Posted by Bud on May 28, 2010 at 08:59:23:
May Nielsen late local news ratings and households Monday through Friday, rating (with number of housholds).
News lead-in May 2010 May 2009
WLS-Ch. 7 7.9 10.8 (378,000) 10.1 (353,000)
WMAQ-Ch. 5 4.8 6.0 (210,000) 6.4 (224,000)
WBBM-Ch. 2 7.9 5.3 (185,500) 4.8 (168,000)
WGN-Ch. 9 1.7 4.2 (147,000) 5.4 (189,000)
WFLD-Ch. 32 6.8 3.0 (105,000) 3.3 (115,000)
WGN, WFLD struggle at 9 p.m.
NEWSCAST RATINGS | WBBM keeps improving, WLS keeps dominating
May 28, 2010
BY LEWIS LAZARE | Sun-Times Columnist
It has not been a good year for Chicago's two hourlong 9 p.m. newscasts. And the May Nielsen ratings book released Thursday indicates the 9 p.m. news shows on both WGN-Channel 9 and WFLD-Channel 32 are still struggling mightily to gain some upward momentum in the ratings.
WFLD did enjoy a last-minute surge in the numbers that is no doubt attributable in part to an "American Idol" finale that had a local boy winning the competition. WFLD wound up with a 3 rating for its Monday through Friday 9 p.m. news, just a few notches down from its 3.3 rating a year ago.
How the station will fare in the months to come without the "American Idol" lead-in uplift remains to be seen. While the huge lead-in provided by hit prime time shows such as "American Idol" can help boost a station's newscast numbers, WFLD General Manager Michael Renda also is in the middle of a major revamp of the station's late news product. He is hopeful that when the revamp is complete -- perhaps by September -- many samplers of the WFLD late news product will become regular watchers.
At WGN, May's rating numbers slumped to a 4.2 from a 5.3 a year ago. The 9 p.m. newscast looks to have been a major victim of an especially strong season of prime time programming on the networks. At least that's what some insiders at the station have concluded. "Bring on the fall!" said one forward-looking WGN staffer in a e-mail. That source obviously believes the networks may wind up with weaker lineups next season -- a potential plus for WGN.
WMAQ still in second
Elsewhere, WBBM-Channel 2 continues to show improvement year over year, ending the May book with a 5.3, up from a 4.8 a year ago. Still, the station is in third place overall Monday through Friday and far from the top ranking that news director Jeff Kiernan no doubt would love to see WBBM reach.
In the not-too-distant future, Kiernan may add new anchors to the WBBM on-air lineup. But in the meantime, the emphasis at WBBM remains on developing a nightly news product distinctly differentiated from that of its competitors.
WMAQ-Channel 5 held on to second place in the late news, though it slipped to 6.0 from a 6.4 a year ago. And perennial front-runner WLS-Channel 7 showed it is capable of improving on its already dominant position in the ratings. The station climbed to a 10.8 rating in the May book, up from a 10.1 a year ago.