WPMI Ratings - We spin it anyway we want

[LENSCRAFTER]

I don't know why this surprises me... but I get so tired of management sometimes. WPMI released its main anchor team a few weeks back. They cited poor ratings.

Now the ratings are out and they appeared to be making some headway. Well... management says "No. We STINK!" Probably the same people that would've been saying how much IMPROVEMENT they were making had they stuck with the same team.

Okay... rant over.

...from Mobile, Alabama...Mike Brantley at the Press-Register reports...Ratings show more households watching WPMI newscasts:

Within a month of WPMI-TV15 firing its evening news anchors -- and blaming the move on poor ratings -- a new report from Nielsen Media Research shows that the newscasts' viewership grew before the dismissals.

But while more households watched the NBC affiliate's newscasts in February compared to the year before, station management said WPMI suffered a decline among advertiser-favored viewers within the age groups of 18-to-49 and 25-to-54.

Furthermore, the newscasts remained in last place among all four stations in the Mobile-Pensacola market with news departments, said Bob Franklin, WPMI's general manager.

"Book to book, we're up slightly," Franklin said, referring to ratings gains since the last Nielson report was issued for November. "Year to year, we're down. The year to year is what we look at."

[Sir Dropham Pants]

I'm sure that's what they tell their advertisers.

[DoneThatToo]

Maybe more investigative stories about gnomes will pull them out of the slide . . .

graemlins/horse.gif

It has been, what, 12+ years and they're still the bottom dwellers? They sucked up good talent from the market leaders and couldn't make it work after that so what is next on the 'let's try this' list?

[Newzie52]

It was ultimately the miserable research that did those folks in; they just don't register on the radar screen with viewers. The male anchor is an incredibly bright, well-educated, experienced journalist - but has little on-air personality. One female co-anchor was in the market a long time (3 out of 4 stations, I believe) but came across as a real cold fish, and the blonde was simply awful on-air, in my humble but experienced opinion. No matter, one can still empathize, as many of us have been in the same boat at one time or another.

[DoneThatToo]

Originally posted by Newzie52:
It was ultimately the miserable research that did those folks in; they just don't register on the radar screen with viewers. The male anchor is an incredibly bright, well-educated, experienced journalist - but has little on-air personality. One female co-anchor was in the market a long time (3 out of 4 stations, I believe) but came across as a real cold fish, and the blonde was simply awful on-air, in my humble but experienced opinion. No matter, one can still empathize, as many of us have been in the same boat at one time or another.How is it the fault of research? That kinda sounds like saying they didn't follow the advice of the consultant. Heaven knows those words would come out of darn few posters mouths on this board. I think after a decade long run you have to look at the management (I know it too has undergone some changes) and see if maybe some poor decisions have been made in that area. But if they keep at it Mel, Bob and John Ed (is he still there) will be gone and then MAYBE they will have a chance!

[RollTide98]

Or maybe it's because they did follow the advice of the consultant.

[CKMD]

Also, take a look at how a split market affects those ratings.
When WEAR owns all of Pensacola and still registers in Mobile, that's a problem for PMI.
How do you get around it? Well...take a look at the product first.

[Newzie52]

"How is it the fault of research? That kinda sounds like saying they didn't follow the advice of the consultant. Heaven knows those words would come out of darn few posters mouths on this board. I think after a decade long run you have to look at the management (I know it too has undergone some changes) and see if maybe some poor decisions have been made in that area. But if they keep at it Mel, Bob and John Ed (is he still there) will be gone and then MAYBE they will have a chance!"

You apparently misunderstood me; I referred to the fact that these former anchors fared poorly with regard to the "personality" oriented research conducted in the market. Viewers, by and large, just didn't care much about them and found no reason to watch. This is due, in part, to the racial makeup of the former team, which did not reflect the makeup of the viewing public. That is why an attractive young African American female co-anchor will shortly be joining the nicely coiffed middle-aged white male who recently replaced the former male anchor.