So much for the "KCAL News" branding

[MarkW]

They say if you have to ask, you can't afford it. I say when it comes to bragging rights, if you have to ask, it's because they can't afford you seeing it.

Here were the multi-consecutive-day averages from early January of this year, from the days immediately prior to the fires beginning (source article provided below):

5 PM

KVEA - 168,305
KABC - 140,820
KTLA - 73,036
KNBC - 70,511
KCBS - 58,165
KTTV - 30,184

6 PM

KVEA - 201,458
KABC - 170,769
KCBS - 78,033
KTLA - 70,027
KNBC - 69,638
KTTV - 31,016

8 PM

KCAL - 111,473

9 PM

KCAL - 104,708

10 PM

KCAL - 85,681
KTLA - 79,863
KTTV - 35,198

11 PM

KVEA - 132,752
KABC - 134,753
KNBC - 66,408
KTLA - 61,707
KCBS - 60,148

For perspective, if the 6 PM news numbers were most closely matched to local L.A. DMA city populations, it would be as though each station were being watched only by:

KVEA - 201,458 - Oxnard - 197,899
KABC - 170,769 - Garden Grove - 170,883
KCBS - 78,033 - Hemet - 78,657
KTLA - 70,027 - Lynwood - 69,772
KNBC - 69,638 - Lynwood - 69,772
KTTV - 31,016 - La Verne - 31,063

620,941 viewers total, which together corresponds most closely to the populations of just Riverside (303,871) and Santa Ana (324,528) combined, whose populations together equal 628,399.

So using the highest rated half hour as the example, the whole of the 16 million viewer Los Angeles DMA no longer watches the local news except for everyone in Riverside and Santa Ana.

Sources:
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/la...-audiences-double-triple-coverage-1236273532/
https://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=marketcities&market=2

As for myself, I just wish this operation was still going. And Carlos Amezcua, Barbara Beck, Mark Kriski, Sam Rubin, Jim Newman, Jennifer York, Eric Spillman, Michele Ruiz, Gale Anderson, et al in the mornings.

Thanks for sharing!

Fox 11 is getting completely steamrolled, and KABC certainly has a very dominant lead over the other English language stations. The narrow difference between KNBC, KCBS and KTLA is certainly interesting.

 

[101.9 La Kalle]

As a sidebar, it is interesting how dominant the TU station among Spanish language stations.

Sorry to be nitpicky, but KVEA is Telemundo.

 

[davideduardo]

Sorry to be nitpicky, but KVEA is Telemundo.

My bad. KMEX is TU.

 

[yeoldeschool]

What's surprising to me (since I stopped following L.A. TV news a while back) is how KNBC has fallen.

I was stunned KNBC was so far down myself. Not what I expected given their rankings in better days. Then again, some of their quieter, contemporary one anchor newscasts are among the examples I previously inferred have a liminal space-like vibe to them.

From 1970, when they decided to get serious, and all the way through the 90s, they seemed willing to spend whatever it took to do no worse than a close second.

You might enjoy this:

The company that uploaded it does rescues of old, 1" C and 2" Quadruplex reels people find in attics and basements. It's a real (or perhaps reel?) head trip for me, given my familiarity with everyone in it, but from a time well before I existed. Paul and Kelly host the entire thing, and after a bit, you're taken on a tour of the station's innards -- including its now ridiculously outdated looking (but then space age) production and master control rooms, its telephone company tandem office-like central equipment area, and then on into the news area, where several familiar faces appear for interviews, including a young Jess Marlow, Tom Snyder, and Bryant Gumbel in full 'fro mode.

Thanks again for the latest round of retro imagery and history, incidentally. I love this kind of stuff.

Did this get local airplay? I'm amazed it isn't in the dmdb.org database for Dr. Demento's local Los Angeles broadcasts.

I'll tell you when channel 2 "jumped the shark" for me.

It was the "news wheel" disaster in the fall of 1986. No one liked it ... not the critics or the viewers. It came and went within a month.

Perhaps this would have stunk less. https://weirdal.fandom.com/wiki/Wheel_of_Fish

 

[K.M. Richards]

Did this get local airplay? I'm amazed it isn't in the dmdb.org database for Dr. Demento's local Los Angeles broadcasts.

KROQ played it to death as a current.

 

[michael hagerty]

I'll tell you when channel 2 "jumped the shark" for me.

It was the "news wheel" disaster in the fall of 1986. No one liked it ... not the critics or the viewers. It came and went within a month.

L.A. Weekly's take sums it up pretty well. I had forgotten that part of the reason it was gone so fast was that CBS News itself was embarrassed:

 

[michael hagerty]

And that said, it always could have been worse:

 

[K.M. Richards]

L.A. Weekly's take sums it up pretty well. I had forgotten that part of the reason it was gone so fast was that CBS News itself was embarrassed:

And here's the irony: Colleen Williams (who is about the same age as you and I, Mike) is still at KNBC, at the anchor desk twice each evening.

Marlow, Stout and Herschensohn are all decased.

 

[michael hagerty]

And here's the irony: Colleen Williams (who is about the same age as you and I, Mike) is still at KNBC, at the anchor desk twice each evening.

Marlow, Stout and Herschensohn are all decased.

Colleen's remarkable. Good for her.

I'm beyond proud that one of the two awards for my work is the AP Bill Stout Memorial Award for Breaking News Coverage.

And Jess Marlow was one of the nicest, most grounded and humble guys you'd ever want to meet. What a delight to chat with him when the Pope was in town in '87.

They aren't all like Jess.

 

[K.M. Richards]

And Jess Marlow was one of the nicest, most grounded and humble guys you'd ever want to meet.

I've heard that about him before. Another long-time journalist who has no delusions of grandeur (he just cares about doing his job) is Conan Nolan, also at KNBC.

I sent him an e-mail several years ago suggesting that when a last-minute schedule change put "NBC4 News Conference" in the "Meet The Press" timeslot and that the latter had already aired, he might mention that there is a replay -- at least at that time -- at 5:00pm on KNBC/4.2 (I think that's been moved to late night now).

His reaction: "What a wonderful idea! We should have thought of that!"

On those occasions when I drop him another e-mail about that week's "News Conference" his answer always starts with "nice to hear from you again".

We've talked in person a few times when our paths have crossed in the field. Very approachable. Always expresses appreciation for my "watching NBC4" (not "watching me").

 

[michael hagerty]

I've heard that about him before. Another long-time journalist who has no delusions of grandeur (he just cares about doing his job) is Conan Nolan, also at KNBC.

I sent him an e-mail several years ago suggesting that when a last-minute schedule change put "NBC4 News Conference" in the "Meet The Press" timeslot and that the latter had already aired, I suggested that he might mention that there is a replay -- at least at that time -- at 5:00pm on KNBC/4.2 (I think that's been moved to late night now).

His reaction: "What a wonderful idea! We should have thought of that!"

On those occasions when I drop him another e-mail about that week's "News Conference" his answer always starts with "nice to hear from you again".

We've talked in person a few times when our paths have crossed in the field. Very approachable. Always expresses appreciation for my "watching NBC4" (not "watching me").

Jerry Dunphy was a lovely guy too. Not gonna pretend that there's not some ego involved in having a Rolls-Royce with California personalized plates " 7 JD 7 " when he was at KABC, but, hey.

Actually, the big fun when I'd go to L.A. for KTVK was working on the KABC lot at Prospect and Talmadge and seeing what Moyer drove to work that day.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Jerry Dunphy was a lovely guy too. Not gonna pretend that there's not some ego involved in having a Rolls-Royce with California personalized plates " 7 JD 7 " when he was at KABC, but, hey.

I wonder if he managed to omit from his resumé, after getting to L.A., where he was before:

History of UHF Television

uhfhistory.com

 

[michael hagerty]

I wonder if he managed to omit from his resumé, after getting to L.A., where he was before:

History of UHF Television

uhfhistory.com

It's not where you came from, it's where you wind up. If Dunphy could be in Wichita in 1955 and L.A. in 1959, he had it goin' on.

Jerry got turned into a punch line by Ted Baxter, and, okay----he was not the brightest guy----but, well into his 70s, he was one of the most flawless readers on television. I went back years ago just to see what made Jerry work. In 1960, the lack of competition and CBS' money...but after that...KABC. KCAL. Fact is , prompter-dependent as he was (and he was), if the prompter was there, Jerry made sure the words came out exactly right.

 

[michael hagerty]

It took Tom Snyder to knock Jerry out of the #1 spot in the ratings, and a lot of that was people watching to see if tonight's the night Snyder was just gonna go off.

True story: October 17, 1973. The Arab Oil Embargo is announced.

Jess Marlow does his usual straightforward hour of news at 5. At the end of the broadcast, Jess says:

"That's NewsCenter 4 at five. Now, NewsCenter 4 at six with Tom Snyder."

The camera goes from the wide shot showing the two sets to a single shot of Snyder, leaning into the camera, a wisp of cigarette smoke drifting into frame, and Tom says:







"Thank you, Jess Marlow and good evening, everybody. BOY, are WE in trouble!'

 

[michael hagerty]

I was stunned KNBC was so far down myself. Not what I expected given their rankings in better days. Then again, some of their quieter, contemporary one anchor newscasts are among the examples I previously inferred have a liminal space-like vibe to them.


You might enjoy this:

The company that uploaded it does rescues of old, 1" C and 2" Quadruplex reels people find in attics and basements. It's a real (or perhaps reel?) head trip for me, given my familiarity with everyone in it, but from a time well before I existed. Paul and Kelly host the entire thing, and after a bit, you're taken on a tour of the station's innards -- including its now ridiculously outdated looking (but then space age) production and master control rooms, its telephone company tandem office-like central equipment area, and then on into the news area, where several familiar faces appear for interviews, including a young Jess Marlow, Tom Snyder, and Bryant Gumbel in full 'fro mode.

Thanks! Yes, I've seen that video before and check out Obsolete Video fairly regularly.

I actually watched "Sunday" every weekend.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Fact is , prompter-dependent as he was (and he was), if the prompter was there, Jerry made sure the words came out exactly right.

Keith Olbermann has told the story on his "Countdown" podcast about the night a last-minute breaking story was pasted into the teleprompter ... only they forgot to make one adjustment:

After reading the breaking story, Jerry proceeded to read his traditional newscast open (for the second time; they had written it into the additional copy that was pasted in) ... "from the deserts to the sea to all of Southern California, good evening." There was no on-camera indication, according to KO, of Dunphy even realizing he had done it.

 

[K.M. Richards]

The camera goes from the wide shots showing the two sets to a single shot of Snyder, leaning into the camera, a wisp of cigarette smoke drifting into frame, and Tom says:

"Thank you, Jess Marlow and good evening, everybody. BOY, are WE in trouble!'

Sounds like the Tom Snyder we all loved.

 

[michael hagerty]

And while we're waltzing down memory lane----was 1993 really that long ago?

 

[michael hagerty]

Keith Olbermann has told the story on his "Countdown" podcast about the night a last-minute breaking story was pasted into the teleprompter ... only they forgot to make one adjustment:

After reading the breaking story, Jerry proceeded to read his traditional newscast open (for the second time; they had written it into the additional copy that was pasted in) ... "from the deserts to the sea to all of Southern California, good evening." There was no on-camera indication, according to KO, of Dunphy even realizing he had done it.

Assuming Keith got the story right, that's twice that Jerry got bitten by the prompter. The other one I know for a fact, because I once had the tape.

The crew was sitting around at KABC and the topic turned into "Jerry's so dumb..." and it finally gets to "Jerry's so dumb, he couldn't say his own name if it wasn't on the teleprompter."

Bets get made, and a bottle of Liquid Paper gets opened (in those days, the teleprompter was taped-together pages of scripts that ran underneath a conveyor belt with a camera mounted above it).

So, Paul Moyer wraps up the five o'clock...

MOYER: "That's it for Eyewitness News at five. Now onto the six with Jerry Dunphy. Jer?"

DUNPHY: "Thanks, Paul. From the desert to the sea to all of Southern California, good evening I'm.....


(And Jerry freezes. For SEVEN seconds. You can hear the crew cracking up in the background.)


Jerry then blinks and says:


DUNPHY: "....Jerry Dunphy. Tonight...."

And on into the lead story. The rest of the newscast was smooth as glass, but yeah---Jerry really did need the prompter to include his name in an into that he had been delivering every night for 20-plus years.

 

[michael hagerty]

Sounds like the Tom Snyder we all loved.

I would kill (almost) to find Snyder's going away tape when he moved to New York the first time. They actually aired it and it has some classic bits, including a guy doing a cartwheel in the parking lot when told that Snyder was leaving, Moyer doing a Snyder impression (okay, more than usual), and (because you should never underestimate the guys in the booth) a Snyder meltdown during a commercial break.


"I am not having a bad day, I do not need a nap, I am not on my period and I am NOT reading this!" (Wads copy into a ball and throws it over his shoulder)