Ratings show loss of Oprah
Everyone knew Oprah Winfrey was popular, but six months after her talk show finale, Nielsen ratings continue to underscore her influence.
The latest sweeps period figures officially were released Monday, with a bit of jostling in the race to win viewers. Bad weather, which plays into increased TV news watching, wasn't a factor this time around, although the Penn State sex abuse scandal was a must-see on all three stations.
The university's former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested Nov. 5; the recently completed sweeps period ran from Oct. 27-Nov. 23.
In morning news, WTAE led at 5 a.m. in the coveted adults 25-54 demographic (2.0 rating, 15 share), and it flip-flopped with WPXI in the 6 a.m. hour (where the latter station garnered 3.6 rating and 21 share).
WPXI also led in 25-54 demographic in the 5 p.m. (3.1, 13) and 6 p.m. (3.3, 12) hours.
"It's always nice to be rewarded by the viewers you are trying to serve," said Ray Carter, station vice president and general manager.
KDKA was the overall leader in the afternoon. Both it and WPXI gained ground at 4 p.m., indicating that the longtime appeal of Ms. Winfrey on WTAE at that hour could not be maintained by the "Dr. Oz" show. In that time slot, KDKA has news, WPXI airs "Judge Judy."
General manager Christopher Pike stated "KDKA-TV continues to be the most-watched news station at noon, 4 p.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. We experienced year-to-year viewership growth in the majority of our weekday news time periods."
The station introduced two new anchors in the early fall: Susan Koeppen at 6 and 11 p.m., with Kimberly Gill at noon and 4. It also recently hired Sarah Arbogast as its morning traffic/general assignment reporter.
Ms. Arbogast, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, was freelancing for WTAE and had worked in Harrisburg; Erie; and Charleston and Bluefield, W.Va.
She replaces Jim Lokay, who left to become a weekend news anchor at! WCVB in Boston.
WTAE president and general manager Michael Hayes said he's pleased with the overall progress of his station, despite losing the strong lead-ins the station enjoyed in May with the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Dancing With the Stars."
"We were basically able to show improvement in our ratings in all the newscasts. All said, from a year ago, I think it's a better story than we had. It speaks to where we are going, and we are not done yet."
First published on December 2, 2011 at 12:00 am