Weather coverage caps Denver TV May sweeps

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:

Tornados, hail, flooding... The Denver TV May sweeps ended on a busy news note with the usual cranky viewers complaining about severe weather news interrupting their programs. The coverage was brisk and adjective-filled, dotted with “pea-sized,” “golf-ball-sized” and “ping-pong-ball-sized” hail.

When the sirens were wailing Wednesday, metro Denver viewers turned to 9News and 7News. From 3-4 p.m., 9News scored a 1.4 rating, 11.share (in the 25-54 demo), with 7News on their heels with a 1.3 rating, 10 share. CBS4 trailed with a 0.7 rating 5 share.

The ratings story for the month: 9News continued to rule at 10 p.m. weekdays, with a 43 percent advantage over No. 2 CBS4, and more than double the audience for 7News. 9News also dominated morning, noon and early evening news races. KWGN’s “Daybreak” beat the local competition at 7 a.m. 7News owned the 11 a.m. news slot and beat 9News in the wee hours, at 4:30 a.m.

But CBS4 saw significant growth:

In a note to staff, News Director Tim Wieland noted, “In late news, we are the only newscast in Denver to grow audience (in the key adults 25-54 demographic), year-to-year. CBS4 News at 10 is up 14 percent for Monday-Friday, and up 25 percent Monday-Sunday. All of our competitors are down.”

The late news numbers: At 10 p.m., KUSA wins with a 3.4 rating, 11 share. KCNC 2.4 rating, 8 share, KMGH 1.7 rating, 5 share. KDVR 0.7 rating, 2.3 share. At 9 p.m.: KDVR wins with a 1.7 rating, 4.7 share, while KTVD has a 1.5 rating, 4 share.

Nationally, NBC won the season (Sept.-May) in the lucrative 18-49 demo for the first time in 10 years. Even without the Olympics coverage, NBC was No. 1. That boosted the local affiliate, KUSA, which was winning even without help.

Changes in late night reflected a strong start for NBC locally. In Denver, NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” leads CBS’ David Letterman and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel.


More...