ABC World News Tonight Is Number One!

[FredLeonard]

Better watch out, Brian. Your job may not be safe. They may find somebody else's kid of play Peter Pan. You could end up being a lobbyist again.

ABC Evening Newscast Overtakes NBC in Ratings

Riding ratings momentum — and a consistent approach to news — across most of its programs, ABC News broke through in the evening newscast competition last week. It finished first in all the important audience categories, beating NBC News for the first time in more than six years.

ABC had been edging ahead of NBC in the newscast competition more regularly among viewers ages 25 to 54 — the group that drives most advertising sales for news programs.

But NBC’s newscast had maintained a lead among total viewers — and in a younger category of viewers ages 18 to 49. That changed last week, when ABC’s newscast had 8.41 million total viewers, compared with 8.25 million for NBC. ABC also edged NBC in the 18-49 category and won in the 25-54 group for a ninth straight week.
READ MORE
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/08/b...takes-nbc-in-ratings.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Oh, yes! Scott Who?

 

[landtuna]

Seems America likes the Fox-like WHOOSH bumper.

All three newscasts are pretty worthless IMHO.

 

[FredLeonard]

Seems America likes the Fox-like WHOOSH bumper.

All three newscasts are pretty worthless IMHO.

They, and the local newscasts, demonstrate that their are still advertisers targeting people who have aged past the so-called "money demos." They just don't buy radio. But the TelePrompTer readers on these shows all seem like they'd really benefit from a daily glass of Metamucil.

 

[1069_KIFR]

Maybe NBC Nightly News was in reruns.

 

[1069_KIFR]

Scott Who? That would be Scott Pelley.

 

[landtuna]

And speaking of Scott Pelley.....CBS is likely to always run a distant third in the Phoenix market as long as their network news program airs 1/2 hour later than NBC and ABC which compete head-to-head. By 6PM, when CBS news airs, viewers have already seen the news and are switching over to one of the syndicated programs.

 

[bpatrick]

I had lunch with my dad today and told him about this development. He watches Pelley; avoids ABC like the plague (mostly because it's the network of George Stephanopoulos, whom he regards as a turncoat for leaving the Clinton administration, but that's another story). (He also claims he's watched CBS ever since the days of Douglas Edwards; not true, he watched John Chancellor instead of Walter Cronkite in the '70s.) He was unimpressed by the narrowness of Muir's win over Brian Williams and says that ratings don't matter--news viewers are creatures of habit, be it local or network. That's easy for him to say, but a network executive would never agree, and if Pelley stays in third, well...form your own conclusions. (Frankly, I was one of those who thought Pelley might pick up some of Diane Sawyer's audience; I still feel sure that if Bob Schieffer had wanted the CBS anchor job, the Eye Network would be number one right now because in my book he has more credibility than Pelley, Williams, and Muir put together.)

Landtuna, you viewers in the West are actually lucky to have some choices as to airtimes; I always liked the way we had it in Tampa in the '70s: ABC at 6, NBC at 6:30, CBS at 7. You could watch one, two, or all three newscasts and get a little something different on each one. Also, it must be difficult in the Central and Mountain time zones (try living in Chicago, Dallas, or Houston) to make it home in time to catch the network news at 5:30, and it probably isn't too easy in Los Angeles, where they're all on at 6:30 (PT). In the East, you can watch more than one only if you live in Atlanta, Washington, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Albany, Burlington (VT), or Traverse City; Montgomery, AL, is the only market in the Central time zone where viewers can see more than one, since Muir is on there at 6 (CT). And frankly, if I had the billions in startup costs to own my own network (with no previous track record), I'd follow the CBC's approach and do the news from 10 to 11--half being hard news, half being a hybrid of "Nightline" and "20/20" (something like their "Journal" segment, I suppose). Given how well a lot of Fox stations do with 10 PM local newscasts (in Birmingham, the Fox station's 9 PM news gets shares approximating 60), I think there's an audience that's not there from 5 to 6:30.

But then again, I thought Fox and CBS would do a straight swap in Seattle: Fox to KIRO and CBS to KCPQ. I think I'm losing my touch.

 

[landtuna]

Landtuna, you viewers in the West are actually lucky to have some choices as to airtimes;

While Phoenix doesn't (yet) have the horrible commute problems common in other cities we still have lots of rush hour traffic. Typical freeway clogs start forming at 3 and last until 7 and that is without any accidents or weather. When I was working I never made it home in time for the 5:30 news and really doubt most people would. Even if they walked out the door at 5 sharp. Don't know if CBS benefits from this but would think the other nets would have moved their news back if so.

 

[blizzard59]

Montgomery, AL, is the only market in the Central time zone where viewers can see more than one [network newscast], since Muir is on there at 6 (CT).

KDLH in Duluth, MN and KXJB in Fargo, ND air the CBS Evening News at 6 PM Central. Both are de facto duopolies operated by the NBC station in their respective markets and both have a local newscast at 5:30 PM.

And speaking of Scott Pelley.....CBS is likely to always run a distant third in the Phoenix market as long as their network news program airs 1/2 hour later than NBC and ABC which compete head-to-head. By 6PM, when CBS news airs, viewers have already seen the news and are switching over to one of the syndicated programs.

The last ratings for Phoenix I saw, from last month, had the CBS Evening News in a comfortable second place among the three network evening newscasts and actually showing higher ratings than any of the local newscasts at 6 PM (KPNX's 6 PM news was very close in ratings, though).

 

[ShawnHill1]

As we know here in Los Angeles, all Big Three network newscasts air at 6:30pm; although CBS is currently carrying NFL football on Thursdays until November, the CBS Evening News is bumped altogether here. All three used to air at 7pm local time until about the mid-to-late 80s, until each one gradually moved the network news back a half-hour (KNBC and KABC both had three-hour news blocks for years leading into their network's respective newscasts). KCBS aired the CBS Evening News at 5:30pm, for a number of years, until putting it back at 6:30.

Personally, I rarely get home in time for the network evening news, and if I do, I usually watch the local news hour on KTLA anyway.

 

[landtuna]

The last ratings for Phoenix I saw, from last month, had the CBS Evening News in a comfortable second place among the three network evening newscasts and actually showing higher ratings than any of the local newscasts at 6 PM (KPNX's 6 PM news was very close in ratings, though).

In Phoenix we have evening news beginning at 4 and running (somewhere) until 7pm. By 6pm I would think everybody but the late arrivals have seen some, if not all, of the news they wish.

 

[vchimpanzee]

While Phoenix doesn't (yet) have the horrible commute problems common in other cities we still have lots of rush hour traffic. Typical freeway clogs start forming at 3 and last until 7 and that is without any accidents or weather. When I was working I never made it home in time for the 5:30 news and really doubt most people would. Even if they walked out the door at 5 sharp. Don't know if CBS benefits from this but would think the other nets would have moved their news back if so.

One station in Charlotte used to advertise its 5:00 news by saying something like "Your work day is over and you're coming home." Charlotte is not a place where most people are going to make it home before the 6:00 news, so that promotion is pointless.

In Phoenix we have evening news beginning at 4 and running (somewhere) until 7pm. By 6pm I would think everybody but the late arrivals have seen some, if not all, of the news they wish.

The NBC station (and maybe more by now) starts at 4. The CBS station isn't through until 7:30.

 

[LKellerIII]

Nielson ratings correction puts NBC news back on top.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/...liams-ratings_n_5983872.html?utm_hp_ref=media

 

[Silkie]

Uniformity of reporting across the spectrum, mostly even in the same order, and mostly not even news or journalism. Yawn.

 

[brian4]

Couple of ABC things:
1: Major fail for ABCNews.go.com for listing David Muir on his bio page as "the weekend anchor for the flagship ABC News broadcast "World News" and co-anchor of the ABC newsmagazine "20/20."" I checked this right after he took over the seat from Diane Sawyer and they still haven't updated it.
2: Any idea of Muir's ethnicity? He has dark skin and doesn't look like he tans. His ABC bio doesn't mention it. Wikipedia says he's American Roman Catholic.
3. Is it me, or does everyone who appears at the World Tonight desk have shiny hair? The lighting is excellent.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Better watch out, Brian. Your job may not be safe. They may find somebody else's kid of play Peter Pan. You could end up being a lobbyist again.



Oh, yes! Scott Who?

I know Scott who. I like him. But I only watch him introduce Steve Hartman.