Rochester stunner: WROC wins 11p news

[prompter]

According to several sources, WROC-TV is at or near the top of the May ratings book for the 11pm time slot. This is a major
departure from past books and could very well be a watershed moment in local tv news. Where are the 8-bashers? They have
tucked their tails between their legs and gone dark. 8 finally has continuity on their main desk and it's finally paying off. Not
only that, but they have cultivated a group of young, energetic reporters that give the Rochester market a breath of fresh
air. If someone has the May numbers, please post them and validate this alleged quantum leap to the top for 8. If indeed it's
true, it's quite an achievement for the lean, mean news machine on Humboldt Street.

 

[dustintv]

Actually I'm not all tha surprised--WROC within the last year and a half have been performing quite well in the 11pm slot, at one point ended up in a three way tie. Some give credit to CBS primetime, but I do think some credit should be given to Doran and McGuire, they are both good anchors. I do miss Dave McKinley, hope he's doing well down the road at WGRZ.

It'll be interesting to see how well the station does in other slots. I recall WROC is strong during midday and at eleven, but weak durning mornings and evenings. Perhaps the new management at 8 should use their 11pm newscast as a base for the rest of their newscasts. Revamp the morning show, give people an incentive to turn off their TV on 8 at night and then turn it back on in the morning without flipping back over to 10 or 13.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

To be quite honest with you I am amazed that considering the lack of staff, Channel 8 managed to pull off being the number one watched TV station in Rochester at 11pm. Some might say 8 has an audience because of its affiliation with the CBS network, which has a substantial audience. That I do not know. But I do think that if Channel 8 can pull of such numbers with the staff they have, that should set off alarm bells at 10 and 13. After all why should those stations pay for the salaries of larger staffs if they are losing to a Nexstar station? Something to think about isn't it?

 

[mimic001]

Yes. According to the latest Nielsens, WROC is #1 at 11P. However, the other two stations are within .2 of them. CBS's very strong 10P lineup helps the station tremendously (just as American Idol helped the Fox 31 10PM news numbers). Frankly, both ABC and NBC's 10PM lineup can't compete with three nights of CSI.

Not to get into numbers, this is quite possibly the worst ratings book I have seen in years! A couple of observations...

The Nielsen diary remains a clubfooted method of surveying TV viewing. It's been proven that accuracy is sorely lacking with this methodology. In two years, it will all change in ROC when meters will be in place.

I can't prove it but I believe the writer's strike also had a lot to do with the lack of viewership in May. I think viewing habits were somewhat affected to the point that when the network shows started coming back in April, people's viewing had already switched over to other alternatives - cable, for example.

More on this later...

 

[Mark Giardina]

Yes. According to the latest Nielsens, WROC is #1 at 11P. However, the other two stations are within .2 of them.

So in other words only.2 percent seperate all three stations, which in a sense makes the 11pm news a virtual tie between 8, 10 and 13.

Well anyways congratulations to the folks at Channel 8.

 

[BobRoss]

Some give credit to CBS primetime, but I do think some credit should be given to Doran and McGuire, they are both good anchors. I do miss Dave McKinley, hope he's doing well down the road at WGRZ.

Even though I'm not in Rochester, I have to agree with this statement. I had a chance to get a peek at the Syracuse May book. The listings I saw included both this past May, and a few previous books. No matter which network is winning at 10pm, the leader at 11pm has been channel 9 (ABC-WSYR) with channel 3 (NBC-WSTM) very close behind. In fact, it wasn't long ago that 3 had the lead. In any case, the numbers for channel 5 (CBS-WTVH) go into a free-fall during those 30 seconds of CSI's end credits, as everyone flips to either 3 or 9.

A lot of people continue to blame their failure (or praise their success) on the lead-in. That was a very compelling argument back when people had to physically get off their buns to walk over and turn the knob to change the channel. And actually, I still think 4pm lead-ins have an impact on the 5pm news. But the example above makes me wonder if lead-in really has any impact on 11pm news anymore. Especially with the writers strike and people going all over cable to find stuff... I think people just grab their remotes at 11pm, and shop around to see who has the best content, regardless of whatever they were watching at 10.

 

[rocktv]

13 is #1 in households all shows.

Are you sure you're not talking demos here?

 

[Sxottlan]

In any case, the numbers for channel 5 (CBS-WTVH) go into a free-fall during those 30 seconds of CSI's end credits, as everyone flips to either 3 or 9.

I think people just grab their remotes at 11pm, and shop around to see who has the best content, regardless of whatever they were watching at 10.

Well, Channel 8, like ourselves, also starts considerably earlier than 10 and 13. While they're still cramming in commercials, we're both already on the air with the top story and are moving on to the second story.

That is, when 8 doesn't succumb to leading with weather when there's a few sprinkles out.

 

[newscool]

WROC does have good news, so I think the CBS lead-in is really helping them, not like that's all what's helping them, because like I stated, they really do have good news. I have seen them tell important stories before 10 and 13, but they still lag far behind 10 and 13 in terms of stability of the on-air talent.

 

[SNOOZENEWS]

It's more important to find out if 8 increased in total households or certain demos?

The jump has to be credited to the talent and local news product. Don't forget the WROC main anchor team has been in place longer than the others. (Bill Peterson left 13 several months after Linda Allen left Channel 8.)
When it comes to dominance in Rochester stability is the name of the game

When CBS'a primetime numbers were even larger several years ago, 8 did not get any help from that, the numbers were still bad.

In other cities when meters have been introduced the lower ranking stations have grabbed share points and ratings.

Still it will be very interesting to see how this all shakes out

 

[rocktv]

Someone posted the ratings but they were taken down. Is that not allowed? They showed 8 and 13 TIED at 11. Demos are also tied.