Local TV ratings, March sweep: Oh-Oh-Oprah! Also, KCTV follows the bouncing ball, KMBC scores, KSHB and WDAF struggle on D
I’ve had a chance to look at the March 2009 ratings, and three things are clear: (1) Kansas City TV watchers love that March Madness, (2) it's never been more true that local newscasts are only as popular as the programs immediately preceding them, and (3) America's long love affair with Oprah Winfrey is ending ... if America's 31st-largest market is any sign.
I haven't repeated the nationwide check on Oprah that I did last August, when her new-age religion and Barack Obama endorsement, a declining number of originals and the resulting repetition of repeats, all conspired to drive her ratings to unprecedented summertime lows..
But certainly here in KC, the March ratings "sweep" offered fresh evidence that viewers have begun to look for alternatives to the queen of daytime. KCTV-5's 4 p.m. newscast (4.8 rating) is now within striking distance of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on KMBC-9 (5.4 rating). KCTV's rating at 4 p.m. is up 5 percent despite a soft lead-in from "Ellen." KMBC's rating at 4 p.m. is down 21 percent from a comparable ratings period in 2008.
Beating Oprah's repeats, as many stations across the country did last summer, only proved that people don't like watching repeats. Beating Oprah's originals, however, is a sign that people no longer like watching Oprah.
The ongoing demise of "Oprah" was actually a notable exception to the rule that stood out prominently during March: Local newscasts were as dependent on their lead-ins as ever. Which, in an age of Hulu and March Madness on Demand, may not be a healthy long-term situation for local TV.
Take a look.
+/- in rating, Feb 08 to Mar 09, Mon-Fri
KCTV-5 KMBC-9 KSHB-41 FOX 4
4PM-5PM +5% -21% -31% -42% ... lead-in/KCTV news
5-5:30P +7% -6% -15% -34% ... news
6-6:30P +23% -16% -19% -11% ... news
7-9PM +67% +21% -38% -21% ... lead-in
9-10PM +68% +4% -11% -6% ... lead-in/Fox news
10-1030 +10% -9% -21% -8% ... news
(I’m contrasting February 2008 v. March 2009 because Nielsen bumped the traditional February sweep back to March to avoid the anticipated chaos of all the local analog TV signals going away. That was before, of course, Congress passed the DTV Delay Act and postponed the analog shutdown until June 12.)
As you can see from the chart above, it was a very, very good March for KCTV-5, which had NCAA tournament games on Friday nights to boost its numbers instead of, well, “Numb3rs.” In fact, according to KCTV Kansas City was the second highest-rated market among CBS stations when March Madness was on. For the championship game, KCTV ranked sixth overall among affiliates, and still managed strong ratings for newscasts that were delayed up to an hour by basketball.
However, as I noted above, with its gamble to air news at 4 p.m. KCTV is getting it done with little help from its lead-in. "Ellen's" ratings at 3 p.m. were down year-to-year, while the 4 p.m. news was up 5 percent.
KCTV’s rivals certainly suffered during basketball, although KMBC-9 had a solid early prime and respectable 9 p.m. hour (when stations seek audience “flow” into late news). And while it was actually down year-to-year at 10 p.m., KMBC had its usual sweep of sweeps, with the highest-rated newscasts at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. and early mornings with “First News.”
But March Madness alone can't account for continued declines at the other two big stations in town. It’s clear that KSHB-41 is now being harmed by its affiliation with NBC. I can remember in 1997, my first few weeks on the job, hearing from a network insider how KSHB was the weakest NBC station in the country and they were blowing their “ER” lead-in and blah blah blah ... my, how times have changed. KSHB can now claim to be as strong as any non-O&O in the NBC chain — and for what, “The Chopping Block”?
NBC was off a staggering 38 percent in early prime, and while that improved between 9 and 10 p.m., KSHB and its advertisers can expect that number to tip over this fall, when Jay Leno settles into the 9 p.m. weeknight slot.
Meanwhile, the hard-working crew at WDAF, Fox 4, are in an even worse pickle. They’re getting killed by inferior syndicated product during the day and declining ratings for post-David Cook “American Idol” in prime.
Take the 11 a.m. hour, when a lifeless combo of “Judge Alex” and “Storm Stories” fell off Warren Buffett’s proverbial cliff, delivering Fox 4’s noon news a lead-in that was off 60 percent (!) from just 13 months ago. The newscast itself was off “only” 19 percent — not bad, considering its lead-in. (KCTV’s noon news was off 27 percent but still easily won the time period.)
At 4 p.m., “Judge Judy” ratings fell 42 percent year to year, resulting in a 34 percent plunge for Fox 4’s newscast at 5. Fox network prime from 7 to 9 p.m. was down 21 percent; again, Fox 4’s news at 9 p.m., down 6 percent, seems not so bad by comparison.
WDAF’s ratings improve a bit when weekends are counted, but still, someone has to answer for the demise of WDAF’s schedule — and it ain’t the newsroom. The timing of this book for Fox 4 couldn’t be worse, as its private-equity owner has had its bond and credit rating hammered and even its future as a going concern questioned.
To the winners go the reprinting of their press releases...
A CLEAN SWEEP FOR KMBC 9 NEWS IN MARCH RATINGS
KANSAS CITY, MO (April 2, 2009) KMBC 9 News continues to be Kansas City’s number one choice for local television news. KMBC 9 News beat the competition at 6:00 a.m., 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. during the March 2009 rating period.*
“Once again, I give credit to a staff that understands what viewers want and need; information to help them face the challenges of these difficult economic times and stories of how people in our community are overcoming these challenges, and succeeding,” said Sherrie Brown, KMBC 9 News Director. “Our viewership was on par with our excellent November book, in spite of the increasing number of warm March days that drove viewers outside and the fact that, on several nights, we were competing against the NCAA tournament.”
KMBC 9 FirstNews ended the month with a 6.3 rating and 21 share during the 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. hour. This represents an 11% advantage over the second place competitor.
KMBC 9 News dominated in early evening viewing. KMBC 9 News at 5:00 p.m. finished March with a rating 50% higher than its closest competitor. It ended the month with an 8.4/18. KMBC 9 News at 6:00 p.m. secured a strong first place finish with a 9.0/17.
KMBC 9 News at 10:00 p.m. is the most watched newscast of the day. It earned a 10.9/19 in March. This is a 20% advantage over its closest competitor. KMBC’s late news attracts a loyal following. The number of viewers watching KMBC’s late newscast grew 62% from ABC’s lead-in programming!
KMBC 9 News sustained its leadership position through efforts such as “Project Economy,” KMBC’s ongoing commitment to help Kansas City viewers during these tough economic times through stories, online communities, job fairs and news specials. During the month of March, KMBC 9 News brought in experts to answer viewer questions about saving money, managing retirement funds and finding work in a tight job market.
February, the traditional rating period, was delayed until March in anticipation of the government-mandated shutdown of analog television signals, which had originally been scheduled for February 17, 2009.
KCTV5 RATINGS GROWTH TAKES THE MADNESS OUT OF MARCH
KCTV5: The only KC station to show growth in March sweeps
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, April 10, 2009. March typically isn’t a ratings measurement period for the television industry, but this March it was. And the performance of Kansas City’s Live Late-Breaking Investigative station was anything but typical. Compared to February of 2008, KCTV5 showed big growth in its primetime programming, up 52% in ratings, and is now solidly positioned as a strong #1 in the M-S/7-10pm and Sunday/6-10PM time period. In the coveted 10PM news time period, KCTV5 News at 10PM showed impressive growth in March, up 13% (M-F) and up 12% (M-Sun) in ratings from February 2008.
In early morning news KCTV5 News grew in ratings at the expense of both KMBC and WDAF and was the only station to show growth at 6am:
KCTV5’s More in the Morning, 6am: up 13% in rating
KMBC’s First News, 6am: down 19% in rating
WDAF, 6am: down 11% in rating
KCTV5 News was the only local station to show gains in early evening news, up 8% at 5pm and up a staggering 20% at 6pm and is now ranked a solid #2 at both 5 and 6PM.
“March was an exciting month for KCTV” said Kirk Black, Senior Vice President for Meredith Broadcasting and General Manager KCTV and MyKSMO-TV. “One of our main focus areas is morning news and it’s nice to see viewers notice. Across-the-board higher ratings allowed us to be Kansas City’s most-watched station for the month which is a compliment to the entire KCTV5 team.”
And that’s not where the good news ends.
This year’s NCAA Men’s College Basketball tournament was Kansas City’s most watched programming throughout all rounds of play and KCTV5 ranked 2nd in ratings for the entire country (among metered markets). For the championship game KCTV5’s ratings were the sixth-ranked in the country, behind three television markets in the Carolinas, plus Detroit and Louisville.
“KC is a sports town and we’ve got the best sports programming in the market”, Black said. “Once again huge numbers of viewers watched our local basketball teams in the NCAA tournament. It’s a fun time of year and the whole station gets on board!”
Source: Nielsen Overnights 3/5/09 – 4/1/09 and 1/31/08 – 2/27/08.
ABOUT KCTV
KCTV5 has been Kansas City’s CBS Network affiliate since 1955. KCTV5 is committed to deliver the highest quality news, information and entertainment programming. KCTV operates with the highest commitment to the local community and will provide service to our customers, second to no other.
