Television: Channel 5's New Competitor

Friday, June 01, 2007

Channel 5's New Competitor

Is this a sign of how bad things are for Channel 5 news, or how good things are going for Channel 12's news at 10 p.m. on Channel 64? In the overnight ratings last night, Local 12 news at 10 p.m. on Channel 64 came within two-tenths of a ratings point of Channel 5's 11 p.m. news.

The half-hour 10 p.m. news on Channel 64 averaged a 3.4 rating and 5% audience share.
Channel 5's 11 p.m. news averaged a 3.6 rating and 7% share. Channel 5 wasn't helped by NBC, which aired "Studio 60 on the Sunstrip Strip" that delivered a 2.2 rating at 10:45 p.m. as a lead-in. And yes, "The Simpsons" had more viewers at 11 p.m., with a 3.7 rating and a 7% share.

For the record, Channel 19's news had more news viewers at 10-11 p.m. (6.8 rating and 11%), second in the time period to CBS' "Shark" on Channel 12 (8.9, 15%).

17 Comments:

at 6/01/2007 12:18 PM

Anonymous said...

Don't worry about channel 19 and their version of whats called a newscast. They are not a viable news organization. If they are so wonderful, why do they not have a noon newscast. I am still laughing over Rich Apuzzo. Even though he is gone, I miss him telling everyone the upcoming rain is the biggest storm ever. Local yocals. A stitch!!

at 6/01/2007 2:05 PM

Anonymous said...

Makes sense to me. TV viewing at 10pm is not great during the summer. So I have switched to watching Local 12 on My64 at 10 (because its the same newscast at 11) then getting the house closed down between 10:30 and 11. Then I hit the bed at 11 and watch Futurama and Family Guy on Adult Swim.

I used to think of 19's news as "high school" news and still do. Channel 5 is not much better these days.

at 6/01/2007 2:06 PM

Anonymous said...

Every station is guilty of overblowing weather is this city.

at 6/01/2007 2:09 PM

Anonymous said...

Channel 5's newscasts to me are like a really bad train wreck. They are so bad, I have to watch, just to see how bad they really are.

at 6/01/2007 2:55 PM

Anonymous said...

I love it when stormy weather breaks out in this area. I watch channel 9. I snicker when I see Steve (I don't color my hair) Raleigh get himself off with telling me the storm will hit Henry's house on main street in some town I never heard of!!! Then they will plaster my tv screen with so many symbols, I can hardly see the show on the screen. Local weather forecasters - what a joke!!

at 6/01/2007 3:37 PM

Anonymous said...

I genuinely don't see any difference in the local news. They're all bad -- the only thing saving the top dogs is viewership habit.

Its all crap. 15 minutes of the town police report, 4 minutes of weather and 3 minutes on how bad the Reds are. Every channel, exactly the same.

at 6/01/2007 3:51 PM

Anonymous said...

Derek said it would be like this...

at 6/01/2007 4:42 PM

Anonymous said...

Lord knows there is so much crucial information disseminated during noon newcasts - very important cooking segments and whatnot. That must be why all the other stations have their top teir talent anchor those shows. I can see why a person would quite trust a "news organization" that didn't broadcast a noon newscast. Nevermind the fact that most people are at work and do not have access to a television at 12pm. By golly any legitimate "news organization" would air a noon newscast despite the fact that nobody is watching. Just knowing that they are there makes all the difference in the world.

at 6/01/2007 7:14 PM

Anonymous said...

John - hope you read this!!!! A guy just retired from Ch. 5 after 35 years. His name is JK Smith. He would be a facinating interview. He first came to Ch. 5 in 1964!, had a stint in the military, and came back in the 70's. He worked on every show Ch.5 was known for: Hayride, Ruth, 50/50, Dixon, all of them. He's also run camera for the Reds broadcasts forever. He's met everyone, seen and done everything in Cincinnati TV over the last 35 years.

at 6/01/2007 11:40 PM

Anonymous said...

john is matthews a permaent hire for 19 in the morning? i noticed that they have a bio for her and an email contact

at 6/02/2007 11:00 AM

Anonymous said...

Don't the people who OWN channel 5 know it's time to try something new?

The mgt. at that station is undeniably clueless, and have made some awful decisions. (the estrogen news hour, for one)

at 6/02/2007 6:00 PM

Anonymous said...

John,
occasionally i come to check out your blog, but today it really stood out how much you must hate ch.5 or have an axe to grind. everyone knows what a lousy show Studio 60 was, and that's why it got yanked...of course Ch.5 had even more dismal ratings following that show...but should it surprise you enough to have to write about it?
I've found far more interesting television writers across the country who actually watch newscasts for content and stories...not just read the numbers that are emailed to them each morning.

at 6/03/2007 10:30 AM

Anonymous said...

What is with this Cincinnati television blogs need to tar and feather the Channel 5 news team while being simultaneously obsessed with them. This is very twisted.

at 6/03/2007 10:37 AM

Anonymous said...

If the criteria for being a "viable" news organization means having a 12PM broadcast, does that mean NBC, CBS, and ABC can be taken off the list?

That post sounds a lot like an email I got from the Channel 5 news director back during what they called the "Blizzard of 97". She tried to tell me that the National Weather Service was not a credible weather organization because of "financial issues".

I think Channel 5 staffers should just avoid the internet altogether.

at 6/04/2007 10:19 AM

John Kiesewetter said...

To Anon 6/02/07 6 p.m.:
If I really hated Ch 5 news, I wouldn't have explained about the awful ratings for NBC's "Studio 60" Thursday night leading into the 11 p.m. news, a major factor in the low late news ratings. I would have just left readers thinking Ch 5's low ratings were because of its content.

As for writng about the ratings numbers, well, that's what the entire TV industry is based on. Managers at Ch 5, and every other TV station, live by Nielsen numbers every day. It's crucial nformation, so why would I ignore it?

As for focusing on content, well, he's an example: Nick Lachey's comments at a Friday afternoon press conference aired in a Saturday morning news story which made it appear that Ch 5 had an exclusive interview with him. Jonathan Hawgood said "Nick Lachey told our Dave Wagner," when in fact Lachey made the comments at a press conference to a Ch 19 camera, a CIN Weekly reporter and me. I was standing next to Dave Wagner. It wasn't an exclusive, it was a press conference! And it was misleading to viewers....

at 6/04/2007 10:52 AM

Anonymous said...

Isn't part of the problem at Channel 5 that they are constantly rebuilding. I realize that there have been several failed efforts at this process, and the latest attempts may be another failed effort. In that rebuilding process you often need to go with younger talent that will make some mistakes initially. Would an established hand really want to go into a situation where in all probability they would fail? The CBS morning show is a perfect example of a show that has never succeeded against the Today show and Good Morning America. I wouldn't be surprised to see some of the talent at Channel 5 go elsewhere and thrive marvelously. I believe this has already happened. Sadly for 5 this pattern is likely to continue unless a core talent pool and news focus/format is developed. I certainly think the top 5 story format is just the latest local news fad. I think an editor should make these editorial decisions not internet voters.

at 6/05/2007 10:20 AM

Anonymous said...

Seems like a matter of time before the broom will sweep away the existing news staff at Ch. 5 - again.

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Friday, June 01, 2007

Channel 5's New Competitor

17 Comments: