medialifemagazine.com
Morning news show ratings in a slide
By Toni Fitzgerald
Aug 9, 2007 - 5:43:19 AM
Everyone expected ratings for NBC’s "Today" to slip this year, with the exit of longtime co-host Katie Couric, and indeed they have. But it’s not the only morning news show suffering.
"Today," ABC’s "Good Morning America" and CBS’s "Early Show" have all declined at least 10 percent compared with last year among adults 18-49, according to a Magna Global analysis of Nielsen data from September 2006 to July 2007.
"Today" has fallen 11 percent, from a 1.9 to a 1.7, though it remains the leader in the category. "GMA" and "Early" both declined 13 percent, ABC going from a 1.5 to a 1.3 and CBS slipping from a 0.8 to a 0.7.
All three also posted declines among women 18-49, women 25-54 and adults 25-54, and ABC and NBC both slid in households, though CBS remained even.
Certainly some of the declines can be blamed on the personnel turnover that began last May. "Today’s" Couric and "GMA’s" Charles Gibson, both longtime and popular morning fixtures, left to anchor evening newscasts, while CBS co-host Rene Syler was dismissed in December in an attempt to revamp the sinking show.
Their exits no doubt led to some viewership churn, but there are also other factors.
One is the general aging of the morning news audience. All of the morning programs saw their median ages increase by at least one year compared to the 2005-’06 season, and younger viewers are not taking their place.
As morning news watchers continue to age out of the 18-49 and 25-54 demographics, news ratings in those categories will keep sliding.
Another factor is the rise of cable’s competing morning news programs. Fox News Channel’s "Fox and Friends" has nearly doubled its audience over the past six years, and MSNBC’s "Imus in the Morning" had also been making year-to-year gains in the same 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. timeslot before being taken off the air in April.
If CNN’s revamped "American Morning," which got a pair of new hosts in April, begins demonstrating consistent growth as well, that could lead to even more losses for the broadcast networks’ morning programs.
Meanwhile, in other dayparts for the week ended July 29, NBC’s "Meet the Press" was first among Sunday morning shows in total viewers with 3.02 million tuning in, and among viewers 25-54 with a 0.8 rating. CBS’s "Face the Nation" was second in viewers with 2.33 million and tied for second among 25-54s with a 0.7, with ABC’s "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" pulling 2.22 million viewers and a 0.7. Fox's "News Sunday" was fourth in viewers with 1.06 million and among 25-54s with a 0.4.
In late night, NBC’s "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" was first for the week, averaging 5.4 million total viewers and a 1.6 rating among adults 18-49. "The Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS had 3.7 million viewers and a 1.2 rating in the demo, with ABC’s "Nightline" bringing in 3.0 million viewers and a 0.9 18-49 rating. In late late night, NBC’s "Late Night with Conan O’Brien" had 2.0 million total viewers and a 0.9 in 18-49s, with CBS’s "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" averaging 1.7 million viewers and a 0.6, ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live" at 1.6 million viewers and a 0.6, and NBC’s "Last Call with Carson Daly" bringing in 1.3 million viewers and a 0.6 among 18-49s.
In morning shows, NBC’s "Today" was first with 4.7 million total viewers and a 3.7 household rating and 15 share, followed by ABC’s "Good Morning America" with 4.2 million viewers and a 3.3/13. CBS’s "Early Show" was third with 2.3 million total viewers and a 1.8/7.
In daytime, CBS once again had the largest audience for daytime dramas and full daytime, averaging 3.64 million and 3.88 million viewers respectively, but was third among women 18-49 for dramas and for full daytime, averaging a 1.2 rating for each. ABC had the second-largest audience with 3.20 million watching its dramas and 3.16 million for full daytime, and was first among women 18-49 with a 1.7 rating for its dramas and a 1.6 for full daytime. NBC had an audience of 2.37 million for both dramas and full daytime, and was second among women 18-49 for its dramas and full daytime, posting a 1.3 rating for each.
In evening network news for the week ended Aug. 5, ABC’s "World News with Charles Gibson" was first for the second straight week with an average of 7.92 million viewers, and was also first among 25-54s with a 1.9 average rating. NBC’s "Nightly News with Brian Williams" was second in viewers and among 25-54s, averaging 7.51 million viewers and a 1.7 in the demo, while CBS’s "Evening News with Katie Couric" was third for the week with 5.70 million total viewers and a 1.4 25-54 rating.
|
SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week ending July 29, 2007
Sunday averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
|
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Adults 25-54 |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Meet the Press |
NBC |
2.3 |
7 |
0.8 |
3.017 |
|
Face the Nation |
CBS |
1.7 |
5 |
0.7 |
2.325 |
|
This Week With George Stephanopoulos |
ABC |
1.7 |
5 |
0.6 |
2.221 |
|
News Sunday |
Fox |
0.8 |
3 |
0.4 |
1.064 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
Week Ending July 29, 2007
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
People 2+ |
Adults 18-49 |
|
Total viewers (millions) |
Rtg% |
|
Tonight Show with Jay Leno |
NBC |
5.4 |
1.6 |
|
Late Show with David Letterman |
CBS |
3.7 |
1.2 |
|
Nightline |
ABC |
3.0 |
0.9 |
|
Late Night with Conan O’Brien |
NBC |
2.0 |
0.9 |
|
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson |
CBS |
1.7 |
0.6 |
|
Jimmy Kimmel Live* |
ABC |
1.6 |
0.6 |
|
Last Call with
Carson Daly |
NBC |
1.3 |
0.6 |
|
*Encore telecasts on Monday, Thursday and Friday
Source: NTI
|
|
MORNING SHOW RATINGS
Week Ending July 29, 2007
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
Households |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Shr |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
Today |
NBC |
3.7 |
15 |
4.7 |
|
Good Morning
America |
ABC |
3.3 |
13 |
4.2 |
|
Early Show |
CBS |
1.8 |
7 |
2.3 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
DAYTIME RATINGS
Week Ending July 29, 2007
Five-day averages |
|
Daytime dramas |
Total viewers (millions) |
Women 18-49 |
|
Network |
(millions) |
Rtg% |
|
CBS |
3.643 |
1.2 |
|
ABC |
3.202 |
1.7 |
|
NBC |
2.366 |
1.3 |
|
Full daytime |
Total viewers (millions) |
Women 18-49 |
|
Network |
(millions) |
Rtg% |
|
CBS |
3.875 |
1.2 |
|
ABC |
3.161 |
1.6 |
|
NBC |
2.366 |
1.3 |
|
Source: NTI |
|
EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
Week Ending August 5, 2007
Five-day averages |
|
Program |
Network |
25-54s |
People 2+ |
|
Rtg% |
Total viewers (millions) |
|
ABC World News with Charles Gibson |
ABC |
1.9 |
7.920 |
|
NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams |
NBC |
1.7 |
7.510 |
|
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric |
CBS |
1.4 |
5.700 |
|
Source: Nielsen Media Research |
|
SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending July 29, 2007
|
|
# |
PROGRAMS |
Syndicator |
Households |
|
US
Rtg% |
(000) |
|
1
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE
|
KIN
|
6.4
|
7178
|
|
2
|
JEOPARDY
|
KIN
|
5.4
|
5971
|
|
3
|
JUDGE JUDY (AT)
|
C/P
|
4.6
|
5141
|
|
4
|
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)
|
C/P
|
4.4
|
4939
|
|
4
|
OPRAH WINFREY SHOW (AT)
|
KIN
|
4.4
|
4917
|
|
6
|
EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN (AT)
|
KIN
|
4.1
|
4535
|
|
7
|
CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)
|
KIN
|
4.0
|
4464
|
|
8
|
SEINFELD (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.7
|
4177
|
|
9
|
DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)
|
KIN
|
3.6
|
3962
|
|
10
|
WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND
|
KIN
|
3.3
|
3707
|
|
11
|
KING OF QUEENS-SYN (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.0
|
3396
|
|
11
|
FRIENDS (AT)
|
WB
|
3.0
|
3342
|
|
11
|
SEINFELD-WKND (AT)
|
SPT
|
3.0
|
3334
|
|
11
|
INSIDE EDITION
|
KIN
|
3.0
|
3316
|
|
15
|
LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY
|
BV
|
2.9
|
3269
|
|
15
|
MILLIONAIRE (AT)
|
BV
|
2.9
|
3264
|
|
15
|
KING OF QUEEN |