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KXAN, KTBC bump some of KVUE’s morning, afternoon newscasts from No. 1
The end of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” has Central Texans changing their television viewing patterns, allowing newscasts on KXAN and KTBC to grab more viewers than KVUE — the longtime home for the “Queen of Daytime” — in some key head-to-head time slots during the November ratings period.
KXAN’s Robert Hadlock
Broadcasters use viewership data during November and three other “sweeps” months — February, May and July — to set advertising rates.
Though the November ratings numbers weren’t all bad news for KVUE, they did show clear gains for some of its competitors.
KVUE, frequently an across-the-board No. 1 among the city’s English-language stations, remains in first place middays and at 10 p.m. KXAN, however, is now out front at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Both stations, along with KTBC, share bragging rights in the mornings.
“Viewing patterns have been disrupted,” said Patti Smith, KVUE’s president and general manager. “We have to get used to the world after ‘Oprah.’ We will rise to the challenge.”
In November, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which moved into the 4 p.m. weekday slot on KVUE previously held by “Oprah,” drew less than half as many viewers as Winfrey’s program did a year ago.
“I don’t think anyone will ever see ‘Oprah’s’ numbers again,” said Eric Lassberg, president and general manager of KXAN and sister stations KNVA and KBVO.
Many “Oprah” viewers appear to have jumped to KXAN, where numbers for “Jeopardy” — as well as its 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts — were up dramatically
From 2010 to 2011, household ratings for “Jeopardy” grew 29 percent at 4 p.m. and 36 percent at 4:30 p.m. “KXAN News at 5” spiked 26 percent, and “KXAN News at 6” was up 25 percent.
Read more in my story from Saturday’s American-Statesman.
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