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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., April 27-29) -- Idol perks upward

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Now in the home stretch of crowning a 16th champion, ABC’s two-hour live edition of American Idol significantly improved on the previous Sunday’s dismal showing.

Idol drew 199,419 D-FW viewers from 7 to 9 p.m., winning the first hour outright and tying CBS’ competing NCIS: Los Angeles for the top spot from 8 to 9 p.m.

But Idol easily won both hours in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old range, averaging 43,688 viewers compared to just 21,844 on Sunday, April 22nd. Those aren’t imposing numbers in either measurement, but were enough to pull Idol out of free fall.

The day’s biggest hauls of 18-to-49ers went to ABC’s afternoon pair of NBA playoff games. The Cleveland Cavaliers-Indiana Pacers Game 7 of Round One scored 87,377 viewers before the opening game between the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz dropped just slightly to 84,256 in the 18-to-49 realm.

Sunday’s closing 9 p.m. prime-time hour was won by CBS’ Madam Secretary in total viewers (199,419) and Fox4’s local newscast with 18-to-49-year-olds (43,688).

On Friday night, Fox4’s second/third round coverage of the NFL draft (a simulcast of the NFL Network’s presentation) not surprisingly fell off dramatically from Thursday’s first round festivities. But it still had enough juice for Fox4 to win the night from start to stop (6 to 10 p.m.) among 18-to-49-year-olds with an average of 31,206. In total viewers, the draft drew 113,954 in losing decisively from 8 to 10 p.m. to CBS’ combo of Hawaii Five-0 (170,930) and Blue Bloods (206,541).

Here are Friday’s local news derby results for the second weekday of the May “sweeps” ratings period.

NBC5 and TEGNA8 shared the 10 p.m. lead in total viewers while TEGNA8 won outright among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 as usual swept the 6 a.m. competitions, and NBC5 had win wins at 6 p.m. in a downsized three-way race. At 5 p.m., the Peacock ran first in total viewers while Fox4 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., April 26) -- NFL draft heats up, with Fox4 scoring biggest

By ED BARK
@unclebarky com on Twitter
The first round of the NFL draft, originating for the first time from Jerry’s Palace, got a big hometown boost Thursday night and soared past the total audience ratings for the previous two beef-on-the-hoof selection shows.

Fox4, also televising the draft for the first time, led the three major providers with its simulcast of the NFL Network’s coverage.

Running from 7 to 10:42 p.m., the draft averaged 256,396 D-FW viewers on Fox4, 142,442 on ESPN and 56,977 on the NFL Net itself. Hand calculator technology says that’s a grand total of 455,815 viewers, almost doubling last year’s combined total of 232,675 viewers on ESPN and the NFL Net. The 2016 NFL draft also fell well short of this year’s crowd, with 339,956 viewers.

Among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, Fox4 again led with 99,859 viewers, with ESPN adding 71,774 and NFL Net chipping in with 21,844. The total of 193,477 viewers in this key demographic again easily exceeds last year’s crowd of 105,835 viewers, but is a bit shy of the 200,070 viewers for the 2016 draft.

Fox4 and TEGNA8 also aired locally produced 6:30 p.m. live draft specials. The Fox4 show did a little better, drawing 99,709 total viewers to TEGNA8’s 92,587. But both specials ran well behind CBS11’s competing Wheel of Fortune (220,785 viewers). Fox4 won among 18-to-49-year-olds, though, pulling in 46,809 to Wheel’s 31,206 while the TEGNA8 special played nearly dead with just 12,482 viewers in the 18-to-49 realm.

CBS had the leading overall attraction opposite the draft, with the network’s 7 p.m. episode of The Big Bang Theory drawing 299,128 total viewers. ABC’s 8 p.m. hour of Grey’s Anatomy was tops with 18-to-49-year-olds (74,894).

One last thing on the draft. The Dallas Cowboys made their pick at 9:13 p.m. And Fox4’s draft numbers hit their peak between 9 and 9:15 p.m., with 391,716 total viewers and 156,030 in the 18-to-49 demographic.

Thursday also marked the first day of the four-week May ratings “sweeps” period. And here’s how the four major local TV news providers fared:

TEGNA8 won a downsized three-way race at 10 p.m. in both total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming). Fox4’s late nighter was pushed past 10:30 p.m. by the draft coverage.

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions and NBC5 did likewise at 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. firsts went to TEGNA8 in total viewers and NBC5 with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., April 25) -- Survivor still doing much more than just surviving

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
CBS’ longest-running “reality-competition” series, Survivor, isn’t just surviving. It’s thriving.

Wednesday’s Nielsens show that it led all prime-time programming in both total viewers (256,396) and advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds (96,739).

CBS also took the 8 p.m. hour in total viewers with Seal Team (185,175) before Fox4’s local newscast controlled the 9 to 10 p.m. slot with 213,663. The 18-to-49-year-old winners in those hours were Fox’s Star (53,050 viewers) and again, Fox4 news (56,171).

Another evergreen, CBS11’s 6:30 p.m. edition of Wheel of Fortune, continues to make TEGNA8 (then locally owned by Belo) pay for foolishly coughing it up more than a decade ago because it was deemed too “old-skewing.” Wheel rolled to time slot wins in both total viewers (235,029) and with 18-to-49ers (40,568). The show that replaced Wheel on TEGNA8, Entertainment Tonight, drew less than half the audience for Wheel (15,603 viewers) in the key 18-to-49 demographic.

Here are Wednesday’s local news derby results.

TEGNA8 led in total viewers at 10 p.m. while Fox4 dominated among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again cruised to twin wins at 6 a.m., where the bottom has dropped out for NBC5 in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic. Even CBS11 lately is sometimes outdrawing the Peacock while runner-up TEGNA8 drew twice as many viewers as NBC5 Wednesday in the 25-to-54 realm. TEGNA8 is in the midst of a new promotional campaign for its early morning Daybreak, which news director Carolyn Mungo said is the “most important show we do” in a staff memo obtained by unclebarky.com.

TEGNA8 had the most total viewers at 6 p.m., and Fox4 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds. Fox4 and NBC5 tied for the most total viewers at 5 p.m., with Fox4 alone in first in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon.-Tues., April 23-24 -- on a night of tragedy, Fox4's 9 p.m. local newscast is most-watched in prime-time

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
D-FW viewers tuned to the first available newscast Tuesday night for the latest on the shootings of two Dallas police officers, one of whom died Wednesday morning.

That would be Fox4’s 9 p.m. edition, which led all prime-time programming with a significantly larger than usual 249,274 viewers and 65,533 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old age range. It didn’t hurt that ABC aired a quartet of Roseanne reruns while CBS’ opted for a repeat of NCIS. New episodes of those shows generally are Tuesday’s heaviest hitters. On the other hand, Fox4’s news received next to nothing from its network’s 8:30 p.m. lead-in, a fresh episode of New Girl. It drew just 42,733 total viewers and 15,603 within the 18-to-49 realm.

On Monday night, the biggest draw was NBC’s The Voice in both total viewers (227,907) and among 18-to-49ers (56,171).

Here are the Monday and Tuesday local news derby results.

Monday -- TEGNA8 swept the 10 p.m. competitions in both total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again did likewise at 6 a.m. while NBC5 ran the table at 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. golds went to TEGNA8 in total viewers and the Peacock among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Tuesday -- Chalk up yet another double grand slam for Fox4, its second within a week’s time. This used to be an extreme rarity, and still is among NBC5, TEGNA8 and CBS11. But Fox4 again went the distance with sweeps at 6 a.m. and at 5, 6 and 10 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

NBC5 wins first ever Peabody award for "Big Buses, Bigger Problems" series

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The Peabody-winning NBC5 team for “Big Buses, Bigger Problems.” From left: producer Jack Douglas; producer Eva Parks; senior investigative reporter Scott Friedman; photojournalist Jose Sanchez. NBC5 photo

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
DFW’s NBC5 has won its first ever prestigious George Foster Peabody award for an extended series of investigative reports titled “Big Buses, Bigger Problems: Taxpayers Taken For a Ride.”

The final batch of honorees was announced Tuesday by the University of Georgia-based Peabody board of jurors. The NBC5 series “uncovered a wide web of corruption and staggering financial mismanagement, which led to swift action by the Texas government and voters,” according to the official citation for the series. There are a total of 30 winners this year, with the awards to be presented at a May 19th ceremony in New York City hosted by Hasan Minhaj.

Veteran senior investigative reporter Scott Friedman was the point man for the series, with a team that included producers Jack Douglas and Eva Parks, and photojournalist Jose Sanchez.

“This is great recognition for some truly exceptional journalism. It was a team effort and we are proud,” NBC5 vice president of news Mark Ginther said in an email response Tuesday.

In a post last May on unclebarky.com, Ginther said the station’s biggest challenge in presenting the series was “being able to boil it down into a format where people can follow along, because of all the nuances and complexities.”

“There are a lot of twists and turns to this whole web,” Friedman said of “one of the more complex stories that I’ve ever been involved with.”

NBC5 aired roughly 60 stories on what looked to be serious problems and possibly corruption within Dallas County Schools, the taxpayer-bankrolled agency in charge of the daily transportation of 75,000 North Texas students. The state legislature eventually got involved and gave voters the option of shutting down the DSC in the November 2017 elections. Which they did.

On May 24th of last year, NBC5 preempted the syndicated entertainment show Extra for a half-hour special on the “Big Buses, Bigger Problems” series.

NBC5 is the first D-FW station other than WFAA-TV (Ch. 8) to win a Peabody since KDFW-TV (Ch. 4) was honored in 1984 for a series titled “A Call For Help.” Anchor Clarice Tinsley, who remains with the station, and reporter Fred Mays were cited as the principal contributors to the series.

WFAA had won several Peabody awards since then for investigations by Byron Harris and Brett Shipp, both of whom since have left the station.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., April 20-22) -- Idol tanks in key 18-to-49 demographic

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Despite the “excitement” of the season’s first live telecast, ABC’s American Idol reboot fell flat with advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds in Sunday night’s D-FW ratings.

Once an all-powerful Colossus, Idol couldn’t even draw a bigger audience in this key demographic than ABC’s moth-eaten America’s Funniest Videos, which lured 24,965 viewers from 6 to 7 p.m. before the two hours of Idol fell to 21,844.

Idol also was outdrawn in the 7 to 9 p.m. slot by Fox’s The Simpsons and Brooklyn Nine-Nine (37,447 viewers each), NBC’s Little Big Shots (31,206) and the Peacock’s Genius Junior (also 31,206 viewers in the 18-to-49 realm).

The day’s big scorer among 18-to-49ers, ABC’s afternoon San Antonio Spurs-Golden State Warriors playoff game, averaged 62,412 viewers.

At 9 p.m., NBC’s Timeless comfortably took the hour with 43,688 viewers in the 18-to-49 age range.

In total viewers, Idol ran second from 7 to 9 p.m. behind CBS Instinct and NCIS: Los Angeles while tying with Little Big Shots from 7 to 8 p.m. CBS’ Madam Secretary was tops in total viewers at 9 p.m.

Friday’s most-watched prime-time entry in total viewers, CBS’ 8 p.m. episode of Hawaii Five-0, pulled in 185,175. Fox’s 7 p.m. hour of Masterchef Junior had the night’s biggest haul of 18-to-49-year-olds with 40,568.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results.

NBC5 ran first in total viewers at 10 p.m. while TEGNA8 won among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. competitions, and added a 6 p.m. win with 25-to-54-year-olds. TEGNA8 had the most total viewers at 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Anchondo quickly lands another early morning spot (updated)

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Jenny Anchondo (center) with co-hosts Laila Muhammad, Gary Striewski during the 5 a.m. hour of the syndicated, Dallas-based Morning Dose. She debuted on Monday, April 23. Photo: Ed Bark

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Just over a month after opting out of her contract with Fox4, Jenny Anchondo has dawned as a new co-host of the syndicated Morning Dose, which originates from CW33 studios in Dallas.

She joined incumbent co-hosts Laila Muhammad and Gary Striewski Monday on the social media-spiked program, which airs from 5 to 8 a.m. and also is carried on CW stations in Houston, Philadelphia, Miami, Washington, D.C., Portland, OR and the Quad Cities in Illinois.

Missing in action and going unmentioned Monday was Melissa Rycroft, the former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and star of The Bachelor who co-hosted Morning Dose when it premiered on June 29th of last year as a successor to Eye Opener. When asked about Rycroft’s status with the program, a publicist for Morning Dose replied Monday, “Jenny is an addition to the team! She (Rycroft) was out sick today!”

Anchondo joined Fox4 in October 2013 from WXIN-TV in Indianapolis. She had been anchoring the station’s weekend editions of Good Day and reporting three days a week. Her departure surprised many staffers, with Anchondo saying goodbye via an in-house email. According to sources, she preferred studio anchoring and didn’t relish reporting from the field.

On her blog over the weekend, Anchondo asked for support as “I dip my toes into something a little different . . . I’m looking forward to re-engaging with all of you and continuing the smart, spicy discussions we’ve been having for years on TV and through social media. I think you’re going to get a kick out of the Morning Dose team.”

A six-month “non-compete” clause is standard in such situations, but apparently is inoperative because Anchondo has joined a nationally syndicated TV program rather than a purely local one. Clarification is being sought from a Fox corporate spokesperson who handles all inquiries about Dallas-based Fox4.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

A new front-and-center promo for rising Daybreak star Demetria Obilor

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
TEGNA8’s Daybreak lately has blasted past NBC5 from 6 to 7 a.m. in the key 25-to-54-year-old news demographic. The Dallas-based station for now seems to be firmly in the runner-up spot, although still well behind Fox4.

One of the reasons clearly is Demetria Obilor, who became Daybreak’s new traffic reporter and social media maven in late October.

Obilor is not at all shy about showcasing herself, as anyone can see on youtube. And TEGNA8 is trying to keep up with her via promos that accentuate her distinguishing characteristics.

A new spot has Obilor proclaiming “I am unexpected. I am unstoppable.” She’s also stealing the show as a complete U-turn from portly Sergeant Nick (Bristow), the uniformed DeSoto police officer who preceded Obilor as Daybreak’s traffic cop.

Here’s the latest Obilor spot. Of course, it’s an attention-getter.



Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed.-Thurs., April 18-19) -- everyone's a prime-time winner, save for NBC

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
ABC’s Thursday series finale of Scandal took the 9 p.m. hour in both major ratings measurements, but still couldn’t outdraw the network’s ever-potent Grey’s Anatomy in the D-FW Nielsens.

Scandal sucked in 192,297 total viewers and 65,533 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic. Grey’s led off the night with 213,663 total viewers and 84,256 in the 18-to-49 age range. That was good enough to win from 7 to 8 p.m. among 18-to-49ers, but the total viewers firsts went to CBS’ competing The Big Bang Theory (348,983) and Young Sheldon (320,495).

CBS also commanded the 8 p.m. hour in total viewers with Mom and Life In Pieces while ABC’s new Grey’s spinoff, Station 19, beat both CBS sitcoms in the 18-to-49 realm.

NBC continued to crater at 8:30 p.m. with the freshman comedy Champions, which bottomed out with just 28,488 total viewers and 9,362 within the 18-to-49 motherlode.

In Wednesday’s prime-time tallies, the 7 to 10 p.m. winners in total viewers were CBS’ Survivor, Fox’s Star and Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast. Among 18-to-49-year-olds, Survivor, Star and Fox4’s news likewise set the pace. Survivor ranked as the night’s biggest overall draw in both total viewers (249,274) and with 18-to-49-year-olds (84,256).

Here are the Wednesday and Thursday local news derby results.

Wednesday -- Perhaps “exceedingly rare” should be taken out of the double grand slam equation -- at least where Fox4 is concerned. It doesn’t happen often, but Fox4 did it again with sweeps at 6 a.m. and 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

With the four-week May “sweeps” ratings period firing up on Thursday, April 26th, Fox4 is well-positioned to win all four slots among 25-to-54-year-olds and also take the total viewers gold at 6 a.m. The total viewers competitions otherwise are up for grabs.

Thursday -- TEGNA8 stepped up to win at 10 p.m. in both ratings measurements while Fox4 as usual did likewise at 6 a.m.

At 6 p.m., NBC5 and CBS11 shared the lead in total viewers while the Peacock won outright with 25-to-54-year-olds. The 5 p.m. firsts went to NBC5 in total viewers and Fox4 among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Local TV News Note: Brittany Jeffers, who left the CBS11 news department last month, has joined Houston’s NBC station, KRPC-TV, as a reporter.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

How do you play it? Fox4, NBC5, TEGNA8, CBS11 had testing choices Tuesday night between the death of Barbara Bush and a Southwest Airlines in-flight engine failure that left one person dead

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
D-FW’s four major TV news providers had something of an editorial dilemma Tuesday night.

On their 10 p.m. editions, Fox4, NBC5, TEGNA8 and CBS11 had to choose between leading with the death of Barbara Bush at age 92 or an in-flight Southwest Airlines engine failure that caused the death of one passenger and left several others injured.

Both stories have significant local angles. Mrs. Bush, who died at her Houston home, is both a former First Lady and the mother of a former United States President and Texas governor, George W. Bush, who lives in Dallas with his wife, Laura. His presidential museum is also located here.

Southwest Airlines is based in Dallas, and Flight 1380 was en route from New York to the city’s Love Field late Tuesday morning before an emergency landing was made in Philadelphia. Passenger Jennifer Riordan of Albuquerque, NM, died of her injuries after being sucked partially out of one of the plane’s windows.

Fox4 and CBS11 led their newscasts with coverage of Barbara Bush’s death while NBC5 and TEGNA8 began with reports on the Southwest Airlines tragedy. What was the thinking behind those decisions?

NBC5 and CBS11 both offered on-the-record responses. Fox4 declined to comment because the station’s general policy is to not elaborate on editorial decisions, a New York-based spokesperson said via telephone through the usual corporate channels.

TEGNA8 news director Carolyn Mungo as usual ignored an inquiry from unclebarky.com on her station’s story play.

CBS11 director of communications Lori Conrad said that “because the Southwest Airlines incident occurred much earlier in the day, we covered it extensively at 4, 5 and 6 p.m. Our 6 p.m. newscast had ended when we received word of Mrs. Bush’s passing, so we felt it was only appropriate to lead with that story at 10 p.m.”

NBC5 vice president of news Mark Ginther said the station was “going to lead with Barbara Bush (at 10 p.m.). However, at 8 p.m., Southwest Airlines announced they were going to be looking at the engines on their entire fleet. That prompted the switch.”

On my unclebarkycom Twitter page Tuesday night, I posted the respective decisions of the four stations and also said I would have led with Barbara Bush’s death because it was “far more significant on the grand scale of events.” I also asked how others would have played the two stories.

Responses poured in, some of them from former or current local media players.

Veteran CBS11 reporter Steve Pickett noted that today’s news coverage “centers on the ‘happening now’ quotient. News teams were anticipating the Love Field arrival of local people who endured a horrific event. Mrs. Bush’s passing also resonates with Texans, and hearing the latest insights and thoughts (are) equally relevant.”

Former TEGNA8 news anchor Gloria Campos said, “Whoa, that’s a tough one. As I recall, we always tried to anticipate what others would lead with, but I think the outpouring on social media (in remembrance of Barbara Bush) speaks loudly.”

Radio host Mark Davis, long an outspoken conservative, at first agreed it was a “tough call” because the “Southwest story (is) immediate, unexpected and local angle. Barbara Bush’s passing (a) far bigger story but expected. On balance, go with the one that is more impactful to history, and that’s Barbara.”

Davis later “retracted” his initial response. “Leading with air disaster is sensationalism,” he tweeted. “NO choice but to lead with Barbara Bush. GMA leads with plane story (this morning), and it just feels so wrong.”

Gina Miller, a former sports anchor and reporter for TEGNA8 and CBS11, also went with the Barbara Bush lead. Her reasoning: “It’s more ‘now’ -- happened later in the day -- more impactful &, granted it’s by a narrow margin, more local given George W. lives here.”

TEGNA8 early morning reporter Chris Sadeghi came closest to providing something of a response from his station (although not an official one). He registered a “like” of a Tweet from realAudaciousfrump, who said Barbara Bush’s death should not have been the lead story. “3 reasons,” she explained. “A woman died on that flight, the flight was coming to Dallas, and the company is based in Dallas.”

In the printed page domain, The Dallas Morning News played both stories on the front page above the fold. But Mrs. Bush got a big, four-column “Fierce and feisty” headline and a companion four-column picture of the former First Lady with one of her springer spaniels. The Southwest tragedy occupied the other top-of-the-page single column, with the headline, “Engine failure kills 1 on flight.”

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon.-Tues., April 16-17) -- leadoff hitters NCIS and Roseanne again circle the bases

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
New episodes of CBS’ NCIS and ABC’s Roseanne squared off again Tuesday night, with both coming out on top.

NCIS pulled in prime-time’s biggest haul of D-FW viewers with 334,739 while Roseanne ranked a runaway first with advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds (109,221). That matched Roseanne’s performance from last Tuesday in the 18-to-49-year-old realm. But the show up-ticked a bit in total viewers, drawing 284,488 compared to the previous episode’s 270,649 opposite an NCIS rerun.

CBS dominated from 8 to 10 p.m. in total viewers with its regular lineup of Bull (327,617) and NCIS: New Orleans (277,762). But both dramas as usual fell off with 18-to-49-year-olds, where the time slot winners were ABC’s black-ish and Splitting Up Together and Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast.

The new Splitting Up Together looks as though it could be a keeper for next season. But another ABC freshman sitcom, Alex, Inc., likely dug a grave for itself in a do-or-die test of its ratings strength in a special slot immediately following Roseanne. The Zach Braff comedy plunged to just 56,977 total viewers and 21,844 in the 18-to-49 realm before black-ish and Splitting Up Together built ABC’s audience back up.

On Monday from 7 to 9 p.m., ABC’s American Idol took a severe beating in total viewers. Staggering in with an average of 113,954 for the two hours, Idol was whipped by NBC’s two-hour edition of The Voice (Monday’s prime-time leader with 242,151), Fox’s 8 p.m. episode of The Resident and CBS’ comedy quartet of Kevin Can Wait, Man with a Plan, Superior Donuts and even Living Biblically.

In the 18-to-49-year-old demographic, Idol ran behind The Voice and The Resident. Monday’s 9 p.m. hour went to CBS’ Scorpion in total viewers and NBC’s Good Girls among 18-to-49ers.

Here are Monday’s and Tuesday’s local news derby results.

Monday -- TEGNA8 and CBS11 shared the total viewers lead at 10 p.m. while TEGNA8 was alone on top with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 won at 6 a.m. in both ratings measurements and also ran first at 5 and 6 p.m. among 25-to-54-year-olds. The station tied NBC5 for the most total viewers at 5 p.m., and TEGNA8 won outright in this measurement at 6 p.m.

Tuesday -- CBS11 had its best day in a long while, ranking first in total viewers at 5,6 and 10 p.m.

Fox4 otherwise claimed all the spoils, sweeping the 6 a.m. competitions as usual and adding 5, 6 and 10 p.m. wins with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., April 13-15) -- Idol again drowned out by competing music special

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
On Easter Sunday night, it was NBC’s live Jesus Christ Superstar rising above ABC’s American Idol reboot in the D-FW Nielsens.

Two Sundays later, CBS’ three-hour Academy of Country Music awards, hosted by Reba McEntire, sent Idol down for the count.

The ACMs averaged 370,349 viewers from 7 to 10 p.m., with 87,377 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic for those three hours.

Idol, which again ran from 7 to 9 p.m., limped in with 142,442 total viewers and 40,568 in the 18-to-49 realm.

On ABC, George Stephanopoulos’s 9 p.m. interview with fired FBI director James Comey did solid business with 220,785 total viewers and 53,050 in the 18-to-49 realm.

It was a busy night in the cable universe, too. AMC’s 8 p.m. season finale of The Walking Dead, now something of a dead man walking compared to its once dominant ratings, pulled in 170,930 total viewers in the 8 p.m. hour. It had 87,377 viewers in the key 18-to-49-year-old measurement, the same as the ACMs overall. But the country music shebang won from 8 to 9 p.m. opposite Walking Dead with a higher draw of 93,618 viewers.

AMC’s 9 p.m. season premiere of Fear the Walking Dead then dropped to 78,343 total viewers and 40,568 in the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Over on ESPN, ropy poly, 44-year-old Texas Rangers pitcher Bartolo Colon astonishingly had a perfect game for seven innings against the world champion Houston Astros on their field. Interest peaked to the tune of 142,442 total viewers between 8:45 and 9:15 p.m. After Colon gave up a walk, a hit and a run, the ratings quickly dropped to less than half that crowd for the rest of the game, which the Rangers won 3-1 in 10 innings.

TNT’s closely fought Houston Rockets-Minnesota Timberwolves playoff game hit a higher peak audience of 178,053 total viewers between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m.

Friday’s prime-time pacesetter in total viewers again was CBS’ Blue Bloods with 213,663 in its regular 9 p.m. slot. NBC’s Taken, Fox’s Masterchef Junior and Fox4’s local 9 p.m. newscast tied for the prime-time lead among 18-to-49ers with 37,447 apiece.

Finally, here are Friday’s four-way local news derby results.

Capitalizing on the Blue Bloods lead-in, CBS11 enjoyed its most dominating win in recent memory among total viewers at 10 p.m. But Fox4 ran first with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 also lapped up the rest of the gravy, sweeping the 6 a.m. and 5 and 6 p.m. competitions.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed.-Thurs., April 11-12) -- ABC/CBS take most of the cakes

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Thursday’s prime-time Nielsens reflected the night’s usual audience delivery systems.

CBS’ The Big Bang Theory again ranked as the No. 1 overall attraction with 334,739 D-FW viewers. CBS’ Young Sheldon and Mom also won their time slots in total viewers before the network’s Life In Pieces fell behind the second half of ABC’s new Station 19. The 9 p.m. hour then went to Fox4’s local newscast.

In the advertiser-prized 18-to-49 age range, ABC won from start to stop with Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19 and Scandal. Grey’s had Thursday’s biggest haul in this key demographic, with 84,256 viewers.

On Wednesday night, CBS took the 7 to 9 p.m. hours in total viewers with Survivor and Seal Team before Fox4’s news again claimed the 9 p.m. gold. Among 18-to-49ers, Survivor, Fox’s Star and Fox4’s news were the respective winners from 7 to 10 p.m.

Here are the Wednesday and Thursday local news derby results.

Wednesday -- NBC5 ran first at 10 p.m. in total viewers while Fox4 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again ran away with the 6 a.m. competitions. Save for a slight stumble on Good Friday morning, the station has an unbeaten streak stretching for more than five months.

TEGNA8 and CBS11 tied for the top spot in total viewers at 6 p.m., with NBC5 taking the 25-to-54 spoils. The Peacock also had the most total viewers at 5 p.m. while Fox4 won among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Thursday -- TEGNA8 swept the 10 p.m. races and Fox4 did likewise at 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. wins went to TEGNA8 in total viewers and Fox4 in the 25-to-54 measurement.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., April 10) -- Roseanne slides a little more but re-establishes reign against NCIS repeat

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
ABC’s third weekly dose of the Roseanne reboot handily won both its time slot and the overall Tuesday Nielsens.

Again leading off the night, Roseanne pulled in 270,649 D-FW viewers and 109,221 within the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old age range. The previous Tuesday’s episode fared a bit bitter locally with 292,006 total viewers and 118,583 in the 18-to-49 realm.

Roseanne’s opening pair of episodes, on March 27th, set the bar super high with 441,570 total viewers and 196,598 in the 18-to-49 demographic.

After beating Roseanne with a new episode last week, CBS’ NCIS was in rerun mode Tuesday and placed second in total viewers from 7 to 8 p.m. with 170,930.

CBS’ following Elton John: Still Standing Grammy tribute won the 8 to 9 p.m. hour in total viewers with 163,808 but fell to second behind NBC’s Chicago Med (185,175 viewers) from 9 to 10 p.m. The 18-to-49 firsts from 8 to 10 p.m. went to NBC’s Rise (40,568) and Chicago Med (62,412).

On Fox, the return of New Girl for a final eight-episode run ranked last (from 8:30 to 9 p.m.) among the Big Four broadcast networks in total viewers and tied ABC’s new Splitting Up Together for the third spot with 18-to-49ers.

And now for Tuesday’s local news derby results.

NBC5 drew the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while Fox4 ran first among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again ran the table at 6 a.m. and also swept the 6 p.m. competitions. At 5 p.m., NBC5 had the most total viewers and tied Fox4 and TEGNA8 for the top spot with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., April 9) -- Idol gets another spanking

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
NBC’s The Voice again took the measure of ABC’s American Idol reboot Monday night in another 7 to 9 p.m. face-off between TV’s two most potent sing-offs.

The Voice drew 270,640 D-FW viewers compared to 149,564 for Idol, which also lost its first half-hour to CBS’ competing Kevin Can Wait (192,297 viewers).

Among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, The Voice bested Idol by a less imposing margin of 84,256 viewers to 59,291. Idol outpointed Kevin Can Wait and CBS’ other three sitcoms in this key demographic.

In the 9 p.m. hour, Fox4’s local newscast won in total viewers with 185,175 while NBC’s Good Girls was tops with 18-to-49ers (56,171 viewers). ABC’s second episode of The Crossing ran last in total viewers from 9 to 10 p.m among the Big Four broadcast networks, but improved to second place among 18-to-49-year-olds, beating both Fox4’s news and CBS’ last place Scorpion.

Here are Monday’s local news derby results.

TEGNA8 swept the 10 p.m. competitions in both total viewers and with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 notched twin wins at 6 a.m. and also ran the table at 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. golds went to TEGNA8 in total viewers and Fox4 in the 25-to-54 realm.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs.-Sun., April 5-8) -- Spieth-fueled Masters runs up the score

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Dallasite Jordan Spieth’s improbable comeback in Sunday’s final round of The Masters put golf in the ratings fairway.

Trailing by nine strokes, Spieth rallied all the way back to a tie in the late going before eventually losing by two strokes to fellow Texan Patrick Reed. Meanwhile, The Masters built to a peak D-FW audience of 420,204 viewers between 5:30 and 5:45 p.m on CBS. Overall, Sunday’s finale averaged 299,128 total viewers and 87,377 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old age range. Both were Sunday highs.

In the prime-time numbers, CBS led from start to stop in total viewers with its regular lineup of 60 Minutes, Instinct, NCIS: Los Angeles and Madam Secretary. 60 Minutes also won the 6 p.m. hour among 18-to-49-year-olds before ABC’s American Idol ranked first from 7 to 9 p.m. and NBC’s Timeless took the 9 p.m. hour.

Friday’s nighttime Nielsens were paced by CBS’ 9 p.m. episode of Blue Bloods in total viewers (299,128) and Fox’s 7 p.m. hour of Masterchef Junior in the 18-to-49 realm (43,688 viewers).

On Thursday night, CBS’ The Big Bang Theory was tops in total viewers (348,983) while ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy dominated in the 18-to-49 demographic (134,186 viewers).

Here are the Thursday and Friday local news derby results.

Thursday -- TEGNA8 drew the most total viewers at 10 p.m. while Fox4 won among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 also swept the 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. proceedings and added a 5 p.m. gold in the 25-to-54 measurement. NBC5 broke through with the most total viewers at 5 p.m.

Friday -- TEGNA8 ran the table at 10 p.m. and Fox4 did likewise at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The 5 p.m. wins went to NBC5 in total viewers and Fox4 with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

NBC5, KRLD radio strike a deal, ending the station's longtime partnership with CBS11

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By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
It’s not 100 percent officially formalized yet, but nonetheless is a done deal.

Dallas-based KRLD radio (1080 AM) has a new partnership with Fort Worth-based NBC5.

The deal was struck shortly after Entercom Communications Corp. merged with CBS Radio Inc. and increased its holdings from 127 to 235 stations. The deal was closed in November. KRLD long had been wedded in D-FW to CBS11, but that’s come to an end.

The new partnership is still in its formative stages, but NBC5 meteorologists already have had a presence on KRLD. NBC Universal-owned Telemundo39 and Entercom’s newly acquired Spanish language radio station, KMVK (107.5 FM), likewise will have a content-sharing arrangement.

CBS Corp. chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves said in a statement that unloading the radio properties “will allow us to unlock more value for our shareholders and further grow our revenue.”

Entercom president and CEO David Field has a different view. In a memo to staffers, he said in part, “We are done playing defense. It is time to play offense. We plan to make big investments in our brands, people, capabilities and innovation. We are also done apologizing about radio, America’s number one reach medium, which is massively undervalued.”

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., April 4) -- Fox/Fox4 prosper in prime-time

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Fox’s Empire and Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast paced Wednesday’s prime-time ratings.

The news ranked No. 1 in total viewers for the entire night with 235,029. And the 7 p.m. Empire episode was Wednesday’s top draw among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds with 68,653.

Fox’s 8 p.m. hour of Star won its time slot in total viewers with 178,053. But ABC’s competing comedy combo of Modern Family and American Housewife ran first among 18-to-49ers with respective totals of 56,171 and 53,050 viewers.

ABC’s second episode of Zach Braff’s Alex, Inc. struggled at 7:30 p.m., ranking last among the Big Four broadcast networks in total viewers while beating only the second half of NBC’s fading The Blacklist in the 18-to-49 realm.

Here are Wednesday’s local news derby results.

Fox4 came within a speck of an outright rare double grand slam in the 6 a.m. and 5, 6 and 10 p.m. competitions.

The station had twin wins at 6 a.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. in total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming). Fox4 also won at 5 p.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds, but shared the lead in total viewers at that hour with NBC5. Both stations had 124,637 viewers.

For good measure, Fox4’s 7 to 9 a.m. portion of Good Day also again trounced the three competing network morning shows in both ratings barometers.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., April 3) -- Roseanne takes a tumble

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
A blockbuster in its first week, ABC’s Roseanne revival fell off significantly in its second time around the block.

Leading off at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Roseanne drew 292,006 D-FW viewers and 118,583 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds demographic. The previous Tuesday’s opening pair of episodes pulled in 441,570 total viewers and 196,598 in the 18-to-49 age range.

The drop of nearly 150,000 total viewers put Roseanne behind CBS’ competing NCIS, which ranked first from 7 to 7:30 p.m. with 327,618 and also won the full hour with an average of 334,739.

Roseanne still impressively drew the night’s biggest haul of 18-to-49-year-olds, though, more than doubling up on the 56,171 for NBC’s The Voice and 49,930 for NCIS.

ABC’s second episode of Splitting Up Together, which aired at 8:30 p.m., improved on its lead-in from black-ish by finishing second in its time slot in total viewers (135,320) and first with 18-to-49ers (62,412).

CBS’ Bull and NCIS: New Orleans were the 8 to 10 p.m. winners in total viewers while ABC’s new For the People won the 9 p.m. hour among 18-to-49-year-olds.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results.

CBS11 won in total viewers at 10 p.m., but NBC5 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 cruised to another pair of runaway wins at 6 a.m. and also had the most 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 and 6 p.m.

Fox4 and NBC5 tied for the most total viewers at 5 p.m.; TEGNA8 and Fox4 shared first place in that measurement at 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., April 2) -- one-sided NCAA hoops championship game takes TBS to the top

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
What if it had been closer -- or on CBS? But Villanova’s 79-62 spanking of Michigan in the NCAA men’s basketball championship still managed to outpoint all competing programming Monday night.

Running from 8:20 to precisely 10:30 p.m. on TBS, the game averaged 299,128 D-FW viewers and 140,427 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old age range.

NBC’s 7 to 9 p.m. edition of The Voice was runner-up in total viewers with 220,785 and tied ABC’s competing American Idol for a very distant second among 18-to-49-year-olds (49,930 each).

In the 9 p.m. hour, ABC’s premiere of the new drama series The Crossing ran fifth in total viewers with 99,709 and fourth with 18-to-49ers (34,327), beating only CBS’ competing repeat of NCIS: New Orleans. CBS aired reruns all night, save for Living Biblically, rather than try to steal viewers from its sports department’s main man, Jim Nantz. He again was the play-by-play mainstay of the championship game and now moves on to CBS’ coverage of The Masters. It’s a wonderful life.

Here are Monday’s local news derby results.

CBS11 drew the most total viewers at 10 p.m., and Fox4 won among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 resumed its winning ways with a vengeance at 6 a.m. with another sweep after TEGNA8 won among 25-to-54-year-olds by a sliver on Good Friday to end Fox4’s multi-month unbeaten streak. On Monday, Fox4 piled up 105,887 viewers in the 25-to-54 realm compared to a combined total of 73,533 for NBC5, TEGNA8 and CBS11.

At 6 p.m., NBC5 and CBS11 tied for first in total viewers and Fox4 had the most 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 and the Peacock shared the total viewers top spot at 5 p.m., but NBC5 had the 25-to-54 lead to itself.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., March 30-April 1) -- big weekend for Jesus, Moses

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Fewer viewers worshipped false (American) Idols Easter Sunday night than watched NBC’s live and superb stage presentation of Jesus Christ, Superstar.

And on Saturday night, Moses did all right, too.

Superstar, which ran from 7 to 9:23 p.m. and starred John Legend in the title role, drew 192,297 D-FW viewers while ABC’s 7 to 9 p.m. edition of American Idol had 156,686 viewers. But both shows were beaten from 7 to 8 p.m. by CBS’ new Instinct, which pulled in 213,663 viewers. Idol also trailed CBS’ NCIS: Los Angeles, which had 178,053 viewers in the 8 p.m. hour. (JC thumped Instinct in the national Nielsens, though.)

JC won straight up with advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, running first from start to stop with 46,809 viewers in this key demographic.

On Saturday, ABC’s annual rebroadcast of The Ten Commandments, which ran all the way to 10:43 p.m., averaged 163,808 total viewers to carry the night among the Big Four broadcast networks. TBS’ pair of NCAA basketball men’s Final Four games fared a bit better. Michigan’s comeback win over Loyola averaged 170,930 viewers before Villanova’s blowout victory over Kansas had 199,419 viewers.

Friday’s prime-time ratings in the broadcast net universe were paced by CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 in total viewers (206,541) and Fox’s Masterchef Junior among 18-to-49ers (31,206). Over on cable, the Texas Rangers-Houston Astros game on Fox Sports Southwest averaged 106,832 total viewers and 37,447 in the 18-to-49 realm.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results.

The big news is at 6 a.m., where TEGNA8 snapped Fox4’s winter-long and beyond winning streak with a paper thin win among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming). Fox4 took the 6 a.m. hour in total viewers.

The 10 p.m. firsts went to CBS11 in total viewers and Fox4 in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Fox4 also swept the 5 p.m. competitions while the 6 p..m. golds went to TEGNA8 in total viewers and NBC5 with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net