. And as Robert Wilonsky notes on Unfair Park, Harris was the only non-network nominee in the Television Enterprise Category.
Harris has taken some lumps in this space lately. But clearly he's also capable of terrific work. He's shown that many times during an overall very distinguished career.
Selling Fox4 the John Kukla way
05/21/07 01:02 PM
By ED BARK
Clearly he enjoys his work.
"I've been a child of television ever since I can remember," says Fox4's John Kukla.
As proof, his office is tastefully dominated by pop culture kitsch. Wayne Newton's "Red Roses For a Blue Lady" album from TV's Ed Sullivan Show era. An early home edition of The Newlywed Game. A Simon Cowell bobblehead doll. An old pocket-sized TV Guide with a cover boy caricature of his idol, David Letterman.
Kukla, the station's vice president of creative sales, says his mother has documented his nearly lifelong affinity for all things television.
"She has a journal where she wrote, 'When Johnny was three, he used to walk up to people and go, 'What is your name, please'?"
That's what emcee Bud Collyer used to ask two pretenders and the real deal on TV's original To Tell the Truth.
All these years later, Kukla, 48, retains his buoyancy and boyish enthusiasm. He's still in there pitching for whatever has to be promoted at Fox4 and sister station MY27, which lately is regrouping after flopping as a national carrier of nightly English language telenovelas.
On the My27 front, it might have been easier selling peanut butter sandwiches in the Mojave Desert. But most of Kukla's efforts are devoted to Fox4's daily seven-and-a-half hours of local newscasts, easily the most in the D-FW viewing area.
"I can't think of any other market in the country where there's not at least one weak station," he says. "Everybody is big, powerful, well-funded, smart and competitive. I'm always impressed by the creativity and strong marketing among all of us. And of course motivated to top it."
Instant daily ratings and audience demographics are spit out each morning via an updated Nielsen Media Research "people meter" system that hit the D-FW market in January 2006.
But even though every day's a report card, this is money time. Just three days remain in the four-week May "sweeps," which end on Wednesday. And in the increasingly important early morning race, Fox4 and Belo8 are virtually tied in the battle for advertiser-coveted 25-to-54-year-olds. That's why you're seeing such a heavy prime-time emphasis on Good Day anchors Tim Ryan and Megan Henderson. Belo8 is doing likewise with its early morning personalities.
"Promotionally you've got to represent what you really have," Kukla says.
For Fox4, it boils down to three words. "The News Station" has been the station's overall promotional slogan ever since Kukla arrived in 2000 after 18 years at WAGA-TV in Atlanta.
"It's direct. It's not catchy or whimsical. But it's what we are," he says.
Kukla, with a big assist from staff producer Chris Ivey, also co-wrote Fox4's undeniably catchy Good Day jingle rather than pay the oft-expensive rights to an existing feel-good song.
"John understands that the pen is mightier than the special effect," says his first lieutenant, "Promo Joe" Kozlowski. "Departments here flock to him for ideas."
Raised in Macon, GA, Kukla graduated from the University of Georgia with a broadcasting degree before landing an entry-level job at Atlanta's WAGA-TV, then a CBS affiliate.
"I was just a shlepper guy" with PM Magazine, he recalls. Virtually every major market had its own homegrown version, but most of them died at the hands of Wheel of Fortune in the mid-1980s. So Kukla joined WAGA's promotions department in 1986. Cable TV was growing and times were changing.
"Up until that point, our promotion was, 'Dallas is on at 8. You're all going to watch. We don't really have to tell you much more.' Everybody made a lot of money, and it was great."
Kukla met his wife, Catherine, at WAGA, where she was a floor director.
"She knows the business and understands the crazy hours," he says. "TV is the store that never closes, and God bless her for putting up with it -- and me. The term 'breaking promo emergency' sounds ridiculous, but we have them at least once a week."
Their two daughters, Bailey and Emma, now are teenagers and students at Ursuline Academy in Dallas. But station salesmanship had to come of age in a much bigger hurry during the mid-1980s. Wall Street demanded fatter profits of broadcasters that had gone public and were newly vulnerable to stock price ups and downs.
A consultant firm told WAGA that its news anchors were perceived as "very unfriendly, cold, too businesslike."
"So we did a 'Good News Atlanta' campaign," Kukla recalls. "Jingles, balloons and an orchestra in the park. It was gorgeous. Everybody loved it and nobody believed it for a second. It just wasn't who we were."
He rebooted with the slogan "Dedicated, determined, dependable," which WAGA used for 20 years before recently retiring it. But in 1994 the station experienced a seismic shift -- in prime-time at least -- when Fox rattled the broadcast terrain by buying a number of CBS stations.
"We went from Jessica Fletcher (on Murder, She Wrote) to Bart Simpson in the space of a week," Kukla says. "And we never looked back."
He spent six more years at WAGA before Fox asked him to make a switch to KDFW in Dallas. Kukla arrived well after the former CBS station used Jim Varney's imbecilic Ernest P. Worrell character to pitch the 10 p.m. news. KDFW also had shown incoming anchor John Criswell with tape over his mouth to spoof a "non-compete" clause that prevented him from immediately joining his new station from neighboring Belo8.
Kukla had his moments at WAGA, though. He once promoted CBS' coverage of the Lillehammer Olympics by having his sports anchor talk in Norwegian. He also had a barber shop quartet sing the praises of the news team. And on another occasion, anchors went knocking on doors as part of a "Honey, it's Forrest and Pam" gambit.
"Now we just mock them mercilessly," Kukla says.
Fox4 has had big promotional platforms this year with American Idol, House and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, the season's surprise new hit. Hard-edged newscast promotions about murder investigations or other violent crimes are out of bounds on Idol and other family-friendly Fox fare, Kukla says.
"Promotion is an ambush, really. You pop a promo in there that comes at you without warning. So we've got to be careful that we're not upsetting somebody during certain kinds of shows."
His teenage daughters have grown comfortable watching TV on their iPods, but "I can't do it," Kukla says. My head hurts. It's too little."
"TVs and computers are melding together, too, but I hope that the act of sitting down and being entertained will never go away. At the end of the day, I like to turn on the set and have somebody talk to me."
Kukla is asked how he'd promote himself, and the question initially throws him a bit.
"A man who loves TV and hopes you do, too," he says. "I don't know, something like that."
He's not at a loss for long, though. On the following morning, he emails "the Top 10 other slogans to sell John Kukla."
They include:
"Good and good 4 you."
"Dedicated, determined, dependable . . . dad."
"There's a million ways to sell The Jeffersons . . . I've done almost all of them."
"I'm not sure what it is I do, either."
Spoken like a true vp of creative services. But every station's gotta have one. And John Kukla has proven he's better than most at gettin' 'em to stay tuned.
Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., May 18-20)
05/21/07 09:18 AM
By ED BARK
Early in the morning got still tighter. But NBC5 created a little late night squeeze room for itself with a much-needed win at 10 p.m. among advertiser-favored 25-to-54-year-olds.
The Peacock's reasonably comfortable victory margin over Belo8 kept it barely ahead of the ABC station in a fiercely fought newscast race that probably won't be decided until Wednesday's closing night of the May sweeps.
On Friday, NBC5 actually had a tougher time holding off Univision23's Noticias 23 Spanish language newscast, which placed a close second at 10 p.m. with the main advertiser target audience for news programming. Belo8 edged the Peacock in the total homes competition, where it has a safe lead.
Belo8 has some very heavy artillery coming during the last three nights of the sweeps, though. From 9 to 10 p.m., ABC sequentially will gift it with the season finales of The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman, Dancing with the Stars and Lost. That may be way more than enough to put Belo8 ahead at the tape.
The 6 a.m. race in the 25-to-54 demo also remains too close to call. Belo8's paper-thin win Friday put the station in a virtual tie with Fox4, with the slumping NBC5 far back. Fox4 had a narrow win in total homes, where it looks very likely to prevail.
The 5 and 6 p.m. newscast races are in Belo8's pocket, although NBC5 tallied a rare win at 5 p.m. Friday among 25-to-54-year-olds. Belo8 otherwise again ran the table.
In prime-time, ABC's Friday premiere of National Bingo Night came up third in total D-FW homes. But the interactive numbers game managed to win from 8 to 9 p.m. among 18-to-49-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for entertainment programming. Bingo will have a chance to gain a firmer hold when reruns kick in, but it hardly looks like a ratings juggernaut.
Sunday's season finale of ABC's Desperate Housewives drew a hefty 347,480 homes to rank as the day's most-watched attraction. The network's Brothers & Sisters, which also had its season finale, followed with 261,800 homes, also easily winning its time slot.
Fox's 400th episode of The Simpsons attracted 135,660 homes from 7:30 to 8 p.m. It was outdrawn by the following Family Guy (142,800 homes).
Saturday's running of The Preakness on NBC easily won its time period with a nice late afternoon haul of 85,680 homes. The Peacock's season finale of Saturday Night Live lured 116,620 homes to rank as the network's most-watched program of the day in D-FW.
Early in the morning got still tighter. But NBC5 created a little late night squeeze room for itself with a much-needed win at 10 p.m. among advertiser-favored 25-to-54-year-olds.
The Peacock's reasonably comfortable victory margin over Belo8 kept it barely ahead of the ABC station in a fiercely fought newscast race that probably won't be decided until Wednesday's closing night of the May sweeps.
On Friday, NBC5 actually had a tougher time holding off Univision23's Noticias 23 Spanish language newscast, which placed a close second at 10 p.m. with the main advertiser target audience for news programming. Belo8 edged the Peacock in the total homes competition, where it has a safe lead.
Belo8 has some very heavy artillery coming during the last three nights of the sweeps, though. From 9 to 10 p.m., ABC sequentially will gift it with the season finales of The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman, Dancing with the Stars and Lost. That may be way more than enough to put Belo8 ahead at the tape.
The 6 a.m. race in the 25-to-54 demo also remains too close to call. Belo8's paper-thin win Friday put the station in a virtual tie with Fox4, with the slumping NBC5 far back. Fox4 had a narrow win in total homes, where it looks very likely to prevail.
The 5 and 6 p.m. newscast races are in Belo8's pocket, although NBC5 tallied a rare win at 5 p.m. Friday among 25-to-54-year-olds. Belo8 otherwise again ran the table.
In prime-time, ABC's Friday premiere of National Bingo Night came up third in total D-FW homes. But the interactive numbers game managed to win from 8 to 9 p.m. among 18-to-49-year-olds, the main advertiser target audience for entertainment programming. Bingo will have a chance to gain a firmer hold when reruns kick in, but it hardly looks like a ratings juggernaut.
Sunday's season finale of ABC's Desperate Housewives drew a hefty 347,480 homes to rank as the day's most-watched attraction. The network's Brothers & Sisters, which also had its season finale, followed with 261,800 homes, also easily winning its time slot.
Fox's 400th episode of The Simpsons attracted 135,660 homes from 7:30 to 8 p.m. It was outdrawn by the following Family Guy (142,800 homes).
Saturday's running of The Preakness on NBC easily won its time period with a nice late afternoon haul of 85,680 homes. The Peacock's season finale of Saturday Night Live lured 116,620 homes to rank as the network's most-watched program of the day in D-FW.
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Fri., May 18)
05/20/07 04:41 PM
By ED BARK
It proved to be that rare night of nights in D-FW television news.
NBC5 astonishingly scrimped on crime coverage during Friday's 10 p.m. offering, allowing CBS11 to run wild with it. And Belo8 weatherman Pete Delkus amazingly said, "I got nothin' for Dale tonight. I'm layin' out."
Delkus almost always takes a post-weathercast shot at sports anchor Dale Hansen. It's become a calculated part of the station's strategy to keep viewers from tuning out the last half of newscasts. Kind of like the ol' Tootsie Roll Pop strategem. Give 'em a reason to stay with it, whether it's a chewy chocolate center or the bite-sized banter between Big Pete and even bigger Dale.
Hansen, perhaps shocked at Delkus' oversight, found a way to slap a little line drive back at the former minor league pitching prospect.
"Robinson Tejada doesn't give up a hit 'til the sixth," he said, referring to the Texas Rangers' Friday night win over the Houston Astros. "You ever do that, Pete?"
Apparently Pete had. Hansen learned as much off-camera during reporter Joe Trahan's interesting piece on a facelift for the TPC links in Irving, site of the annual Byron Nelson golf tournament.
"Now Delkus tells me he started one game in minor league ball and he pitched a no-hitter," Hansen told viewers. "Now I'm really sorry I brought it up."
Anchor Gloria Campos immediately chimed in as always, once again promoting Hansen's bobblehead doll night at the June 1st Fort Worth Cats game. Viewers got to see the thing on Thursday's 10 p.m. show, with Delkus then making fun of it. Hansen had retaliated by showing an old autographed minor league card of his foil.
Iron John McCaa, who's trying hard to be a good "happy talk" teammate, said he could back up Delkus' claims that he'd tossed a no-hitter. "That is a true story, you know."
He of course didn't get to finish his story Friday because Campos filched the punchline. 'It's on that one (baseball) card you got," she said.
McCaa fought back: "The ball fell off the tee," he said.
"It was a tee ball game," said a giggling Delkus.
"Nobody cares about that," Hansen jabbed, ending another of Belo8's nights at the improv.
Copious googling couldn't determine whether Delkus actually pitched a minor league no-hitter. He was a very formidable relief pitcher, however, during his first two years with the Minnesota Twins organization.
In 1988 with the Class A Kenosha Twins, Delkus had a microscopic 0.26 ERA, allowing just two runs in 68 innings pitched.
He was almost as good the next year with the Double A Orlando Twins, leading the league with a 1.87 ERA.
Moving up to Triple A ball, Delkus got knocked around a bit with the Portland Beavers, finishing with a mediocre 4.18 ERA. Injuries then plagued him throughout the 1991 season before he blew out his elbow during spring training the following year.
Starting Monday, the Twins will be in town playing the Rangers for the final three nights of the May "sweeps" ratings period. You couldn't ask for a better happy talk setup. Maybe Delkus can show up in uniform on closing night.
During the serious portion of Belo8's newscast, investigator Brett Shipp batted leadoff with a look at the seemingly lax treatment of former drag racing legend Gene Snow. Currently running an "adult novelty" store, he had been charged with sexually molesting a boy during a six year period from 2000 to 2006. But Snow eventually received only probation and a $300 fine, which didn't please law enforcement officers.
Shipp and Fox4 gumshoe Becky Oliver have turned in the best investigative work during this latest hotly contested ratings sweeps.
NBC5 doesn't have an investigative team anymore. The station specializes in quick gulps, holding stories to 90 seconds or less and usually packing in plenty of crime and tragedy.
On Friday, though, the Peacock had just seven stories of that ilk in its first segment before anchor Jane McGarry teased the station's invariably laughable collection of health and consumer news.
NBC5 reporter Scott Friedman, usually assigned to the news blues, switched gears to give viewers an informative piece on a new tractor that can pull commercial jets around like toys. D-FW Airport was the first to get the new transporters, which looked very impressive in action. They supposedly will save airports six million gallons of fuel a year.
Meanwhile, CBS11 dove headlong into the crime and tragedy cesspool after first committing the sweeps' biggest gaffe. Anchor Doug Dunbar was billed as "Tracy Rowlett" in print during the opening seconds of Friday's 10 p.m. newscast. That hasn't been true since March 2nd, when Rowlett ended his 10 p.m. tenure at CBS11 and began co-anchoring the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts.
He wouldn't want to be a part of what's going on now anyway. CBS11 rolled out 12 consecutive crime and/or tragedy stories before the first commercial break. Then it added another three, making it 15 in a row before toweling off just a bit with an update on child runaway Alyssa Frazier. She was found apparently unharmed after a heavily publicized Amber alert and fears that she had been sexually violated or killed.
It should be noted, though, that CBS11 continues to have the best and most thorough reporting on Thursday's murders of two Henderson County deputies. On Friday the station had an exclusive interview with the accused assailant's parents, who declined to be shown on camera.
They apologized for their son's actions while talking to reporter Bud Gillett, a greatly unsung veteran who wasn't credited with the 10 p.m. portion of the interview but did get an on-camera "byline" during CBS11's early evening newscasts.
Fox4 topped its 9 p.m. newscast with the story of a woman who had left her two preschool children home alone for more than an hour. An elderly neighbor phoned 911 after finding a three-year-old walking outside and crying for her mother. He first checked to see if anyone was home, though.
The woman later was arrested, with custody of her children given to their father. Reporter Brandon Todd tried to get an interview but instead got an angry retort from a man inside the woman's house.
"Our family right now is being torn apart and you have come in here for gossip," the man said.
"Gossip?" Todd asked.
"Yeah, gossip!"
At the very least Fox4 overplayed this story by leading its newscast with it. Somehow that seems like a good place to end.
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Thurs., May 17)
05/18/07 01:08 PM
By ED BARK
Save for seriously bad weather, lead stories seldom are one and the same on D-FW's late night newscasts.
All agreed Thursday night, though, that the day's biggest news came from Payne Springs in Henderson County, where two deputies were killed and another wounded after they responded to a 911 domestic dispute call.
Big breaking news of this kind is tailor made for new news director Regent Ducas' rapid-fire "urgent" approach. It allows him to swarm a story with "Live Team Coverage," which CBS11 did to good effect with its exhaustive May 2nd storm reporting.
The station's extensive coverage of Thursday's shootings also stood out, with reporters J.D. Miles, Stephanie Lucero and Jack Fink all on the scene. Their live dispatches, with Miles doing a double-dip, gave viewers the best overall feel for what had happened.
CBS11 gets into trouble when it virtually has to manufacture mayhem for the Ducas-initiated "First Five Minutes" of whip-around crime and tragedy reporting. But on nights when there's genuine news of import, the approach can work well.
Belo8 sent reporters Gary Reaves and Dan Ronan to Payne Springs, and they also performed solidly. Ronan tripped himself up, though, by telling viewers, "Two of the three officers who died, they were wearing bulletproof vests. Not a match, of course, for shots fired from a high-powered hunting rifle."
Two, not three officers, died. The other deputy was taken to the hospital with a leg injury. Ronan obviously knew that, but his words didn't come out quite right under the duress of live reporting.
NBC5, which craves crime news even more than CBS11, sent only Scott Gordon to the scene for its comparatively brief coverage. But it was the only station to note that the sinister-looking mug shot of accused assailant Randall Wayne Mays was from a previous 1999 arrest. Blood ran from his left eye in that eight-year-old picture. Viewers watching rival stations were led to believe it was the current-day Mays.
All of the stations made heavy use of an interview with eyewitness Gerald Nicholson, using roughly the same vivid quotes.
"I hate to say it, but I wish they'd been able to kill him," he said of Mays.
Fox4's 9 p.m. newscast, delayed a half-hour by its network presentation of the movie The Day After, was the first station to report the names of the two deceased deputies and their wounded comrade.
Shortly after 9:50 p.m., reporter Brandon Todd read the names live after saying they'd just been given to him, presumably by authorities. CBS11 later named names during its 10 p.m. newscast , but Belo8 and NBC5 never did. Belo8's Ronan told viewers that police hadn't released them yet pending notification of kin.
Other crime stories as usual filled up most of the opening segments on CBS11 and NBC5.
The Peacock's Susan Risdon showed some enterprise in finding a Good Samaritan who came to the aid of a woman being sexually assaulted. And CBS11's Jay Gormley had an interesting followup to Wednesday's biggest crime, the murder of a donut shop employee by a robber who himself later was killed by police after a car chase.
Gormley interviewed a very talkative and demonstrative elderly woman who was with her husband at a Whataburger later in the killer's crime spree. She said he had set his gun down at their table.
Gormley also found the sister of the deceased donut shop worker, who left two young sons behind. It was compelling reporting with a point to it. Too much of CBS11's reporting these days is of the wham-bam school, with car wrecks also a favorite point of attack.
On Belo8, transportation specialist David Schechter had another interesting story on impending tollway makeovers. He makes this stuff interesting, which is no easy task.
Oddly, the station later showed "breaking news" overhead footage of a police car supposedly enroute to serving a search warrant in the case of dead SMU coed Meaghan Bosch. I was Belo8's first late night news mention of a death that has been covered prominently by all of its rivals.
Belo8 anchor Gloria Campos otherwise was nearly beside herself in promoting Janet St. James' story on "a breakthrough in the bedroom!" that might get women ready to rock.
Later in the newscast, Campos enthused, "Ladies, if you have a low sex drive, we may have just the pill for you!"
The station had gone the Viagra-for-women route during an earlier ratings sweeps period. But when in doubt, recycle -- especially when you can plug the story throughout Thursday night's season finale of ABC's Grey's Anatomy.
Pete Delkus and Dale Hansen cooked up another bit, too, after the Belo8 chatterbox promised "a little surprise after the weather."
It turned out to be a bobblehead doll likeness of sports anchor Hansen. It'll be given to lucky fans at the June 1 Fort Worth Cats baseball game.
Big Pete noted that the doll depicts a thinner Hansen with lots more hair. This triggered a full minute of "happy talk," with Hansen displaying and making fun of a minor league baseball card of Delkus when he pitched in the Minnesota Twins farm system.
Hansen ended it all by throwing a brushback pitch at his veteran co-anchor.
"You work with Gloria Campos for 20 years and we'll see how good you look," he told Delkus.
Campos let loose with another Jumbo Jet laugh, but may well have been seething on the inside. Might she have swatted Dale with her purse after the newscast? If so, let's hope they recorded it for future on-air use.
It should be noted that Belo8 management loves this stuff and heartily encourages it. The now almost nightly Dale-Delkus show is seen as a means of minimizing the usual viewer falloff in the second halves of late night newscasts.
Only four more sweeps weeknights to go before your faithful chronicler falls out. Can I at least get a Hansen bobblehead doll?
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Wed., May 16)
05/17/07 05:37 PM
By ED BARK
Still not quite sure what to make of this guy.
Fox4's Steve Noviello technically is the station's consumer reporter. But he sometimes seems to be auditioning for a red carpet spot on E! Or maybe he'd rather be a correspondent on Entertainment Tonight, Extra or Access Hollywood.
Earlier in the May "sweeps," Noviello contributed a really dubious segment on American Idol fashion, for which his principal source was a "lifestyle guru" who calls himself Stylin' Steve Kemble.
On Wednesday's 9 p.m. newscast, Noviello had the longest piece of the night on "Fox4 prom pics." He then segued to a debt management segment in which viewers could email questions live to imported expert Bettye Banks.
The businesslike Banks seemed to be put off her feed a bit by Noviello, a flamboyant, sometimes rather giddy man when on-camera.
He does get stuff out of people, though. In the senior prom pix piece, medical reporter John Hammarley recalled getting hammered with his date.
"Debbie and I had a fair amount of Colt 45 Malt Liquor," Hammarley recalled. "It stayed in my system for a while -- and then didn't."
Others playing along included Henderson, Good Day colleagues Tim Ryan and Dan Godwin, investigative reporter Becky Oliver, weatherman Ron Jackson and anchors Steve Eagar and Heather Hays.
It all went on for quite a while on a night when Fox4's newscast seemed too top-heavily tilted in the direction of a lifestyles/entertainment magazine program.
That's because the hour also had an extended, canned recap of the immediately preceding American Idol results show. Then came a dollop of gossip on the Carrie Underwood/Tony Romo relationship followed by an update on the seemingly inflated controversy over former Idol champ Kelly Clarkson's third CD. Anchor Natalie Solis called her "Carrie" Clarkson, though. Close, but no Coca-Cola.
Add surveillance camera footage of the so-called "Elmer Fudd Bandit" and stir with a closing "Then There's This" brief on a man named Bob L. Head -- who soon might have his own bobblehead doll.
One of Fox4's better reporters, Jason Overstreet, also miscued during a top-of-the-newscast piece on Rod Mathes, a resident of The Colony who shot that now well-circulated home video of two kids almost being struck by lightning while hustling through the rain.
Overstreet also wanted to interview the two children, but said that a "tabloid TV show" he never named had paid for the rights to an exclusive. One of the kids supposedly was in the same home as the man who took the pictures. But in the presence of Fox4's cameras, the little girl was whisked off by a woman who supposedly worked for the tabloid show.
Fox4 news would never pay for interviews, said Overstreet, who followed the woman and child to a home before ambushing a guy as he drove into its driveway.
"The man of the house refused to discuss the issue with us," Overstreet huffed.
During his closing live standup, though, he told viewers that the tabloid TV show -- and Fox4 for that matter -- had the wrong children in their sights, according to Mathes. If that's the case, then the so-called "man of the house" deserved, but didn't get an on-air apology for being wrongly depicted on camera as a mercenary.
Fox4's 9 p.m. newscast generally offers a balanced mix of spot news, in-depth, enterprise reporting and a little fun. Wednesday's edition simply lost its balance.
Elsewhere, CBS11 sports anchor Babe Laufenberg copped a male chauvinist pig award after a segment that showed colleague Gina Miller deftly fielding ground balls during a tryout for ball girls at Rangers Park.
She looked good, said the Babe, " 'cept she throws like a girl."
Anchor Karen Borta gamely laughed along while partner Doug Dunbar cracked, "Not touchin' it," while doing a fingertip zip of the lips.
After a commercial break, Borta sorta admonished Mr. Former Second-String Pro QB. "How 'bout that Babe Laufenberg. Throws like a girl," she said with just a bit of a hitch in her voice.
Any extended multi-anchor banter is a rarity on CBS11, Fox4 or NBC5. But it's become a way of life on Belo8, where weatherman Pete Delkus usually throws the first pitch at sports guy Dale Hansen before anchor Gloria Campos automatically injects herself into the mix.
On Wednesday night, Big Pete noted that he'd made a lunchtime public appearance during which he told the gathering that Hansen regularly tells him "what a hottie he used to be back in the day."
He then showed a vintage snippet of Hansen in which he had both his hair and a still firm jawline.
"What happened?" Delkus jabbed.
Hansen had a Grade-A, self-deprecating comebacker.
"That was only three months ago," he said.
Belo8 closed shop with a shot of the throng gathered outside of the station's Victory Park studio.
Except there were only two smiling, waving men. Many nights it's like that.
This just in: A night in the lives of D-FW's late night newscasts (Tues., May 15)
05/16/07 01:16 PM
By ED BARK
The battle lines are clearly drawn, seldom more starkly than on Tuesday's 10 p.m. newscasts.
On a so-called "busy night of breaking news," NBC5 reeled off 11 crime or tragedy stories before the first commercial break.
D-FW's new Peacock copycat, CBS11, pounded out nine crime or tragedy stories before its first pause in the action.
Belo8 went without any crime or tragedy stories in its first news segment before breaking for commercials at the 13-minute mark.
Fox4's most popular and heavily promoted newscast, its one-hour 9 p.m. edition, split the difference with five crime or tragedy stories before the initial break.
What comes next may shock or stun you, as many in the TV news biz enjoy proclaiming.
Tuesday's most-watched newscast, both in total homes and with advertiser-favored 25-to-54-year-olds, turned out to be Belo8's 10 p.m. edition. And that's not because the station enjoyed any appreciable "lead-in" advantage from prime-time's closing 15 minutes of network entertainment programming.
NBC5 in fact had a small edge on that score with Law & Order: SVU. Belo8 was a close second (Boston Legal) and CBS11 had a competitive third-ranked lead-in from the Academy of Country Music Awards. All things considered, it's about as even a playing field as you're going to get on any one night of the ongoing May "sweeps."
So does Belo8's win signal anything? Are viewers looking to get off the ooh-scary merry-go-round?
For now at least, Belo8 clearly is trying to drive a wedge through the void created by its two principal competitors. NBC5 and CBS11 whisk viewers from one "urgent" reporter live shot to another. And those reporters invariably are bringing quick whiffs of stinkum. Bad things happen on a daily basis in the country's very populated No. 6 TV market. NBC5 and CBS11 are going to throw it all at you or look like idiots trying to manufacture something that isn't.
This brings us to NBC5 Mistress of the Dark Susan Risdon, who had one for the ages Tuesday night. Anchor Jane McGarry dutifully set the table, informing viewers that "startled parents are talking about a wild tale tonight from under the Golden Arches."
And what might that be -- Ronald McDonald hanging out with the Geico cavemen? But no, McGarry got all excited about a "nasty animal on the playground" before turning it over to The Mistress.
"A scary looking creature sent everyone scrambling inside," Risdon reported. And take it from a nearby nanny, "it wasn't a squirrel. The kids would have known."
But what was it that supposedly sent the little ones running from the McDonald's play area? Well, we'll never know for sure, but Risdon knew this: "The mystery creature escaped back through the fence. The manager tells me it had a long nose and was not a rat."
This NBC5 "exclusive" played as Tuesday night's No. 4 story. Over at CBS11, there must have been a fearsome price to pay for not having it. No more Happy Meals for a while. Get out there and get something meaty, dammit! Find a giant cockroach at Wendy's or you'll be workin' for 'em!
The station did have a Dallas teen "talking exclusively to CBS11" about an alleged kidnapping attempt.
"So how frightened are you to go outside now?" reporter J.D. Miles asked her.
Very frightened, said the girl, whose face at least wasn't shown on camera.
It's a shame to see Miles slowly going down the drain under CBS11's new newsroom regime. He's one of the market's better reporters, as is Risdon. But neither gets any nourishment. Their stations' formats require them to find a nightly crime or tragedy, and then spit it out as quickly as possible. Gotta move on. A car wreck beckons in Sunnyvale. Or a fire in Pleasant Grove. And if you don't like those assignments, then you'd better come up with a giant fire ant in a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket.
Some crimes should be reported, obviously. And Belo8 erred in completely ignoring the discovery Tuesday of a missing SMU senior who apparently had gotten heavily into drugs. She was found dead near Waco, her body dumped in a portable toilet. NBC5, CBS11 and Fox4 all played the story prominently on their 10 p.m. newscasts, and they can't be faulted for that. It's another cautionary wake-up for any parent of a college student.
Belo8 otherwise had a substantive investigation by Brad Watson into unlicensed air-conditioning repair people who scam the unknowing. And reporter Chris Hawes led the newscast with a "North Texas Miracle" story of a Dallas man whose comatose wife died of a brain aneurysm just two days after doctors delivered her baby girl via C-section.
Fox4's Jeff Crilley also had a heart-warmer about a young autistic boy whose parents see a vast difference in him when he's with his calming "service dog." They're hoping to get permission from the Wylie ISD to let the Golden Retriever accompany the boy to classes.
Veteran Fox4 medical reporter John Hammarley later had an interesting report on a new diet system that feeds off individual genetic profiles. NBC5 regularly touts just about any new health product as a medical miracle. Hammarley was duly skeptical, interviewing a naysaying doctor and telling viewers at story's end, "For now, get moving and eat more fruits and veggies."
On the fun 'n' games front, Belo8 tempered its "happy talk" after running amuck the previous night. But sports anchor Dale Hansen got a shot in at weatherman Pete Delkus, who's usually the instigator.
Delkus earlier had promoted his station's ongoing Daybreak series on surviving Texas weather. While doing so, he agreed with anchor Gloria Campos that lightning can strike indoors as well as out, particularly if you're on the phone or in a bathtub.
Hansen didn't buy it.
"You made that up about getting hit by lightning indoors just to hype that story tomorrow, didn't you?" he asked Delkus.
"Well, yeah, maybe a little bit," Delkus said, chuckling.
Campos then chimed in to say that in fact you really can get hit by lightening indoors. Atta girl. Because after all, "Delkus delivers." And he's portrayed as nearly God-like in some of those new Belo8 promos and billboards.
Over on CBS11, anchor Doug Dunbar reminded viewers to stay tuned to the station's "exclusive interview" with Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo and girlfriend Carrie Underwood at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
It came courtesy of former CBS11 reporter Christina McLarty, who's now covering entertainment for the CBS-owned station in Los Angeles.
"I mean, we're really good friends that spend a lot of time together and we talk a lot," Underwood told McLarty durin