LOCAL TV RATINGS WFMJ extends lead in latest survey

Channel 21 soon will have a new nightly news anchor.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Fewer viewers tuned in to WKBN-TV Channel 27's news broadcasts in February, as a labor dispute at that station coincided with that month's "sweeps" ratings period.
WFMJ Channel 21 gained while WKBN lost ratings and shares for its morning, noon and evening news programs between Feb. 5 and March 3, reported Nielsen Media Research.
"I believe there was some damage done. How much damage remains to be seen," said Jack Grdic, local/regional sales manager for WFMJ.
Asked if the labor situation had a bearing on the February Nielsens report, "It sure did," said David Coy, general manager of WKBN and its sister station, WYFX Channels 17 and 62. Thirty-five members of National Association of Broadcast Engineers and Technicians Local 47 -- representing news anchors, reporters, photographers and directors -- said they were locked out Jan. 31.
That was the same day their old agreement expired and when they voted down a contract proposal from station owners, Piedmont Communications of Charlotte, N.C.
WKBN didn't offer an early-morning news show during the dispute, using CBS network news feed instead. Management and other non-union employees produced nightly news broadcasts until union members ratified a new three-year contract Feb. 13.
The numbers
Coy said he analyzed the Nielsen report on a week-by-week basis. While ratings were down while the unionized employees weren't working, the numbers increased significantly after they returned to their jobs.
For the month, WFMJ's 6 p.m. news was first with a 17 rating, 31 share -- seven shares more than in February 2003. WKBN was second with a 10 rating, 19 share, five fewer shares than the previous February. WYTV Channel 33's 6 p.m. news received the same number of shares (12) as before.
Ratings are percentages of all local households with TVs that were tuned in to a certain program. Shares also are percentages, but those numbers show how many TV households had sets turned on at that hour.
The same order applied to 11 p.m. news. WFMJ got a 14 rating, 32 share (up 10 shares); WKBN, 9 rating, 20 share (down six shares); and WYTV, 6 rating, 13 share (up one share).
Early-morning drought
Among the early-morning news programs, "WFMJ Today" had the highest ratings, although WFMJ and WKBN lost shares from 5 to 6 a.m. when compared with the February 2003 report. "WFMJ Today" audience share increased from 6 to 7 a.m. from a year earlier, while WKBN's share was eight points off.
WYTV's morning show still didn't have enough viewers to garner a rating from 5 to 6 a.m., but its "Daybreak" was up one share between 6 and 7 a.m.
The ratings competition will continue between WFMJ and WKBN. WFMJ is poised to introduce a new nightly news co-anchor to replace Laura Steele, who is working in the Buffalo, N.Y., TV market.
Meanwhile, WFMJ is making room for "Dr. Phil," the syndicated talk show that it will wrest away from WKBN later this year, Grdic said. WFMJ also is doing well with Ellen Degeneres' syndicated daytime talk show.