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Dayparts update
Katie Couric redeemed, and then some
By Toni Fitzgerald
Nov 13, 2008 - 9:00:25 AM

The comeback kid this election wasn’t John McCain, despite his declarations after the New Hampshire primary. It was Katie Couric.

It was just six months ago that the “CBS Evening News” anchor was fighting off rumors of her imminent exit, with widespread speculation that Couric would leave her job soon after the presidential election following two years of dogging ratings.

It turns out that talk was premature.

With her big-buzz interview of Sarah Palin two months ago, Couric suddenly seems to have hit her stride. Though her ratings aren’t rising, they have stabilized, and more importantly, she’s racking up the critical kudos that eluded her for so long after a splashy start.

She’s been listed among this campaign season’s winners in numerous election wrap-ups, and her Palin interview became a viral smash, drawing more than 10 million views.

CBS chief Les Moonves even singled her out for praise during a recent earnings teleconference, months after denying Couric was on her way out when her telecast hit record lows last spring.

Couric is not challenging for first in the evening news race, as she did when she debuted on “Evening News” in September 2006, but at least her numbers appear to have stopped sinking. Last week she averaged 6.06 million total viewers, or 600,000 more than at her low point last spring. She’s hovered at that level for several weeks.

Perhaps more important for CBS News, her Palin interview and subsequent election coverage helped return credibility to a division rocked by Memogate four years ago and long derided for refusing to invest in newsgathering.

Ironically, Couric’s big moment, the September Palin sit-down, was exactly the sort of thing CBS pictured when she was hired for $15 million per year.
 
Couric’s strength during her days at “Today” was always interviews, and she delivered sharper, more probing questions to Palin than the vice presidential candidate had apparently faced before.

That has led to loads of praise from the previously hypercritical press. In an election wrap-up piece last week, The Los Angeles Times noted, “Couric soldiered on, ultimately bringing off the year's interview coup, in which Palin parried the newscaster's modest questions with rambling, sometimes-incoherent replies.”

Notes Ellen Gray of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “If you haven't seen ‘The CBS Evening News’ in a while, Couric, who's been anchoring a solid and increasingly savvy newscast all year, deserves another look.”

In fact, all the attention has her former employer reportedly eyeing her again as well. After Couric was spotted dining with NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker, speculation began brewing that she’s among the candidates to succeed the late Tim Russert at “Meet the Press.”

***

Meanwhile, in evening network news for the week ended Nov. 9, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was first among total viewers, averaging 9.35 million, and tied for first among 25-54s with a 2.5 average rating. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” was second in viewers, averaging 9.35 million, and tied for first in 25-54s with a 2.5 rating, while CBS’s “Evening News” was third for the week with the aforementioned 6.06 million total viewers and a 1.6 25-54 rating.

In other dayparts for the week ended Nov. 2, NBC’s “Meet the Press” was first among the Sunday morning shows in total viewers with 4.66 million tuning in and among viewers 25-54 with a 1.4 rating. ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” was second in viewers with 3.59 million and among 25-54s with a 1.1, with CBS’s “Face the Nation” pulling 2.88 million viewers and a 0.9 among 25-54s. “Fox News Sunday” averaged 1.61 million viewers and a 0.6 rating among 25-54s.
 
In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” was first for the week, averaging 4.9 million total viewers and a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” had 3.9 million viewers and a 1.0 rating in the demo, with ABC’s “Nightline” pulling 3.6 million viewers and a 1.0. In late-late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” had 2.0 million total viewers and a 0.8 in 18-49s, with ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” averaging 1.8 million viewers and a 0.6 in 18-49s (including a Monday rerun). CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” averaged 1.8 million viewers and a 0.5, and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” brought in 1.2 million viewers and a 0.5 among 18-49s (with a Friday rerun).
 
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first with 5.5 million total viewers and a 4.2 household rating and 15 share, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 4.3 million viewers and a 3.3/12. CBS’s “Early Show” was third with 2.8 million total viewers and a 2.1/7.
 
CBS had the largest full daytime audience during the week, averaging 3.38 million viewers, but was third among women 18-49 with a 1.0 rating. ABC had the second-largest audience, averaging 3.11 million viewers, and tied for first among women 18-49 with a 1.3 rating. NBC had a full daytime audience of 2.71 million and also tied for first among women 18-49 with a 1.3 rating.

 

SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
 Week ending November 2, 2008
Sunday averages

Program

Network

Households

 

Rtg%

Shr

Adults 25-54

Total viewers (millions)

Meet the Press

NBC

3.3

8

1.4

4.662

This Week With George Stephanopoulos

ABC

2.6

7

1.1

3.586

Face the Nation

CBS

2.0

5

0.9

2.877

News Sunday

Fox

1.2

3

0.6

1.607

Source: NTI

LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
 Week Ending November 2, 2008
Five-day averages

Program

Network

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Total viewers (millions)

Rtg%

Tonight Show with Jay Leno

NBC

4.9

1.3

Late Show with David Letterman

CBS

3.9

1.0

Nightline

ABC

3.6

1.0

Late Night with Conan O’Brien

NBC

2.0

0.8

Jimmy Kimmel Live*

ABC

1.8

0.6

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

CBS

1.8

0.5

Last Call with Carson Daly**

NBC

1.2

0.5

* Encore on Monday

** Encore on Friday

Source: NTI

MORNING SHOW RATINGS
 Week Ending November 2, 2008
Five-day averages

Program

Network

Households

People 2+

Rtg%

Shr

Total viewers (millions)

Today

NBC

4.2

15

5.5

Good Morning America

ABC

3.3

12

4.3

Early Show

CBS

2.1

7

2.8

Source: NTI

DAYTIME RATINGS
 Week Ending November 2, 2008
Five-day averages

 

Total viewers (millions)

Women 18-49

Network

(millions)

Rtg%

CBS

3.38

1.0

ABC

3.11

1.3

NBC

2.71

1.3

Source: NTI

 

 

EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
 Week Ending November 9, 2008
Five-day averages

Program

Network

25-54s

People 2+

Rtg%

Total viewers (millions)

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams

NBC

2.5

9.350

ABC World News with Charles Gibson

ABC

2.5

9.280

CBS Evening News with Katie Couric

CBS

1.6

6.060

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

 

SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending November 2, 2008

#

 PROGRAMS

Syndicator

Households

US Rtg%

(000)

1

ESPN NFL REGULAR SEASON

ESP

7.5

8584

2

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

CTD

7.3

8394

3

JEOPARDY

CTD

6.2

7102

4

OPRAH WINFREY SHOW

CTD

5.0

5717

5

TWO-HALF MEN-SYN (AT)

WB

4.9

5648

6

JUDGE JUDY (AT)

CTD

4.5

5196

7

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)

CTD

4.4

5058

8

FAMILY GUY-MF-SYN (AT)

2/T

4.0

4590

8

BUENA VISTA VI

DAD

4.0

4566

10

CSI NEW YORK-SYN(AT)

CTD

3.8

4294

11

SEINFELD (AT)

SPT

3.6

4150

12

DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)

CTD

3.4

3851

13

SEINFELD-WKND (AT)

SPT

3.2

3657

14

EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN(AT)

CTD

3.1

3567

14

WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND

CTD

3.1

3500

14

GEORGE LOPEZ (AT)

WB

3.1

3499

17

LAW & ORDER:SVU-SYN (AT)

NBU

3.0

3382

18

INSIDE EDITION (AT)

CTD

2.9

3336

18

LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY

DAD

2.9

3300

20

HOUSE-SYN (AT)

NBU

2.7

3083

21

MILLIONAIRE (AT)

DAD

2.6

3009

22

FRIENDS (AT)

WB

2.5

2913

22

KING OF QUEENS-SYN (AT)

SPT

2.5

2894

22

CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)

CTD

2.5

2887

25

ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW

WB

2.4

2717

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 



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