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Dayparts update
TV viewers pump Couric: You go, girl
By Toni Fitzgerald
May 8, 2008 - 1:05:07 PM

“CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric may be hurting in the ratings, and there's all sorts of talk she's headed out the door, but she can console herself with one thought: A good portion of TV viewers think she should stay put.

A new Gallup Poll reports that 46 percent of respondents think Couric should not be replaced. Only a quarter think she should leave the evening newscast.

But perhaps most significant, it seems TV viewers still have a warm spot for Couric, never mind all the bad press over her sinking ratings and reportedly prickly personality.

They want her to remain on television.

If Couric did leave the evening news, 35 percent would like to see her return to morning television, where she worked for more than a decade as co-host of NBC’s top-rated “Today” show before jumping to the CBS in September 2006, according to the poll, which was done in conjunction with USA Today.

Another 28 percent would like her to become a full-time “60 Minutes” correspondent, while 17 percent think she’d make a good replacement for CNN’s Larry King some day.

The poll comes after what seems like weeks of bad news for Couric, whose viewership has plunged to all-time lows since word leaked last month that she may leave her job after the presidential election.

CBS has said it has no immediate plans to replace Couric, and network head Les Moonves even popped in on an “Evening News” staff meeting a few weeks ago in a public display of support.

Still, the speculation has persisted, especially after Couric posted back-to-back viewership lows in the two weeks after The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post broke the story.

But Couric’s fortunes may finally be turning.

Along with the encouraging poll data, Couric saw her numbers inch up for the first time in weeks. She averaged 5.77 million total viewers for the week ended May 4, up 8 percent from 5.34 million the previous week.

One problem for Couric may be that while many viewers still think favorably of her, that does not mean they are watching her. Fans of her newscast appear to be less-frequent news viewers overall than those who watch Couric’s NBC and ABC counterparts.

Gallup found that 20 percent of Brian Williams’ audience and 17 percent of Charles Gibson’s audience say they watch the evening news frequently, compared with 13 percent for Couric.

Another 23 percent of Williams’ viewers said they watch occasionally, compared with 20 percent for Gibson and 18 percent for Couric.

“It's not Katie, it's all the stupid commercials, all the same-ol, same-ol that is covered by Network TV,” writes one poster on the USA Today comment section. “I think Katie is one of the most respectable, most watchable people on TV and in the business -- but the content is the real problem, not the messenger! I watch CNN and read the news on the internet.”

Finally, some believe that Couric’s biggest problem may simply be her gender. More than a third of respondents said that public reluctance to accept a female anchor is a minor or major reason for her low ratings.

Meanwhile, while Couric’s audience was up last week, she remained well behind Williams and Gibson. NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was first among total viewers, averaging 8.18 million, and among 25-54s with a 2.1 average rating. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” was second in viewers, averaging 7.96 million, and among 25-54s with a 1.9 rating, while CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” was third for the week with the aforementioned 5.77 million total viewers and a 1.4 25-54 rating.

***

In other daypart ratings, for the week ended April 27, NBC’s “Meet the Press” was once again first among the Sunday morning shows in total viewers with 3.9 million tuning in and among viewers 25-54 with a 1.2 rating. ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” was second in viewers with 2.54 million but third among 25-54s with a 0.7, with CBS’s “Face the Nation” pulling 2.49 million viewers and a 0.8 among 25-54s. “Fox News Sunday” averaged 1.64 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 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” and ABC’s “Nightline” tied with 3.5 million viewers and a 1.1 rating in the demo. In late-late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” had 2.0 million total viewers and a 0.7 in 18-49s, with ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” at 1.7 million viewers and a 0.6, CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” at 1.6 million viewers and a 0.5, and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” bringing in 1.0 million viewers and a 0.4 among 18-49s.
 
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first with 5.5 million total viewers and a 4.3 household rating and 15 share, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 4.5 million viewers and a 3.6/13. CBS’s “Early Show” was third with 2.7 million total viewers and a 2.1/7.
 
CBS once again had the largest full daytime audience during the week, averaging 3.72 million viewers, but was third among women 18-49 with a 1.2 rating. NBC had the second-largest audience, averaging 2.88 million viewers, and was first among women 18-49 with a 1.5 rating. ABC had a full daytime audience of 2.87 million and was second in women 18-49 with a 1.4 rating.

SUNDAY MORNING SHOW RATINGS
 Week ending April 27, 2008
Sunday averages

Program

Network

Households

 

Rtg%

Shr

Adults 25-54

Total viewers (millions)

Meet the Press

NBC

2.9

8

1.2

3.903

This Week With George Stephanopoulos

ABC

1.9

5

0.7

2.535

Face the Nation

CBS

1.8

5

0.8

2.486

News Sunday

Fox

1.2

4

0.6

1.638

Source: NTI

LATE-NIGHT RATINGS
 Week Ending April 27, 2008
Five-day averages

Program

Network

People 2+

Adults 18-49

Total viewers (millions)

Rtg%

Tonight Show with Jay Leno

NBC

4.9

1.4

Late Show with David Letterman

CBS

3.5

1.1

Nightline

ABC

3.5

1.1

Late Night with Conan O’Brien

NBC

2.0

0.7

Jimmy Kimmel Live

ABC

1.7

0.6

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

CBS

1.6

0.5

Last Call with Carson Daly

NBC

1.0

0.4

Source: NTI

MORNING SHOW RATINGS
 Week Ending April 27, 2008
Five-day averages

Program

Network

Households

People 2+

Rtg%

Shr

Total viewers (millions)

Today

NBC

4.3

15

5.5

Good Morning America

ABC

3.6

13

4.5

Early Show

CBS

2.1

7

2.7

Source: NTI

DAYTIME RATINGS
 Week Ending April 27, 2008
Five-day averages

 

Total viewers (millions)

Women 18-49

Network

(millions)

Rtg%

CBS

3.72

1.2

NBC

2.88

1.5

ABC

2.87

1.4

Source: NTI

 

 

EVENING NETWORK NEWS RATINGS
 Week Ending May 4, 2008
Five-day averages

Program

Network

25-54s

People 2+

Rtg%

Total viewers (millions)

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams

NBC

2.1

8.183

ABC World News with Charles Gibson

ABC

1.9

7.957

CBS Evening News with Katie Couric

CBS

1.4

5.769

Source: Nielsen Media Research

 

 

SYNDICATION
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 27, 2008

#

 PROGRAMS

Syndicator

Households

US Rtg%

(000)

1

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

CTD

7.2

8113

2

JEOPARDY

CTD

5.9

6709

3

TWO-HALF MEN-SYN (AT)

WB

5

5636

3

OPRAH WINFREY SHOW

CTD

5

5598

5

JUDGE JUDY (AT)

CTD

4.7

5328

6

DR. PHIL SHOW (AT)

CTD

4.6

5238

7

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT(AT)

CTD

4.3

4867

8

FAMILY GUY-MF-SYN (AT)

2/T

4.2

4772

9

CSI MIAMI-SYN (AT)

CTD

4.1

4583

10

SEINFELD (AT)

SPT

3.7

4187

11

SEINFELD-WKND (AT)

SPT

3.6

4099

12

WHEEL OF FORTUNE WKND

CTD

3.4

3833

12

EVRY LVS RAYMOND-SYN(AT)

CTD

3.4

3809

14

GEORGE LOPEZ (AT)

WB

3.2

3622

15

INSIDE EDITION

CTD

3

3397

16

LAW & ORDER:SVU-SYN (AT)

NBU

2.9

3323

17

MILLIONAIRE (AT)

DAD

2.7

3009

17

KING OF QUEENS-WKND (AT)

SPT

2.7

2996

19

KING OF QUEENS-SYN (AT)

SPT

2.6

2944

19

FRIENDS (AT)

WB

2.6

2920

19

LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY

DAD

2.6

2917

19