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Channel Surfing As we approach the end of May sweeps, WPVI continues to lead at 11 p.m. with an 11.2 rating/18.8 share over WCAU’s 10.0 rating/16.9 share. If WCAU finishes below a 10 rating for the first time in years, could general manager Dennis Bianchi be blamed for pulling Larry Mendte off the 11 p.m. show? KYW is barely ahead of WTXF for third place. KYW has a 5.8 rating/9.9 share and WTXF’s “Ten O’clock News” has a 5.6 rating/7.9 share. However, something to take into account when looking at the ratings for WTXF is something called “throwing out the news.” According to industry sources, Fox is “notorious” for repackaging its news several times during sweeps. For instance, when Fox airs its low rated show “The Pulse” on Thursday nights, WTXF airs the news at 10, but then at 10:30 renames the last half hour “Fox Extra.” Since ratings are broken up into quarter hours, instead of having four low rated quarter hours, only two-quarter hours go into the book. It is legal, but according to industry sources WTXF does it much more than the other stations. For the first 18 days of sweeps, WTXF “threw out the news” six times. However something to give WTXF credit is that it practically has the same ratings as KYW, and WTXF has much tougher competition at 10 p.m. – network primetime shows. The ratings period ends tomorrow. Each rating point equals 28,305 households. Sharp-eyed viewers may have noticed that WTXF anchor/reporter Kerri Lee Halkett’s hair was noticeably shorter in a recent special report that ran during the “Ten O’clock News.” The reason? It was a piece that aired at least two years ago when she worked for WTXF news director Scott Matthews for the Fox station in Boston. Newsroom sources said it was “embarrassing that we ran an old story when we are trying to continue our momentum from February.” A WTXF spokesperson admitted that the piece was done “several months ago,” but added that it was not a time sensitive piece and was “re-edited.” The weather wars keep heating up. KYW-3 now has the one-million watt “Mega Doppler 3.” But can it make Chris Dunn more interesting? WCAU announced not only is it planning to hire a fourth weather anchor, there are plans for a fifth full-time weather anchor to join the staff. Where have you gone Linda Gialanella? WPHT 1210-AM host Jeff Katz participated in the “Talk Radio Rumble” in New York City this weekend sponsored by “Talkers” magazine. Katz was one of twelve hosts from around the country in the event. His show airs on WPHT weeknights at 6 p.m. Can’t get your fill of “Dr. Phil?” Besides his show on KYW at 3 p.m., he can be heard on WMWX 95.7-FM at 8:35 a.m. |