I wanted to take a quick break from “Dating Week” to touch on a recent development in a story I’ve been following for quite some time.

Word came down today that WNYT is back at the top of the ratings when it comes to local news. Our long regional nightmare is over; now, if only we can get Bob Kovachick to grow back his moustache.

WNYT’s sharp ratings decline coincides directly with the launch of Jay Leno at 10:00pm. Even weirder, their return to the top coincides with that awful lead-in disappearing. Weird, right? Who would’ve thunk it?

Well, most analysts for one, and also idiot bloggers like me  who wrote about the issue back in November (In the Past Tense – ha!):  Players, Clowns, and Idiots: How Jay Leno killed Prime Time, Local News, and The Tonight Show in the Span of a Year

"Ehhhhhhhh my bad. Sorry, Jim and Benita."

The original decline also coincided with the departure of lead regional anchor (and TimesUnion.com blogger) Lydia Kulbida, which lead many to speculate that she was the primary reason behind the drop. While her absence was certainly felt by both folks at the station and its viewers, I always felt that theory didn’t hold up when taking into account the simultaneous drop in ratings felt by NBC affiliates throughout the nation.

In short: Jay Leo sucks, his 10:00pm show sucks, and his junk cable access level snoozefest almost killed an entire network AND its affiliates.

Some are ready to chalk WNYT’s ratings up to the strength of the Olympics ratings. While the Winter Olympics did better than NBC had anticipated (as if that network’s programming division could correctly anticipate anything), the ratings period extends far beyond the two weeks of coverage NBC provided.

I personally can’t wait to hear what certain folks, including fellow TU blogger and former WNYT employee Rob Madeo, have to say on the subject.

 

2 Responses to Without Weak Leno Lead-In, WNYT Back on Top

  1. GenWar says:

    Poor Jay Leno. To be hated more than Tiger Woods without the fun of having earned said hatred. I feel bad for him.

    Still, I should have suspected something from the way I would knock things over and injure myself to get to the remote whenever his show started to come on.

  2. Rob Madeo says:

    One rating book does not represent a trend — especially when you factor the Olympics into the mix.

    Yes, the rating period extends beyond the Games, but their power to sway viewer behavior — and viewer perception — is tremendous.

    Let’s wait until May and see what that research says. Will it look like February — or more like November ’09?

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