Channel Surfing
by Laura Nachman
Bucks County Courier Times
March 3, 2005

KYW, which only a couple of years ago was a distant third in the battle weeknights at 11 p.m. is virtually tied with WCAU in the February sweeps which ended last night.

When the numbers are rounded, KYW with Larry Mendte and Alycia Lane has a 10 rating/16 share of the audience.  WCAU is a smidgen ahead with a 10 rating/17 share.   Let’s not forget that WPVI with Jim Gardner leads with a 12 rating/20 share.

In some of the other news battles, from 5-7 a.m., WPVI with Tamala Edwards and Matt O’Donnell leads with a 5 rating/21 share.  WCAU with (mostly) Terry Ruggles and Dawn Timmeney has a 4 rating/17 share, KYW with Amy Caples and Ukee Washington has a 3 rating/10 share, and WTXF with Sharon Crowley has a 2 rating/8 share.

From 7-9 a.m., as usual, ABC’s “Good Morning America” leads, but it is noteworthy that WTXF’s “Good Day Philadelphia” with George Mallet, Crowley, and Jennaphr Frederick has a 4 rating/11 share, doubling the ratings of “The CBS Early Show.”

At 9 a.m., WPVI’s “Regis and Kelly” has a 7 rating/22 share.  WCAU’s “The Today Show 2” follows with a 4 rating/12 share.  “Jerry Spinger” on WPHL, “Judge Hatchett” on WTXF and “Larry Elder” on KYW are tied with a 2 rating/6 share.

At 10 a.m., “Tony Danza” continues to prove critics wrong with a 5 rating/16 share.  At the beginning of the season, not many would have predicted that Danza would have a better chance of renewal than “Joey.”  Danza already is coming back next season.  The struggling “Joey” is on the bubble.  WCAU’s “10” and WPHL’s “Maury” are tied for second with a 3 rating/9 share.

At 11 a.m., “The Price is Right” leads with a 7 rating/19 share over “The View’s” 6 rating/16 share.  Maybe Bob Barker should do the “Oscar Pre-Show” instead of Star Jones Reynolds.   Actually, my red-carpet “Dream Team” is Kathy Griffin of E! and Joan Rivers of TV Guide Channel. 

At noon, WPVI with Rick Williams and new partner Sarah Bloomquist leads with a 10 rating/24 share.  KYW’s news with Ukee Washington and Pat Ciarrocchi is a distant second with a 6 rating/16 share.

At 4 p.m., my choice for Oscar host next year, “Oprah Winfrey” continues to rule with a 12 rating/23 share for WPVI.   WCAU’s news with Tim Lake and Renee Chenault Fattah is next with a 6 rating/12 share, and KYW’s news with Marc Howard and Alycia Lane is third with a 3 rating/6 share, down from last year with Denise Saunders.

At 5 p.m., WPVI with Rick Williams and Monica Malpass leads with a 12 rating/20 share.  KYW’s “Dr. Phil” and WCAU’s news with Vince DeMentri and Tracy Davidson are tied with a 7 rating/12 share.  “Judge Judy” on WTXF is close behind with a 5 rating/9 share – up an incredible 185% from last year’s 5 p.m. show “On Air with Ryan Seacrest.”

At 6 p.m., WPVI leads with a 14 rating/23 share.  WCAU with Tim Lake and Renee Chenault Fattah is comfortably in second with an 8 rating/13 share, and KYW with Larry Mendte and Alycia Lane is in third with a 6 rating/10 share.

At 10 p.m., WTXF’s news with Dawn Stensland and Dave Huddleston has a 7 rating/9 share.  WPHL’s news with Scott Engler has a 2 rating/3 share.

Each rating point equals almost 30,000 households.