The win column for the February Nielsen’s is much the same as it’s been for years, with WTVG-TV, Channel 13, topping all competitive local newscasts, with the exception of noon, among total viewership, 2 and older.
But the Nielsen numbers may reveal something different: a possible new local audience trend when comparing year-to-year ratings.
Total viewership for all but one of WTVG’s newscasts is down compared to ratings from February, 2015.
Some of Channel 13’s shrinkage is significant — the drop from 56,000 to 46,000 in 2-plus viewers for the station’s 6 to 7 a.m. newscast, for instance — while its noon newscast saw an erosion of only a few thousand viewers, 42,000 to 39,000. For the 6 p.m. half-hour, the area’s most-watched newscasts overall, the ABC affiliate was up by 5,000 total viewers, 87,000 in February of this year compared to 82,000 in February, 2015.
And with those drops in WTVG’s total audience its area rival, WTOL-TV, Channel 11, gained in total viewership — at least among its competitive morning newscasts from 5 to 7 a.m. and at noon.
For the 5-to-6 a.m. news slot, WTOL was up slightly from February, 2015, 11,000 to 11,500, with bigger gains at 6 to 7 a.m. — 21,000 last year to 27,000 this year — and noon — 40,000 to 45,000. The CBS affiliate, however, was down in total viewership in the evenings when comparing the station's February ratings from this year and last year: 50,000 to 47,500 from 5 to 6 p.m., 65,000 to 62,000 from 6 to 6:30 p.m., and 45,000 to 34,000 from 11 to 11:30 p.m.
As for the results in the advertising-coveted 25-to-54 age demographic, WTVG experienced drops in four of its six newscasts compared to last year, while WTOL’s audience in the 25-to-54 demographic was a wash, with three newscasts down in that targeted viewership, and three on the rise.
Whether this is a trend, viewership decline for WTVG is something to watch for with the May sweeps and certainly next February. And while it’s best not to compare ratings periods from different months, even if they’re only weeks apart, it is worth noting that WTOL’s February total viewership for all of its newscasts is mostly up compared to last November.
Meanwhile, the ratings trend line for NBC affiliate WNWO-TV, Channel 24, experienced only minor spikes and dips in total viewership — the biggest being a net increase of 3,000 viewers from 6 to 7 a.m., 2,000 more 2-plus viewers in February, 2016, compared to February, 2015 — with fairly steady numbers in overall audience from year to year.
That also was the case for WUPW-TV, Channel 36, and its four newscasts at 7 to 8 and 8 to 9 a.m., and 6:30 to 7 and 10 to 11 p.m., none of which compete against other stations. The Fox affiliate saw an increase of 1,000 total viewers to its morning newscasts (4,000), a decline of a 1,000 total viewers at 6:30 p.m. (5,000), and an increase of 3,000 viewers 2 and older at 10 p.m. (21,000).
As for the specific ratings numbers in the 25-to-54 age demographic:
In the 5-to-6 a.m. newscast, WTVG was watched by an average of 7,500 viewers in this group, compared to 5,500 for WTOL and 1,000 for WNWO. From 6 to 7 a.m. an average of 21,000 viewers aged 25 to 54 tuned in to WTVG, 13,000 watched WTOL, and 2,000 watched WNWO.
WTOL won the noon newscast — 11,000 to 8,000 — in that age demographic, while WTVG won all three evening newscasts against its competitor in the same age group: 16,500 to 13,500 at 5 to 6, 28,000 to 14,000 at 6, and 17,000 to 9,000 at 11. WNWO’s three evening newscasts were each watched by an average audience of 2,000 in the same 25-to-54 demographic.
WUPW’s 7-to-8 a.m. newscast drew an average of 3,000 viewers aged 25 to 54 in February, while 1,000 viewers watched the station from 8 to 9 a.m., 3,000 for its 6:30 p.m. half-hour broadcast, and 8,000 for its hour-long 10 p.m. news.
As with the late-December release of the November numbers, Nielsen was delayed in releasing the February numbers until this week. The next Nielsen ratings period is May.
Contact Kirk Baird at kbaird@theblade.com or 419-724-6734.
First Published April 15, 2016, 4:00 a.m.
