MAHONING VALLEY WFMJ's news tops list in ratings

The station's viewership for 'WFMJ Today' increased.
YOUNGSTOWN -- CBS topped NBC among major television networks during the November ratings period, but it was the other way around among local TV news outlets.
WFMJ Channel 21, Youngstown's NBC affiliate, achieved the best ratings for most of its news programs in Nielsen Media Research's report from Oct. 30 to Nov. 26. WFMJ was the decisive winner among early-morning, 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. broadcasts, followed by CBS affiliate WKBN-TV Channel 27 and ABC affiliate WYTV Channel 33.
WFMJ saw its share of the viewing audience rise during "WFMJ Today" at 5:30, 6 and 6:30 a.m. weekdays. It had the same share at 5 a.m., when the program signs on. Second-place WKBN's "First News" earned greater shares at 5 and 6:30 a.m. but lost some ground at 5:30 and 6 a.m.
Details on ratings
Nielsen compiles ratings for programs in 30-minute increments. Ratings and shares represent what percentage of all TV watchers are tuned into a program. Ratings are based on all 279,260 local households that own TV sets. Shares reflect how many TVs actually were turned on when a program aired.
WFMJ led among 6 p.m. news shows with a 15 rating, 30 share. WKBN's 12 rating, 24 share was the same as November 2002, but that had been good enough for a first-place tie with "21 News" last year.
WFMJ's gain was partially at the expense of WYTV, which finished third with a 5 rating, 11 share (down two shares).
A similar trend emerged among 11 p.m. news reports -- WFMJ picked up five shares, WKBN stayed the same and WYTV lost three shares.
WKBN at noon
There was no contest at noon weekdays. WKBN's midday news (10 rating, 39 share) trounced that of WFMJ (4 rating, 16 share) and WYTV's showing of the syndicated program "Starting Over" (1 rating, 4 share).
Consistent describes the ratings for the 10 p.m. news on Youngstown Fox affiliate WYFX Channels 17/62, which is a sister station to WKBN. Its 2 rating, 3 share was the same as in November 2002 but far behind ratings for prime-time programs on WFMJ (12/21), WKBN (10/18) and WYTV (8/13).
Locally, WKBN's best prime-time ratings occurred at 8:30, 9 and 9:30 p.m. weeknights. WFMJ had a slight advantage over WKBN at 8 p.m. weeknights.
Other top-rated programs in the Youngstown TV market in November were as follows:
UMornings -- "Today," WFMJ; "Live with Regis & amp; Kelly," WFMJ; and "The Price Is Right," WKBN.
UAfternoons -- "The Young and the Restless," WKBN; "The Bold & amp; the Beautiful," WKBN; a tie between "Passions" (WFMJ) and "As the World Turns" (WKBN); "Guiding Light," WKBN; "Dr. Phil," WKBN; and "Oprah," WFMJ.
UEvenings -- "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy," both WYTV.