A look at the recent local TV News ratings

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: Ch. 2's gains don't include Bill, Walter : November 2, 2010 : by LEWIS LAZARE : : There was good news and disappointing news for CBS-owned WBBM-Ch. 2 in Nielsen's just-released local news ratings for October. : First, the not-so-good news. As we've said before, it's apparently not going to be a rapid ascent in the ratings for the returning iconic anchor duo of Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson. : The two legends have fronted the weekday edition of WBBM's 6 p.m. newscast since Sept. 1. But so far, they have been treading water. For October, Ch. 2's 6 p.m. news scored a 2.0 rating, down a hair from the 2.1 a year ago. That puts WBBM in third place at 6 p.m., behind NBC-owned WMAQ-Ch. 5, which notched a 2.8 rating, and way behind the perennial front-runner, ABC-owned WLS-Ch. 7, which pulled a 7.1, down five-tenths of a point from where it was a year ago. : WBBM's good news came in the hotly contested late-news ratings race, where the station has pulled into second place with a 5.5 rating, knocking WMAQ down to a tie for third with Tribune Co.-owned WGN-Ch. 9. For the last six weeks, the WBBM news program has been fronted by Rob Johnson and Kate Sullivan, a newcomer to the station. : Both WMAQ and WGN scored 5.1's in October, with WGN improving markedly over its 4.3 of a year ago. WMAQ slipped slightly from its 5.2 a year ago. : WBBM's strong late-news lead-in number, a whopping 8.2, no doubt helped attract more sampling of its late-news product. In August, the late news earned a 4.1 rating while following far weaker lead-in programming that garnered a 4.7. : If WBBM's lead-in ratings advantage continues to hold up, it will encourage more viewers of the late news, which has been the station's goal the last two years. By the same token, WMAQ's weak late-news lead-in, a puny 4.1, certainly makes it more difficult for that station to maintain a strong news rating. : Meanwhile, the flagship late news of Fox-owned WFLD-Ch. 32 is still mired in last place and sinking -- at least a bit. The station, which has endured a massive overhaul of its news department, including hiring Bob Sirott to anchor the 9 p.m. news with Robin Robinson, managed only a 1.9 rating in October, down from a 2.1 a year ago. : Sources say WFLD management may be starting to rethink its original plan to focus more on long-form news segments. There has been a faster take on news of the day in recent newscasts, especially at the top of the newscast. And viewers may see more of those quicker takes in weeks to come. Some viewers, sources say, have let the station know they aren't loving the long-segment approach. : 6 P.M. LOCAL NEWS RATINGS, MON.-FRI, OCTOBER (NIELSEN) : Oct. 2010 rating (households) vs. Oct. 2009 rating (households) : WLS-Ch. 7 -- 7.1 (248,500) vs. 7.6 (266,000) : WMAQ-Ch. 5 -- 2.8 (98,000) vs. 3.2 (112,000) : WBBM-Ch. 2 -- 2.0 (70,000) vs. 2.1 (73,500) : LATE LOCAL NEWS RATINGS, MON.-FRI., OCTOBER (NIELSEN) : 2010 Lead-in / Oct. 2010 / Oct. 2009 : WLS-Ch. 7 -- 6.6 (231,000) / 9.6 (336,000) / 9.6 (336,000) : WBBM-Ch. 2 -- 8.2 (287,000) / 5.5 (192,500) / 5.2 (182,000) : WMAQ-Ch. 5 -- 4.1 (143,500) / 5.1 (178,500) / 5.2 (182,000) : WGN-Ch. 9 -- 2.4 (84,000) / 5.1 (178,500) / 4.3 (150,500) : WFLD-Ch. 32 -- 3.0 (105,000) / 1.9 (66,500) / 2.1 (73,500)

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