THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150090
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
TO MARK SNYDER, Donald Beck and other readers who asked if WTKR's ratings have risen, fallen ``or gone sideways'' - to use Snyder's phrase - since meteorologist Duane Harding was fired in January, here is the story:
The latest Nielsens, based on the February sweeps, show that Channel 3's ratings at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. did not fall after Harding was tossed off Channel 3's rooftop weather deck, so to speak.
They got better.
The CBS affiliate is doing great without Harding, whose firing in January led to a large outpouring of public support in letters and calls to this newspaper.
With Harding replaced as the rooftop weather forecaster by a younger Greg Padgett at 6, WTKR tied WAVY for No. 1 at that hour with a 14 rating, 24 share. Channel 3's share points are up across the board since the November sweeps when Harding was still aboard.
At 11, WTKR (10 rating, 24 share) is second behind WAVY (11 rating, 27) share, which has the benefit of a strong lead-in from No. 1 NBC. WVEC is third in both newscasts but not far behind. Channel 13 is just one share point (14 rating, 23 share) behind WAVY and WTKR at 6, and one rating point and three share points behind No. 2 WTKR at 11.
At 5, WVEC (10/22) leads, trailed by WAVY (9/21) and WTKR (8/19). That number shows WTKR up two share points from the last ratings period. At 6, when almost half of Hampton Roads 640,000 TV households are watching local news, WTKR has the edge in viewers 18 to 49 as well as 25 to 54.
Advertisers love that group.
For whatever the reason - a strong lead-in from ``Home Improvement'' reruns, the teaming of Randles and LeAnne Rains at 6, the $10,000 cash giveaway, the upbeat look to ``News Channel 3,'' the free satellite truck refrigerator magnets sent free to viewers - WTKR's local news ratings have risen considerably since general manager Elden A. Hale Jr. took over.
Perhaps the rooftop sunsets with Padgett in the foreground have captivated the viewers at 6.
A year ago, when The New York Times Co. bought the station for $76 million, WTKR was in third place at 6. And still third after the May 1995 ratings sweeps.
Today, Hale has his troops on top at the dinner hour and charging for the lead at 11.
``That's quite a little up-tick in the ratings,'' said one of Hale's rivals in the understatement of the month.
WTKR has always been strong at noon and continues No. 1 at that hour. WAVY still dominates the local early-morning newscasts, and has darn good overall ratings with a No. 1 finish at 6, No. 1 at 11, a big jump in ratings at 5 compared to last year. And WAVY, which also had a giveaway going at 6, has the most households (90,000) at that hour.
What the latest Nielsens say is this:
Nobody dominates the ratings in local news. No breakout leader.
It's a three-horse race throughout the broadcast day with Hale's giveaways, youth movement and emphasis on local news - he recently devoted three hours of air time to a town meeting on curbing violence - shaking up this market, the 40th largest in the U.S.
Talk of a viewer boycott of WTKR in the wake of Harding's firing never materialized. Or if it did, the people who kept the diaries on which the November ratings are based did not participate.
If you liked and appreciated what Harding did in his 10 years on the air here, and wished bad things for WTKR in the wake of his dismissal, you are probably disappointed today. The viewers who participated in the Nielsen ratings said they like WTKR better without Harding.
How about that? by CNB