WCPO, WKRC see gains in November sweeps

By Jarrett Hicks

Rating gains for ABC affiliate WCPO TV-9 and CBS affiliate WKRC-12, along with the simultaneous rating decline of the news on FOX affiliate WXIX-19 were apparent as Nielsen Media Research released the local television demographic ratings from the November “sweeps” period.

The recent ratings period lasted from November 1st – 28th but the demographic ratings, or “demos,” were just recently published. Demographic ratings are highly important to both television stations and media agencies, which use the numbers to determine commercial advertising rates and gauge how often programs are watched by their target audience.

Both adults and women between the ages 25-54 are considered the two key demographics for area advertisers. One adult 25-54 rating equals over 9,600 Cincinnati-area viewers, while one woman 25-54 rating represents over 4,900 female viewers.

Overall viewership for early morning news (5-7am) is up for the Tri-State’s four local news stations. Among adults 25-54, “Good Morning Cincinnati” on WKRC-12 registered a 2.8 rating, which was over one point ahead of WCPO-9, WXIX-19, and WLWT-5.

From 6-7am, “Good Morning Cincinnati” (3.6 rating) moved into first place, past the “FOX-19 Morning News” (2.3 rating) on WXIX. With adults 25-54, FOX-19 lost over one rating point since the May sweeps period. WXIX finished just ahead of WCPO (2.2 rating) and WLWT (1.7 rating).

In May, the 7-9am local newscast on FOX-19 finished noticeably ahead of the three network morning shows. However, in November, all four news stations were separated by less than 1/2 an adult 25-54 rating point. The 7-9am audience on WXIX fell over 30% from May to November, while the other three station’s adult 25-54 ratings were relatively flat.

At noon, the hour-long newscast on WCPO moved ahead of WKRC’s half-hour program, since the May sweeps. With women 25-54, WCPO registered a 2.1 rating, ahead of WKRC (1.5) and WLWT (1.4).

From 4-5pm, “Oprah Winfrey” on WCPO continues to be the top program in Cincinnati, with a 7.0 rating among women 25-54. “Oprah” saw a 46% rating increase from May 2007, and a 27% increase from November 2006. Oprah’s women 25-54 rating was over 1/2 a rating point higher than the 4-5pm ratings for WLWT, WSTR, WXIX and WKRC combined.

Overall TV viewership levels from 4-5pm increased from May to November, and women 25-54 ratings increased for four of the five broadcast stations. Women 25-54 ratings for the 4pm news and “Millionaire” on WKRC fell from May to November, dropping the station to fifth place in the time period.

WCPO-9 and WKRC-12 continue to battle for “early” news ratings supremacy at 5:00, 5:30, and 6:00pm.

At 5:00pm, WCPO (3.1) finished ahead of WKRC (2.2) with adults 25-54. The difference between the stations was more dramatic with women 25-54, where WCPO registered a 4.4 rating, compared with WKRC’s 2.3 rating at 5:00pm.

At 5:30pm, WCPO maintained its lead over WKRC with women 25-54 (4.1 versus 3.2). However, WKRC was only one-tenth of a point behind WCPO with adult 25-54 viewers.

WKRC moved past WCPO among adults 25-54 at 6pm. WKRC registered a 3.5 rating compared with WCPO’s 3.2 rating. The two stations tied with a 3.7 women 25-54 rating.

Over the 90 minute news block, WKRC’s adult 25-54 and women 25-54 ratings grew over each half-hour, while WCPO remained relatively flat during that period.

The early news on WLWT was at its strongest at 5:00pm. While the station often finished in third place with women and adults 25-54, it ranked number two with women 25-54 at 5pm, nearly a full rating point ahead of WKRC.

Non-new programming on WXIX and WSTR performed well with women 25-54. At both 5:30pm and 6:00pm, “According to Jim” on WXIX registered higher women 25-54 ratings than “News 5″ on WLWT. At 6:30pm, “King of Queens” on WXIX, was the number one program with women 25-54, ahead of all of the national news programs. “Judge Mathis” on WSTR-64, also aired at 6:30pm, and its women 25-54 rating was virtually tied with “NBC Nightly News” on WLWT.

From 7-8pm, “King of Queens” / “Seinfeld” on WXIX was virtually tied with “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” on WCPO, for the largest adult 25-54 audience. “Inside Edition” / “Entertainment Tonight” on WKRC finished in third place ahead of, “Access Hollywood” / “Extra” on WLWT, and “Raymond” / “Friends” on WSTR.

Compared to the May 2007 sweeps, where “Grey’s Anatomy” and “American Idol” dominated Tri-State primetime viewing, “CSI” and “Survivor” on WKRC (CBS) were the most popular in November. Among adults 25-54, WKRC’s Thursday night lineup held three of the top five primetime positions in Greater Cincinnati. “Desperate Housewives” and “Dancing with the Stars” on WCPO (ABC) rounded out the top five.

While “Desperate Housewives” ranked third with adults 25-54, it was a number one with women viewers 25-54, ahead of “CSI,” “Dancing with the Stars,” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

The remaining top five adult 25-54 primtime programs were “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Two and a Half Men,” “House,” “Extreme Makeover Home Edition,” and “The Office.”

Overall, WKRC (CBS) and WCPO (ABC) each had four primetime shows in the top ten, while WXIX (FOX) and WLWT (NBC) registered one show apiece with adults 25-54.

The multi-part Monday night special “Breaking the Magician’s Code” was the most popular adult 25-54 program on MYTV affiliate WSTR. “America’s Next Top Model” was the highest ranked primetime show on the CW network, otherwise known as the “CinCW,” operated by WKRC.

Primetime viewership affected the November “late” news rankings for Monday-Sunday at 10:00pm and 11:00pm. In November, the primetime programming and 10:00pm news programming on WXIX-19 were not as highly viewed as they were in May. After a strong second place late news finish in May, WXIX was ranked third among adults 25-54 in November. At the same time, the continued popularity of CBS primetime program helped WKRC maintain its November late news lead at 11pm.

With adults 25-54, “Local 12 News at 11pm” on WKRC (5.3) finished ahead of the 11:00pm news on WCPO (4.3) and WLWT (2.6). The hour-long 10:00pm newscast on WXIX registered a 3.5 adult 25-54 rating, while the 10:00pm WSTR “Local 12 News on My64″ registered a 0.8 rating with adults 25-54.

With women 25-54, WCPO finished less than half of a rating point behind WKRC (6.4 versus 6.0). WXIX registered a 3.2 women 25-54 rating, ahead of WLWT (3.2) and WSTR (0.9).

Hicks is research director for Cincinnati-based Inside Media.