powered by FreeFind

Apple iTunes

Archives

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., Sept. 27) -- newcomer SEAL Team is prime-time's top draw

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The premiere of CBS’ SEAL Team drew an overall older crowd Wednesday, but it was still more than enough to put the military drama at the top of the prime-time class.

David Boreanaz’s latest star turn lured 298,115 D-FW viewers in the 8 p.m. hour, improving on the 239,946 from CBS’ 7 p.m. lead-in, Survivor. Both shows won their time slots in this measurement before CBS’ Criminal Minds fell to second place (174,506 viewers) behind Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast (225,404).

The season premiere of Fox’s Empire, which used to be a juggernaut, ran second at 7 p.m. in total viewers (210,862), barely beating NBC’s competing Blacklist (196,320). But Empire won its slot among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds with 86,592 viewers while Fox4’s 9 p.m. news had the only time slot sweep with 96,213 viewers in this key demographic.

In the 8 p.m. hour, ABC’s Modern Family won from 8 to 8:30 p.m. in the 18-to-49 realm (67,349 viewers) before the second half of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU took over with 57,728 viewers.

The 9 p.m. season premiere of ABC’s Designated Survivor ran a distant last with 18-to-49-year-olds among the Big Four broadcast networks and nipped NBC’s competing Chicago PD for third place in total viewers.

Here are Wednesday’s four-way local news derby results.

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

Fox4 continued to reign at 6 a.m. with twin wins and NBC5 ran the table at 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. firsts went to TEGNA8 in total viewers and to Fox4 narrowly over NBC5 with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., Sept. 26) -- transplanted Good Doctor struggles in killer time slot on TEGNA8

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Preempted Monday night by TEGNA8 in favor of the Dallas Cowboys-Arizona Cardinals simulcast, ABC’s The Good Doctor had its potential ratings amputated Tuesday in a buzzsaw 7 p.m. slot opposite a trio of established hits on rival networks.

The return of CBS’ NCIS led the way as usual with 298,115 D-FW viewers, followed by NBC’s The Voice (269,031) and Fox’s Season 2 launch of Lethal Weapon (174,506). The Good Doctor’s delayed premiere lagged in fourth place with 159,964 viewers.

In the advertiser-prized 18-to-49 age range, Good Doctor nipped Lethal Weapon for third place by a score of 35,278 viewers to 32,071. The Voice led with 89,799 viewers and NCIS had 48,107.

At 8 p.m., the Season 2 premiere of NBC’s This Is Us won in both total viewers (334,471) and with 18-to-49-year-olds (166,769). Both were highs for the night. The 9 p.m. hour went to CBS’ NCIS: New Orleans in total viewers (276,301) and NBC’s first episode of Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders in the 18-to-49 realm (64,142). NCIS: NO fell from first to fourth in this key demographic.

On Fox Sports Southwest, the now officially eliminated Texas Rangers took a second straight pounding from the Houston Astros while just 36,356 total viewers endured it.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results.

TEGNA8 edged CBS11 for the most total viewers at 10 p.m. and in turn was edged by NBC5 among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 stayed solid at 6 a.m. with twin wins. At 6 p.m., CBS11 won in total viewers and NBC5 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 and the Peacock tied for the most total viewers at 5 p.m., with NBC5 winning outright among 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., Sept. 25) -- double vision for Cowboys on official first night of fall season

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Dallas Cowboys played on two TV venues Monday night while angry D-FW fans of Dancing with the Stars predictably pounded TEGNA8 on its official Facebook page for sending the hoofers and puffers to obscure digital channel 8.2.

The Cowboys’ 28-17 road win over the Arizona Cardinals on ESPN’s Monday Night Football averaged 828,905 viewers for TEGNA8’s simulcast and 407,182 on the cable mothership. Hand calculator technology says that’s a grand total of 1,236,087 viewers for a game that stretched until 10:46 p.m.

Last year’s Game 3, a Cowboys-Chicago Bears matchup on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, drew a significantly larger crowd of 1,565,210 viewers.

Some will say this is because of the NFL players’ protests against President Trump’s call to “fire” anyone who didn’t stand during the playing of the National Anthem. Throughout the league Sunday and Monday, some took a knee and others locked their arms in protest while standing. In the Cowboys’ case, players, coaches and owner Jerry Jones uniquely knelt and locked arms before the Anthem and then stood for its playing.

Others might note that ratings for the Peacock’s Sunday Night Football typically are higher than for other Cowboys’ games. In any case, a difference of more than 300,000 viewers is notable.

Among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, TEGNA8 had 314,296 viewers and ESPN, 102,627 for a total haul of 416,923. That’s way, way down from the 698,654 for last year’s Game 3. It’s also further evidence that the NFL increasingly is skewing older.

Monday also marked the official launch of the new fall season, although ABC’s scheduled 9 p.m. premiere of The Good Doctor has been shuttled to 7 p.m. Tuesday on TEGNA8.

Before the Cowboys and Cardinals fired up at 7:30 p.m., CBS’ 7 p.m. season premiere of The Big Bang Theory narrowly lost its time slot in total viewers with 407,182 while TEGNA8’s competing, locally produced Cowboys pre-game show had 414,453. In the 18-to-49 age range, Big Bang turned the tables and decisively won by a score of 189,219 viewers to 105,834.

The first episode of CBS’ Big Bang spin-off, Young Sheldon, then performed solidly against the first half-hour of the Cowboys game, drawing 334,471 total viewers and 118,653 within the 18-to-49 motherlode.

CBS’ 8:30 p.m. premiere of Me, Myself & I tailed off to 123,609 total viewers and 51,314 in the 18-to-49 demographic. That put it in third place among the Big Four broadcast networks, ahead of only the closing half-hour of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance.

NBC’s 9 p.m. premiere of The Brave managed 152,963 total viewers and 54,521 in the 18-to-49 realm. That put it in second place in both ratings measurements.

Earlier Monday, the 9 a.m. launch of NBC’s Megyn Kelly Today had 58,169 total viewers and 16,036 in the 18-to-49 demographic. Although meager, those numbers were still good enough to twice beat Fox4’s syndicated Live with Kelly & Ryan. CBS’ double dose of Let’s Make a Deal was the 9 to 10 a.m. leader in both ratings measurements.

Finally, here are the local news derby results.

NBC5 nipped CBS11 in total viewers at 10 p.m. in a downsized three-way race while CBS11 had the top spot to itself with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

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

At 5 p.m., Fox4 won in total viewers and NBC5 had the most 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

An exclusive interview with former CBS11 traffic anchor Tammy Dombeck and her EEOC attorneys, who are taking the station to court on charges of age discrimination

page5_blog_entry2718_1

Tammy Dombeck as traffic anchor at CBS11. Photo: Ed Bark

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
D-FW’s CBS11 and its corporate parent, CBS Broadcasting Inc., discriminated against former early morning traffic anchor Tammy Dombeck because of her age, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims in a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the station.

“The stereotype of young being preferred here won out, unfortunately,” EEOC senior trial attorney Joel P. Clark said Tuesday in an exclusive interview with unclebarky.com. Clark was joined on a conference call by Dombeck (who now uses Dombeck Campbell as her surname) and EEOC supervisory trial attorney Suzanne M. Anderson. In an email response Tuesday afternoon, CBS11 said it “respectfully disagrees with the EEOC’s current assessment and looks forward to resolving this matter.”

Dombeck Campbell, who was 42 at the time, ended up being a bridge between three younger blondes (one of whom eventually decided not to take the traffic anchor position) when CBS11 let her go in late April of 2015. She had become the station’s interim traffic anchor after Whitney Drolen resigned in October 2014. CBS11 had used Dombeck Campbell as a freelance fill-in traffic anchor during the 19 months before Drolen left.

Dombeck Campbell, now 44, said she repeatedly had been assured by CBS11 management that she was a candidate to become the station’s full-time traffic anchor. She went through channels and “officially applied for the position,” Dombeck Campbell said, putting together both a video and paper resume. In its official search for a replacement, CBS11 said that any applicant “must have at least five years professional broadcasting experience.” Dombeck Campbell earlier had been NBC5’s full-time traffic anchor for 12 years before leaving the station in July 2012 after a contract impasse. She became well known throughout the market as NBC5’s “Gridlock Buster.”

CBS11 instead first chose younger, blonde Amanda Zitzman as Drolen’s replacement, according to Dombeck Campbell and the EEOC attorneys. She had been the 2010 first runner-up to Miss Florida USA and now is an early morning reporter with Denver’s Fox31 station.

Zitzman later decided not to take the position, and Dombeck Campbell said she felt reinvigorated after then news director Mike Garber (who was dropped in August of last year) phoned to assure her that “I’d be a fool not to consider you for the position.”

“In the interim, though, they just kept bringing all these very young girls in to audition,” Dombeck Campbell said.

CBS11’s long dormant early morning ratings were on a clear upswing at the time, particularly with the main news demographic of 25-to-54-year-olds. In the May 2015 ratings “sweeps,” the station ran third among 25-to-54-year-olds for the first time in its history. CBS11 since has fallen back to a distant last.

Rather than keep the momentum going, CBS11 bypassed Dombeck Campbell a second time. Garber opted to hire the then 24-year-old Chelsey Davis, a former Arizona Cardinals cheerleader, as the station’s full-time traffic anchor. Davis, who also is a blonde, spent 16 months at CBS11 before leaving in October of last year to join her husband, former TEGNA8 early morning reporter Brandon Hamilton, in Phoenix.

Davis’ replacement, Madison Adams, joined CBS11 in late December of last year and remains in place as the station’s early morning traffic anchor. For the record, the Fort Worth native and Baylor University graduate also is young, blonde, a former sports reporter and a two-time Miss Texas pageant entrant (in 2014-15) with no previous experience calling traffic signals. She became Madison Sawyer after her marriage in late August of this year.

Dombeck Campbell, whose last day at CBS11 was on April 27, 2015, said the whole process was “humiliating, extremely upsetting and unfair.”

“I was just going to chalk it up and let it go,” she said, until her husband, Donnie Campbell (whom she married in December 2012) told her, “I don’t think you should let them get away with it.”

As required by law, the EEOC made an attempt to settle out of court with CBS11, Anderson said. “We attempted in good faith to conciliate it,” she said, but the two sides were far apart on an agreement “acceptable to the Commission.” They’ll now go to court unless a belated settlement is reached. Clark said that cases such as these typically are tried roughly eight months after a suit is filed. The EEOC has not disclosed what monetary compensation it’s seeking on Dombeck Campbell’s behalf.

She recalls several of her CBS11 colleagues telling her it was “blatant age discrimination” to keep bypassing her for younger blondes with little experience.

“It took a toll on my self-worth,” Dombeck Campbell said Tuesday. “My hope now is to inspire others that when you are going up against either a major broadcasting corporation or a small employer who you feel has treated you unfairly, the EEOC has laws in place to prevent this kind of discrimination . . . I just hope it empowers others to not turn away from making their employers accountable.”

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., Sept. 22-24) -- Pack-Bengals top weekend charts

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Absent a Dallas Cowboys game, Sunday’s D-FW ratings pacesetter turned out to be CBS’ featured late afternoon/early evening game between the Green Bay Packers (who won in overtime) and visiting Cincinnati Bengals.

Broadcast booth rookie Tony Romo’s continued spot-on analysis was an added lure, with the game attracting 508,977 viewers and 211,689 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 age range.

NBC’s Sunday Night Football matchup, with the Washington Redskins dominating the visiting Oakland Raiders, finished close behind with 465,350 total viewers while tying Packers-Bengals with 211,689 viewers in the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Sunday also brought the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery, which was delayed to 7:48 p.m. because of the football over-run. The lone free episode, on the CBS broadcast network, averaged 261,760 total viewers, but just 51,314 in the key 18-to-49 demographic. Discovery otherwise will be seen only on the network’s pay-per-month streaming site, CBS All Access.

On Saturday, TCU’s decisive road win against favored Oklahoma State easily topped the college football parade with 269,031 total viewers on ESPN. The runner-up attraction, Fox’s prime-time Notre Dame-Michigan State clash, placed second with 109,067 viewers while ABC’s competing thriller, Penn State’s last-second win over Iowa, surprisingly averaged just 72,711 viewers.

Friday’s prime-time pacesetter, NBC’s Dateline, had 130,880 total viewers and 41,692 in the 18-to-49 demographic. The competing, Austin-based Harvey Can[’t Mess With Texas relief special (from 9 to 10 p.m. on TEGNA8) drew 109,067 total viewers and 25,657 in the 18-to-49 age range. Participating celebrities included James Taylor, Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt and Willie Nelson.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results.

NBC5 led in total viewers at 10 p.m. while TEGNA8 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again swept the 6 a.m. competitions while the Peacock controlled the early evening with twin wins at both 5 and 6 p.m.

LOCAL TV PROGRAMMING NOTE: TEGNA8 has the over-the air simulcast of the Cowboys-Arizona Cardinals Monday Night Football game on ESPN. That will waylay the scheduled Monday, Sept. 25th premiere of ABC’s new The Good Doctor, which TEGNA8 will send to 7 p.m. Tuesday. As for Dancing with the Stars, it’s moving to the station’s 8.2 digital channel for a one-night stand. Good luck with that.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

New word-mashing "We Are WFAA" image promo gives the station a uniquely over the top shout out

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
It’s not quite Yoda talk. As in, “Hard to find, independent local TV criticism can be.”

But Dallas-based TEGNA8’s brassy new “We Are WFAA” image spot finds a few ways to mash up the language, courtesy of a very big-voiced narrator who makes James Earl Jones seem like a funeral director. “COURAGE GATHERERS,” he booms. “RESOLVE STEELERS. RISK TAKERS AND UP SHAKERS.”

All of these attributes (and many more) are affixed in big bold letters to a parade of TEGNA8 news personalities in the station’s sax-backed, “urban”-centric one-minute promo. Anchor dean John McCaa is pictured as the Resolve Steeler while head weathercaster Pete Delkus gets to be the Up Shaker.

It’s without a doubt an attention-getter, which is much of the battle. The campaign also is light years removed from the station’s gone but not entirely forgotten “Spirit of Texas” mantra, which stayed in place for decades until new owner TEGNA sent homespun packing.

“We are not here for small talk or small steps,” the “We Are WFAA” promo booms at the start. “We exist because people depend on us. And what they need from us is for us to become our best selves everyday.”

Closeups of McCaa, Cynthia “Izzy’ Izaguirre and Daybreak anchor Ron Corning are shown in the opening seconds before his early morning colleague, Alexa Conomos, is shown happily waving.

(Some viewers might wonder if Conomos is waving hello -- or goodbye. Way back in January of this year, Conomos informed station management that she’d be leaving to spend more time with her family and enjoy a more “normal” lifestyle. Conomos agreed to stay on until her replacement was named, which presumably would be by the end of the May “sweeps” ratings period. But the latest word is that Conomos has been persuaded to stay with Daybreak all the way until the end of this year. In the annals of long goodbyes, that’s a D-FW television record that might be harder to break than Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak.)

But we tarry. Back to the “We Are WFAA” spot, which reaches a crescendo of sorts when the narrator lets loose with a big chuckle before exclaiming “Laugh Makers!” The accompanying video is of sports anchor Dale Hansen cutting loose with former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk.

The station’s anchors and reporters also are variously depicted as “HOPE SELLERS. CHEER SPREADERS. CON BUSTERS. POWER SHIFTERS. SCALE BALANCERS,” etc.

“We do all this because we can’t not do it,” viewers are told in closing. “And if we’re working for all alike, we must be brave. EVERYDAY.”

The final shot is of McCaa and Izaguirre walking toward another day’s news battleground.

TEGNA’s corporate brain trust has made this much clear: They’re determined to significantly it not radically change their owned stations’ approaches to how news is presented and marketed. The “We Are WFAA” campaign, which is grandiose while also being wholly unlike any other in D-FW, is further proof that TEGNA really means this.

Whether you’re turned off or tuned in is yet to be seen. But for the purpose of these spaces, it can be a damned lot of fun to write about, even if station management might well say in turn, “To hell Uncle Barky can go.”

Here’s the full one-minute spot:



Email comments or questions to: unclebarky.com

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed., Thurs., Sept. 20-21) -- America's Got Talent outdraws Big Brother in battle of summertime titans

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Let’s roll back to Wednesday first because Thursday wasn’t much in terms of ratings punch.

The two-hour season finales of NBC’s America’s Got Talent and CBS’ Big Brother went toe to toe from 7 to 9 p.m., with AGT emerging victorious.

NBC’s biggest summertime attraction drew 319,928 D-FW viewers and 89,799 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49 age range. CBS’ hot weather pacesetter ran a distant second in total viewers (189,049) and in fact was beaten from 8 to 9 p.m. by Fox’s Masterchef season-ender (196,320 viewers). In the key 18-to-49 demographic, Big Brother drew much closer to AGT with 80,178 viewers while also whipping Masterchef (67,349).

NBC’s one-hour Season Two launch of The Good Place then faltered at 9 p.m. with 145,422 viewers and 51,314 in the 18-to-49 motherlode. The 9 p.m. winner, Fox4’s local news, had 189,049 total viewers and 54,521 within the 18-to-49 age range.

On Thursday, CBS’ 7 p.m. rerun of The Big Bang Theory led all prime-time attractions with 174,506 total viewers. In the 18-to-49 measurement, the NFL Network’s unexpectedly high-scoring Thursday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers took the top spot with a relatively puny 54,521 viewers. That was well less than half the game’s average of 152,693 total viewers.

Here are the local news derby results.

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

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

Thursday -- Fox4 and TEGNA8 tied for the most total viewers at 10 p.m., but Fox4 won easily with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 again ran the table at 6 a.m. and NBC5 repeated its 5 p.m. sweep. The Peacock and TEGNA8 shared the 6 p.m. lead in total viewers while NBC5 won outright with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., Sept. 19) -- AGT in control

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The latest season’s final “performance” show put NBC’s America’s Got Talent firmly in charge of Tuesday’s prime-time Nielsens.

Airing from 7 to 9 p.m., AGT drew 254,489 D-FW viewers while also ranking as the night’s biggest attraction among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds (70,556).

Fox4’s local newscast, which is finishing off a very strong summer, then took over by comfortably winning at 9 p.m. in both total viewers (181,778) and with 18-to-49-year-olds (48,107).

Here are Tuesday’s four-way local news derby results.

TEGNA8 made its strongest across-the-board showing in a good long while, winning at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. in total viewers and among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 again ran the table at 6 a.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon., Sept. 18) -- DWTS edges MNF as top draw; former CBS11 meteorologist Lisa Villegas finds a new home

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The 25th(!) edition of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars (or non-stars if you prefer) premiered Monday night with just enough juice to edge ESPN’s Detroit Lions-New York Giants game as prime-time’s overall top draw.

DWTS drew 283,573 D-FW viewers while Monday Night Football came up just shy of a first down with an average of 276,302 viewers. During their 90 minutes opposite one another (7:30 to 9 p.m.), they tied with 290,844 viewers each before football wilted a bit down the stretch to dent the full-game rating.

As usual, though, MNF easily won the night with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, averaging 118,663. DWTS drew well less than half that crowd (51,314) in also running behind NBC’s competing two-hour American Ninja Warrior (67,349).

Excluding football, the 9 p.m. slot went to Fox4’s local newscast in both total viewers (159,964) and 18-to-49-year-olds (48,107).

Here are Monday’s local news derby results.

Fox4 and TEGNA8 tied for first in total viewers at 10 p.m., but Fox4 had the top spot to itself among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 also swept the 6 a.m. competitions. At 6 p.m., NBC5 and TEGNA8 shared the lead in total viewers while the Peacock won outright with 25-to-54-year-olds.

The 5 p.m. golds went to TEGNA8 in total viewers and NBC5 in the 25-to-54 measurement.

LOCAL TV NEWS NOTE: Former CBS11 weekend and fill-in meteorologist Lisa Villegas will be mapping out a new future at Tucson, Arizona’s KOLD-TV, the market’s CBS affiliate. Her start date is Oct. 9th. The news was first reported by the national industry trade site FTVLive, which obtained an internal memo from station management.

As previously reported on unclebarky.com, Villegas was let go by CBS11 in March of this year.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., Sept. 15-17) -- lightning strikes thunderstruck Cowboys

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The combination of a one-sided loss and a one-hour lightning threat delay clouded the D-FW ratings for Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys-Denver Broncos game on Fox.

Play stopped at 3:56 p.m. and didn’t resume until 4:58 p.m., leaving the Broncos’ 42-17 win bleeding into the first 40 minutes of CBS’ prime-time Emmy Awards telecast, which ran from 7 to 10 p.m..

We’re going to subtract the 4 to 5 p.m. hour (Nielsen measures in 15-minute increments) in breaking down the local numbers. During that time, the audience tailed off for Fox’s substitute Washington Redskins-Los Angeles Rams game before picking up again at 5 p.m.

Using these start-stop-restart measurements, Cowboys-Broncos averaged 1,316,069 total viewers and 525,964 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old age range.

Those numbers are down significantly, but not surprisingly, from last week’s season-opener on NBC’s prime-time Sunday Night Football stage. Dallas’ rather dull 19-3 throttling of the punchless New York Giants drew 1,635,998 total viewers and 715,183 in the 18-to-49 realm.

NBC’s Sunday night game -- the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers -- started shortly before the Cowboys ended at 7:40 p.m. It was the day’s number two ratings attraction with 487,164 total viewers and 230,911 in the 18-to-49 demographic.

The Trump-bashing Emmys slumped to a not-at-all-grand total of 225,404 total viewers and 83,385 in the 18-to-49 demographic. You can read our account on the Network News & Reviews page. Last year’s Emmys on ABC, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting, had 262,049 viewers and 95,271 of the 18-to-49 persuasion.

Sunday’s first chapter of Ken Burns’ 10-part, 18-hour The Vietnam War averaged 65,440 total viewers locally on KERA13. The first part drew a sub-scant 3,207 viewers within the 18-to-49 motherlode before Part 2 perked up considerably to 22,450.

Saturday’s college football parade was paced by Fox’s prime-time Texas-Southern Cal game, which the Trojans won in overtime.

Stretching all the way to 11:41 p.m., the game averaged 319,928 total viewers while crushing ABC’s competing Clemson-Louisville matchup (65,440).

Friday’s biggest prime-time draw was CBS’ 7 p.m. hour of Big Brother, with 138,151 total viewers and 44,899 in the 18-to-49 age range.

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

CBS11 at last ended a winless drought of at least several weeks by nipping TEGNA8 in total viewers at 10 p.m. Fox4 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming) while CBS11 ran second.

Fox4 also swept the 6 a.m. competitions and added 5 and 6 p.m. wins with 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 ran first in total viewers at both 5 and 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Reporter/anchor Marcus Moore leaving TEGNA8 after a nearly six-year stint

WFAA-Marcus-Moore_1454380943702_152523_ver1.0

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
It’s been a relatively slow year so far in terms of departures from D-FW’s four major TV news providers.

But TEGNA8 is losing a significant presence in reporter/anchor Marcus Moore, who will be leaving at the end of September after joining the Dallas-based station in January 2012 as a reporter in the Fort Worth bureau.

Moore, who most recently reported extensively from the scene of Hurricane Harvey, told unclebarky.com Friday that “right now I cannot confirm where my next move will be.” But numerous sources say he won’t be going far. Moore will be joining ABC News’ Dallas bureau.

Moore otherwise had glowing words for the station he’s leaving.

“I was in the 5th grade when I discovered I wanted to be a journalist,” he said in an email response. “Even as a kid growing up in College Station, I was well aware of WFAA-TV and I set my sights on joining its team of distinguished journalists. In fact, as a junior in high school I took a picture in front of the station and said, ‘One day I’ll work here.’ It was my hope and my goal.”

Moore praised the station’s photographers, reporters and production crew as “lifesavers.”

“I also could not have known how the friends I’d make at WFAA would impact my life. Because of them, I am leaving as a stronger journalist and I think, a better person,” he said. “This station has given me every opportunity to grow and to be the absolute best journalist I can be. For that, I am eternally grateful and will miss the people so much.”

During his final months at the station, Moore has anchored weekend Daybreak in addition to rotating through weekday editions of that early morning program and the station’s 4 p.m. newscasts. For a while he also co-anchored the 4 p.m. news with Shelly Slater, but Moore’s principal strength was as a field reporter.

He arrived in North Texas after a six-year career at Kansas City’s KMBC-TV as a reporter and fill-in anchor. During an earlier stint at WAPT-TV in Jackson, Mississippi, Moore filed live reports from the Gulf Coast as Hurricane Katrina made landfall. His recent reporting on Hurricane Harvey cemented ABC News’ decision to hire him.

Courtesy of Moore, here is the high school picture which he earlier referenced.

1998 Flashback WFAA picture


Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed.-Thurs., Sept. 13-14) -- Texans-Bengals top Thursday charts

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Although airing only on the somewhat still out-of-reach NFL Network, the Houston Texans’ 13-9 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football swept the night’s D-FW ratings.

The game averaged 254,489 viewers and 80,178 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old age range. Both ranked as chart-toppers, with CBS repeat of The Big Bang Theory the runner-up in total viewers (181,778) and the network’s Big Brother finishing second-best with 18-to-49-year-olds (70,556).

On Wednesday night, NBC’s 7 p.m. hour of America’s Got Talent cruised to an easy win in total viewers with 247,217 while Big Brother was tops in prime-time with 18-to-49-year-olds (80,178).

Here are the local news derby results.

Wednesday -- TEGNA8 rolled to twin wins at 10 p.m. in total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions while also drawing the most total viewers at 5 p.m. and running first among 25-to-54-year-olds at 6 p.m.

NBC5 had the most total viewers at 6 p.m. and tied Fox4 for the 25-to-54 gold at 5 p.m. The Peacock was coming off a big high on Tuesday, when it pulled off a very rare double grand slam in the four major local news battlegrounds.

Thursday -- NBC5 rebounded with sweeps of the 6 and 10 p.m. competitions while also winning at 5 p.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds and tying Fox4 for first in total viewers at that hour.

Fox4 again ran the table at 6 a.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon.-Tues., Sept. 11-12) -- Hurricane benefit has wide appeal while NBC5's four principal newscasts hit a double grand slam

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Big Four broadcast networks’ blanket telecast of Hand In Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Relief drew TV’s largest aggregate audience Tuesday night.

Airing from 7 to 8 p.m., the hastily arranged mini-telethon had a major contingent of show biz stars taking viewers’ calls. Among them were Barbra Streisand, Billy Crystal, George Clooney, Bryan Cranston, Cher, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, Justin Bieber, Sofia Vergara, Adam Sandler and Julia Roberts. Others sent recorded messages, including Houston native Beyonce.

NBC’s telecast drew the largest crowd of D-FW viewers, with 145,422. Following in order were CBS (101,795), Fox (94,524) and ABC (87,253). The Spanish language network Univision chipped in with 79,982 viewers, bringing the total to 508,976. A smattering of cable networks also carried Hand in Hand, but the ratings were negligible and in some cases “hashmarks” (no measurable audience).

NBC followed with 283,573 viewers for its 8 to 10 p.m. edition of America’s Got Talent, which easily won those hours and also ran first with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds (76,970).

In Monday’s nighttime Nielsens, ESPN led the way with a Monday Night Football doubleheader. The opening game, Vikings and Saints, had 247,217 total viewers and 112,249 in the 18-to-49 age range. The Denver Broncos-San Diego Chargers matchup then drew 196,320 total viewers and 89,799 within the 18-to-49 realm.

Over on Bravo, the latest episode of Real Housewives lured 28,357 total viewers in the 9 p.m. hour, with 13,470 of ‘em of the 18-to-49 persuasion.

Here are the local news derby results.

Monday -- TEGNA8 had it both ways at 10 p.m., winning in total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

NBC5 won in total viewers at 6 a.m. while Fox4 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 and NBC5 tied for first place in both ratings measurements at 5 p.m. The 6 p.m. golds went to TEGNA8 in total viewers and NBC5 with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Tuesday -- Break out the cake and ice cream (and maybe even a little of the bubbly) at NBC5. The station accomplished an exceedingly rare double grand slam by sweeping the 6 a.m. and 5, 6 and 10 p.m. competitions in both ratings measurements.

The closest contests were at 6 a.m., where the Peacock twice nipped Fox4.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., Sept. 8-10) -- winning hand for Cowboys, on-field and off-

IMG_1926

All the way back: rookie Jaylon Smith gets post-game showcase. Photo: Ed Bark

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
D-FW Nielsen ratings for the Dallas Cowboys’ opener, delayed two days by Hurricane Irma-induced technical problems, proved to be belated good news in the money ball arena. The numbers were significantly up from last year in both key viewer measurements.

NBC’s national Sunday Night Football stage helps. Still, the Cowboys’ rather dull 19-3 home win over the punchless New York Giants was no match for both the excitement and disappointment of 2016’s last second 20-19 loss to the G-Men.

This year’s opener, which whisked by in well under three hours, averaged 1,635,998 total viewers and 715,183 in the advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-old demographic. Last year’s Game One, shown in the late afternoon/early evening on Fox, drew 1,444,810 total viewers and 600,207 in the 18-to-49 realm.

The 2015 Cowboys-Giants season-opener (which Dallas won 27-26 on NBC’s Sunday Night Football), had 1,485,462 total viewers and 690,682 in the 18-to-49 age range. Apples-to-apples, the bigger numbers for this year’s prime-time NBC game (compared to 2015’s) are a very nice boost for the bean-counters at NBC5 and for Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones.

The Cowboys game also obliterated ABC’s competing 8 to 10 p.m. Miss America Pageant, which was barely noticed with 101,795 total viewers and 25,657 in the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Earlier Sunday, Fox’s Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahawks matchup, won 17-9 by the mighty Pack, ranked as Sunday’s runaway runner-up TV attraction with 676,212 total viewers and 272,604 of the 18-to-49 persuasion.

Fox’s 7 p.m. premiere of The Orville, preceded by the network’s The OT, managed to pull in 239,946 total viewers and 96,213 in the 18-to-49 measurement. That was good enough to beat CBS’ opposing hour of Big Brother, which had 189,049 total viewers and 80,178 within the 18-to-49 demographic.

Saturday’s college football parade was led by ABC’s marquee, prime-time Oklahoma-Ohio State game with 261,760 total viewers. TCU’s afternoon win over Arkansas on CBS ran second for the day with 196,320 total viewers.

On Friday, Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast led all prime-time programming with 138,151 total viewers and 48,107 in the 18-to-49 age range.

Here are Friday’s four-way local news derby results.

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

The two stations split the 6 a.m. golds in the same way. NBC5 swept the 6 p.m. competitions and added a 5 p.m. win in total viewers. Fox4 drew the most 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Wed.-Thurs., Sept. 6-7) -- Chiefs-Pats blast past half mil mark in NFL opener

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The Kansas City Chiefs’ upset win over the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots added extra fuel to the D-FW ratings for Thursday night’s NFL regular season opener.

Stretching until 11:17 p.m. on NBC, the smug, cocky Pats and their like-minded fans (in this view) were hit with a highly unexpected 42-27 home loss while 574,417 local viewers looked on. The crowd peaked at 610,772 viewers between 10:30 and 10:45 p.m.

Among advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds, Chiefs-Pats averaged 237,325 viewers, topping out at 282,225 between 10 and 10:15 p.m.

CBS’ 8 p.m. hour of Big Brother, which usually leads Thursday’s prime-time fare in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic, came in a very distant second with 83,384 viewers.

ABC ate gruel all night long with a last-place lineup among the Big Four broadcast networks of two Battle of the Network Stars episodes and The Gong Show.

On Wednesday, NBC’s 7 p.m. edition of America’s Got Talent led all prime-time programming in total viewers (261,760) while Big Brother took the 18-to-49 crown (83,385 viewers).

Also of note: Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast, which has performed strongly all summer, easily won its time slot in both total viewers (210,862) and with 18-to-49-year-olds (51,314).

Here are the four-way local news derby results.

Wednesday -- Fox4 swept the 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. competitions in total viewers and 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

TEGNA8 likewise ran the table at 6 p.m. NBC5 had the most total viewers at 5 p.m. and shared the 25-to-54 lead with Fox4.

Thursday -- In a downsized 10 p.m. race (NBC5 was overrun by football), TEGNA8 led in total viewers while Fox4 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds.

Fox4 drew the most total viewers at 6 a.m. but shared the spoils among 25-to-54-year-olds in a rare three-way tie with NBC5 and TEGNA8.

Fox4 also won at 5 and 6 p.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 pulled in the most total viewers at 5 p.m. and TEGNA8 won the 6 p.m. gold in that measurement.

Hello, CBS11, where are you? The station’s latest winless summertime drought remains in progress. Don’t blame the messenger.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Tues., Sept. 5) -- FX's Trump-thumping American Horror Story: Cult scares competition with chilling haul of 18-to-49-year-olds

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
FX’s consistently most popular series, American Horror Story, launched for the seventh time Tuesday night with a Trump-bashing motif that played well in D-FW with advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-olds.

Subtitled Cult, the 9 p.m. premiere won its time slot against all competing programming with 54,521 viewers in the 18-to-49 realm. That’s a very impressive percentage of AHS’s overall 79,982 viewers.

A 10 p.m. repeat then drew an additional 22,450 viewers in the 18-to-49 age range. The latest self-standing version of AHS begins on election night, with a crazed, fear-mongering young Donald Trump supporter reveling in the shocking win while Democrats are horrified. A killer clown posse soon kicks in.

Throughout Tuesday’s prime-time festivities, NBC’s 7 to 9 p.m. edition of America’s Got Talent racked up the most 18-to-49-year-olds with 76,970. The 9 p.m. debut of AHS: Cult ranked second for the night in this key demographic. But the 10 p.m. audience for AHS: Cult’s repeat enabled the show to match AGT overall among 18-to-49-year-olds.

AGT otherwise also led Tuesday’s prime-time parade in total viewers with 305,386.

Here are Tuesday’s local news derby results.

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

Fox4 swept the 6 a.m. competitions and added a 5 p.m. win among 25-to-54-year-olds. NBC5 scored with first-place finishes at 5 p.m. in total viewers and at 6 p.m. with 25-to-54-year-olds. TEGNA8 was tops in total viewers at 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Mon., Sept. 1-4) -- A&M collapse tops holiday weekend sights/sounds

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
Texas A&M got the Fox broadcasting network’s national stage Sunday night, and burned brightly while building a 34-point lead against UCLA.

But then came Armageddon for Aggie-land, with the Bruins roaring back and winning 45-44 in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter.

The game had the largest D-FW audience of any holiday weekend attraction, drawing 269,031 viewers. It was enough to outdraw CBS’ 7 p.m. episode of Big Brother, which had 239,946 total viewers but edged A&M-UCLA among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds by a score of 89,799 to 83,385 during their hour opposite one another.

On Saturday, ABC’s prime-time showcase matchup between Alabama and Florida State ranked No. 1 with 218,133 total viewers. The network’s preceding game, Michigan vs. Florida at Jerry’s Palace, came in second for the day with 174,506 viewers while Texas’ home-opener flop against underdog Maryland ran third with 152,693 viewers on FS1.

During Labor Day night, ESPN’s prime-time overtime game between victorious Tennessee and Georgia Tech clocked in with 109,067 total viewers. TEGNA8’s 10 p.m. local newscast, which aired opposite the OT portion of the game, easily outdrew it with a day’s best 189,049 viewers.

Over on Bravo, the 9 p.m. fourth episode of Real Housewives of Dallas lured 34,174 total viewers. But a nice-sized percentage of them -- 25,336 viewers -- were in the key 18-to-49-year-olds demographic. Monday’s 9 p.m. leader, Fox4’s local newscast, had 152,693 total viewers and 48,107 in the 18-to-49 age range.

Here are Friday’s local news derby results, with Monday “thrown out” because all four combatants took holiday exemptions.

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

The 6 a.m. golds also were split, with the Peacock drawing the most total viewers and Fox4 prevailing among 25-to-54-year-olds.

NBC5 swept the 6 p.m. competitions and added a 5 p.m. win in total viewers. Fox4 won with 25-to-54-year-olds at 5 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net

Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Thurs., Aug. 31) -- Fox4 news, Big Brother deal prime-time's winning hands

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
CBS’ Big Brother as usual led all Thursday prime-time attractions among advertiser-prized 18-to-49-year-olds, but Fox4’s 9 p.m. local newscast narrowly claimed the top spot in total D-FW viewers.

Airing in the 8 p.m. hour, BB drew 86,592 viewers in the 18-to-49 age range, almost doubling the combined audience for competing “reality competition” shows on ABC, Fox and NBC. CBS’ annual summertime collection of sniping, posing “houseguests” also easily won its time slot in total viewers (181,778), but Fox4’s 9 p.m. news performed a bit better on that scorecard with 189,049 in likewise dominating the competition.

CBS11’s 6 to 8 p.m. Dallas Cowboys telethon to benefit victims of Hurricane Harvey averaged 87,253 total viewers and 19,243 in the 18-to-49 realm. That was good enough to win from 7 to 8 p.m. in total viewers against competition from the other Big Four broadcast networks. Among 18-to-49-year-olds, the telethon ran a close third in that hour behind Fox’s Beat Shazam and NBC’s The Wall.

Over on ESPN, the No. 2-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes rallied in the second half to soundly whip the Indiana Hoosiers on their home field. The game pulled in 87,253 total viewers and 32,071 within the 18-to-49 motherlode.

Here are Thursday’s local news derby numbers.

Fox4 ran first at 10 p.m. in total viewers while tying TEGNA8 for the top spot among 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

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

TEGNA8 had the most total viewers at both 5 and 6 p.m., and NBC5 chipped in with a 6 p.m. win in the 25-to-54 demographic.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net