New Sweeps Don’t Show Clear Leader
The Nielsen ratings for the November sweeps are in, and they show a tough, competitive three-way race with nobody dominating.
Both KREM-2 and KXLY-4 have plenty to be happy about, as they both rebounded strongly.
Over at KHQ-6, those “Clean Sweep” ads and T-shirts will have to be put in a drawer for a while. In the July sweeps, that station swept all four major news time periods, but those numbers failed to hold up in the much more important November sweeps. This time, KHQ is first in only one time period, 11 p.m., and that’s a tie.
KREM not only reaffirmed its dominance at 5 p.m., winning it as handily as ever, but it also won the 6 p.m. time slot, long a KHQ stronghold. KREM won for the first time in the last five ratings periods, although KHQ is behind by only the slightest of margins.
KXLY came in first at 6 a.m. in a close race with KHQ and tied for first in the very competitive 11 p.m. time period. That’s a big improvement for KXLY.
Here are the Nielsen ratings for the November sweeps, with the rating (percent of total households) followed by the share (percent of those with TVs in use at the time): 6 a.m.
KXLY: 4 rating, 28 share.
KHQ: 4, 26.
KREM: 2, 15.
5 p.m.
KREM: 15, 30.
KHQ: 11, 22.
KXLY: 10, 20.
6 p.m.
KREM: 12, 21.
KHQ: 11, 20.
KXLY: 8, 15.
11 p.m.
KHQ: 6, 26.
KXLY: 6, 26.
KREM: 5, 22.
To help analyze these numbers, we turned to Jan Brandvold, director of research at KAYU-28. Since KAYU is now out of the news business, we figured that she qualifies as an objective and informed observer.
“KXLY is showing improvement, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they attribute that to their new anchor, Barry Judge,” said Brandvold.
In looking at the demographic breakdowns, Brandvold also said that in general, KXLY attracts a younger audience than both KHQ and KREM. That can be good the under-50 crowd is in demand by advertisers. It can also be bad - news viewership tends to be older, so if you don’t do as well with older viewers, you don’t do as well, period.
We’ll have more about the Nielsen numbers in the next few weeks.
Laurine Jue quits
Laurine Jue has quit her morning anchor job at KREM and is getting out of the TV news business altogether. Her last day will be Friday.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” said Jue, an 11-year news veteran. “But I thought I would make the break now. It’s a Christmas gift to myself.”
Jue said her early morning schedule (at work by 4 a.m every day) was playing havoc with her life.
“I need to feel like a normal person,” she said.
She said she will stay in Spokane and start a new career, but she doesn’t know exactly what - possibly marketing or public relations. She also wants to devote more time to her sideline of designing pillows out of vintage fabric.
This has been a very successful sideline for Jue, and she wants to see where it can lead.
“I’m so excited at the prospects ahead,” said Jue.
She came to KREM seven years ago from Fort Meyers, Fla. She is originally from Seattle.
Northwest Cable News
The Northwest Cable News network debuts on Cox Cable’s channel 56 on Wednesday, marking the beginning of an ambitious project: an all-Northwest news channel.
Spokane has its own Northwest Cable News bureau, although it consists essentially of only one person: “video-journalist” Susan Cowden, who comes from a station in Bellingham.
“Video-journalist” means she will report the story, shoot the story, write the story and edit the story.
However, the channel also will have access to the TV news resources of its parent, Providence Journal Co., which owns stations in four strategic cities in the region: KREM in Spokane, KING in Seattle, KGW in Portland and KTVB in Boise.
In addition, the news channel has a 100-person staff, most of whom are in the headquarters/newsroom in Seattle. That newsroom will be one of the first in the country to be videotape-free: It’s a fully digital operation. This is quite an innovation. It will make editing news footage much easier and quicker.
The big question is: Does a demand exist for regional news, above what local newscasts already provide?
I admit I would have watched it during the big windstorms two weeks ago to see what was happening in western Washington and Oregon. Otherwise … we’ll see.
Silverwood coaster
That front-page picture on Wednesday of new roller coaster scaffolding at Silverwood Theme Park piqued my curiosity, so here are some details:
It will be a traditional wooden roller coaster, the first built in Idaho since 1920 (that was in Pocatello).
It will be 2,700 linear feet long and 85 feet tall at its highest point.
It will go 55 miles per hour.
It will have a “full 360-degree underground tunnel” (oh, great).
It’s called The Grizzly and it will be finished in June 1996.
If this appeals to you, here’s my consumer tip of the week: Silverwood season passes are cheap (like, half-price) if purchased before Jan. 1. Call G&B Select-a-Seat for details.
Candelight broadcast
Here’s some appropriate Christmas Day viewing:
Gonzaga University’s Christmas Candlelight Concert will be televised Monday at 3 p.m. on KSPS-7.
It features the Gonzaga Choir.
, DataTimes