Strike, changing market hurt TV stations

By Dusty Saunders , Special to the Rocky

Published February 29, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Local broadcast TV stations, with the exception of Fox 31, lost viewers in news and most time periods during February sweeps.

Some examples of those declines, according to the report by Nielsen Media Research:

* The total audience share of 9News, CBS 4 News and Denver's 7 during the key 10 p.m. newscast (Monday-Sunday) totaled 52, down nearly five share points from last February. Only Denver's 7 kept its audience from a year ago.

* Network prime-time programming on the six broadcast stations dropped from a 54 share to a 46 share.

* Total, round-the-clock viewing registered a 38 share, compared with a 43 last February. (This includes all hours except the 2 to 6 a.m. time periods).

As it did last February, 9News had the most total viewers (11 share), after giving up the lead to CBS 4 in the November sweeps.

An audience share is the percentage of the Denver area's nearly 1.5 million TV households watching television and tuned into a particular program. Local stations will use results from the February sweeps, a four-week period that ended Wednesday, to establish advertising rates.

The performance of Fox 31 was a major bright spot. The station, for the first time in its 71/2-year history, led all stations in prime time, registering a 12 share.

A huge Super Bowl audience and the popularity of American Idol boosted Fox 31. (Fox and CW2 air seven fewer hours of weekly network programming in prime time than the other networks). 9News, CBS 4 News and Denver's 7 registered 10 shares in prime time, all down from last year.

Fox 31 also gained in its hourlong 9 p.m. Monday-Sunday newscast, delivering a 9 share, compared with 8 last February.

9News continued to lead in key newscasts, winning at 10 p.m., 6 p.m., 5 p.m. and morning programming. The station tied CBS 4 (Oprah Winfrey) at 4 p.m. Denver's 7 registered a one-share gain in the 4 and 5 p.m. reports.

Walt DeHaven, CBS 4 vice president and general manager, believes the writers' strike - and the reruns-laden schedule it necessitated - was the major reason for the decline in ratings.

"The strike had a ripple effect on the entire schedule, including special programming like the Grammys and the Oscars," DeHaven added.

Byron Grandy, news director at Denver's 7, said the report illustrates the changing landscape.

"The writers' strike obviously hurt. But things were changing even before that because viewers are watching more cable, particularly in this political year."

Dusty Saunders writes periodically about broadcasting. Contact him at tvtime@Comcast.net.

Swept away

A look at three key measurements of audience news shares* in the February sweeps ratings period:

10 p.m. news (Monday-Sunday)

2008 2007

9News 18 20

CBS 4 13 15

Denver's 7 11 11 4 p.m. (Monday-Friday)

2008 2007

9News 12 15

CBS 4 (Oprah) 12 13

Denver's 7 8 7 5 p.m. (Monday-Friday)