Channel Surfing
by Laura Nachman
www.bradyresidence.com/channelsurfing.html
Bucks County Courier Times
May 31, 2005

WPVI won the May sweeps news ratings race in every time period.  In the most important period, Monday through Sunday at 11 p.m., WPVI led with an 11 rating/18 share.  WCAU and KYW were tied for second with each earning a 9 rating/15 share.  However, when the numbers were not rounded off, WCAU had a slight edge with a 9.2 rating/15.3 share over KYW’s 8.7 rating/14.5 share.

Monday through Friday, WPVI came in first with an 11 rating/18 share.WCAU came in second at 11 p.m. with a 10 rating/16 share. KYW had a 9 rating/15 share.

Monday through Sunday, WCAU and KYW have a 10:45 p.m. lead-in of 11 rating/17 share. WPVI has the disadvantage of an 8 rating/13 share. Thus at 11 p.m., WPVI is the only station to go up, while WCAU and KYW go down.

Here are the results throughout the day.

From 5-7 a.m., WPVI was first with a 5 rating/19 share.  WCAU was second with a 4 rating/15 share.  KYW news was third with a 3 rating/10 share. 

From 7-9 a.m., “Good Morning America” on WPVI led with a 7 rating/20 share.  “The Today Show” on WCAU was second with a 5 rating/15 share.  WTXF’s “Good Day Philadelphia” was third with a 3 rating/9 share.  And the “CBS Early Show” on KYW was fourth with a 2 rating/6 share.

At 9 a.m., WPVI’s “Regis and Kelly” led with a 6 rating/21 share. “The Today Show” on WCAU was second with a 3 rating/11 share. WPHL’s “Jerry Springer” was third with a 2 rating/8 share.

At 10 a.m., “Tony Danza” on WPVI led with a 4 rating/13share.  “Maury Povich” on WPHL was second with a 3 rating/9 share.  “Guiding Light” on KYW placed third with a 2 rating/8 share. “10” on WCAU and “Divorce Court” on WTXF were tied for fourth with a 2 rating/7 share.

If “10” wants to improve its ratings, it should utilize the strength of singer/co-host Lauren Hart.  Her singing segments are a nice change of pace from the morning show staples of cooking segments and canned satellite interviews.

At 11 a.m., “The Price is Right” on KYW led with a 5 rating/16 share.  “The View” on WPVI was second with a 4 rating/15 share.

At noon, WPVI’s news led with a 7 rating/23 share.  KYW’s news was second with a 5 rating/16 share, followed by “Days of Our Lives” on WCAU.

At 2 p.m., “One Life to Live” on WPVI led with a 5 rating/14 share. “As the World Turns” on KYW was second with a 3 rating/10 share, and “Montel Williams” on WCAU was third with a 2 rating/7 share. 

At 3 p.m., recent Emmy award winning daytime drama “General Hospital” on WPVI led with a 5 rating/15 share.  Emmy award winning talk show and talk show host “Ellen” was second with a 4 rating/10 share on WCAU. KYW’s tandem of “Celebrity Justice” and “Inside Edition” were third with a 2 rating/6 share.

At 4 p.m., “Oprah” on WPVI led with a 9 rating/21 share.  WCAU was second with a 5 rating/11 share and KYW was third with a 3 rating/7 share.

At 5 p.m., WPVI led with a 10 rating/21 share.  “Dr. Phil” on KYW was second with a 6 rating/13 share, and WCAU was third with a 5 rating/10 share.  “Dr. Judy” on WTXF was a strong fourth with a 4 rating/7share.

At 6 p.m., WPVI led with a 12 rating/23 share.  WCAU was second with a 6 rating/11 share and KYW was third with a 5 rating/10 share.

At 6:30 p.m., “ABC’s World News Tonight” without Peter Jennings, who is getting treatment for lung cancer, led with a 12 rating/23 share.  “NBC’s Nightly News” was second with a 5 rating/10 share.  “The CBS Evening News” and WTXF’s “The Simpsons” were tied for third with a 3 rating/6 share.

At 7 p.m. “Afleet” Alex Trebek and “Jeopardy” led with a 14 rating/26 share on WPVI.  KYW’s “Entertainment Tonight,” WTXF’s “The Simpsons,” and WCAU’s “Extra” were tied for second with a 4 rating/7 share.

At 7:30 p.m., WPVI’s “Wheel of Fortune” led with a 12 rating/20 share.  WTXF’s “Seinfeld” was second with a 5 rating/8 share (Yay Jerry!)  KYW’s “Insider” and WCAU’s “Access Hollywood” tied for third with a 4 rating/7 share.

At 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday, the news on WTXF had a 7 rating/10 share.  WPHL’s news had a 3 rating/4 share.

At 11:30 p.m., “The Tonight Show” on WCAU led with a 6 rating/13 share.  “The Late Show with David Letterman” on KYW was second with a 5 rating/10 share, and  “Nightline” on WPVI was third with a 5 rating/9 share. At midnight, “The Jimmy Kimmel Show” had a 2 rating/6 share.  

Each rating point equals 29,000 households.  Numbers were rounded to the highest number.