Paper Trail
Mar 23rd 2007, 04:12 PM
WNWO-TV (http://toledoblade.com:80/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070323/COLUMNIST37/703230340/-1/NEWS19), Channel 24, has taken up residence in the broadcasting basement among Toledo's four television stations.
And unless the NBC affiliate makes wholesale changes in overall strategy, hangs onto key personnel, and upgrades its equipment, that address looks like it might be permanent.
The Nielsen Media Research ratings for February sweeps arrived earlier this week, and Channel 24's overall numbers remained dismal.
The Barrington Broadcasting station's newscast from 5-6 a.m. received hash marks - so few viewers are watching, it doesn't even register a ratings point.
Worse yet, even though it bills itself as "Toledo's Weather Station," when the big storm hit the city on Feb. 13, Channel 24 did not even do an expanded newscast while WTOL-TV, Channel 11, and WTVG-TV, Channel 13, did.
The storm forced WUPW-TV, Channel 36, off the air that night after a power outage and subsequent generator fire at 4 SeaGate.
The latest Nielsen numbers are not good news for general manager Rick Lipps or news director Pat Livingston, who just started at WNWO Monday.
Channel 24 fell to the No. 4 spot for the first time following a poor showing in last November's sweeps. That's right around the same time the station started playing musical anchors.
WUPW continues to pad its lead on WNWO. Channel 36 averages 55,000 viewers combined on its news shows at 4 and 10 p.m., which is 9,000 more than Channel 24 manages at 5, 6, and 11 p.m.
Lipps tried to put his best spin on Channel 24's dire situation. "I wouldn't really put them [WUPW] as No. 3," he said. "I consider them a good competitor, but they're an alternate source of news."
WNWO's most-watched newscast is at 11 p.m. with 20,000 viewers, up 6,000 from a year ago. But the 6 p.m. show has dropped from 29,000 to 15,000.
"It isn't really fair to compare our numbers to last February," Lipps said. "We had the Olympics then and they are a little skewed."
There doesn't seem to be much hope for WNWO during the May sweeps period. Evening co-anchor Shenikwa Stratford is to give birth to her first child, so Lipps will need to find someone to pair with Jim Blue.
Enough gloom and doom.
Things are looking up at WUPW, which is finding its own niche in local news despite not having the manpower or equipment to compete with Channel 11 or Channel 13.
"This is the third consecutive book that we've seen an upward trend," WUPW general manager Ray Maselli said. "That tells us it's not an aberration."
Just like in November, long-time powerhouse WTOL won four of the five time slots for newscasts at noon, 5, 6, and 11 p.m., and it also won the race for the all-important 25-54 age group that advertisers look for in those same periods.
WTVG took honors in 25-54 from 5-7 a.m. And the shuffling of Sashem Bray to the morning anchor desk helped boost Channel 13's lead over WTOL.
As for Channel 24, the station needs to stop being in the news and start perfecting it.
Ron Musselman is The Blade's Media columnist.
>> Email him at mussel@theblade.com.
And unless the NBC affiliate makes wholesale changes in overall strategy, hangs onto key personnel, and upgrades its equipment, that address looks like it might be permanent.
The Nielsen Media Research ratings for February sweeps arrived earlier this week, and Channel 24's overall numbers remained dismal.
The Barrington Broadcasting station's newscast from 5-6 a.m. received hash marks - so few viewers are watching, it doesn't even register a ratings point.
Worse yet, even though it bills itself as "Toledo's Weather Station," when the big storm hit the city on Feb. 13, Channel 24 did not even do an expanded newscast while WTOL-TV, Channel 11, and WTVG-TV, Channel 13, did.
The storm forced WUPW-TV, Channel 36, off the air that night after a power outage and subsequent generator fire at 4 SeaGate.
The latest Nielsen numbers are not good news for general manager Rick Lipps or news director Pat Livingston, who just started at WNWO Monday.
Channel 24 fell to the No. 4 spot for the first time following a poor showing in last November's sweeps. That's right around the same time the station started playing musical anchors.
WUPW continues to pad its lead on WNWO. Channel 36 averages 55,000 viewers combined on its news shows at 4 and 10 p.m., which is 9,000 more than Channel 24 manages at 5, 6, and 11 p.m.
Lipps tried to put his best spin on Channel 24's dire situation. "I wouldn't really put them [WUPW] as No. 3," he said. "I consider them a good competitor, but they're an alternate source of news."
WNWO's most-watched newscast is at 11 p.m. with 20,000 viewers, up 6,000 from a year ago. But the 6 p.m. show has dropped from 29,000 to 15,000.
"It isn't really fair to compare our numbers to last February," Lipps said. "We had the Olympics then and they are a little skewed."
There doesn't seem to be much hope for WNWO during the May sweeps period. Evening co-anchor Shenikwa Stratford is to give birth to her first child, so Lipps will need to find someone to pair with Jim Blue.
Enough gloom and doom.
Things are looking up at WUPW, which is finding its own niche in local news despite not having the manpower or equipment to compete with Channel 11 or Channel 13.
"This is the third consecutive book that we've seen an upward trend," WUPW general manager Ray Maselli said. "That tells us it's not an aberration."
Just like in November, long-time powerhouse WTOL won four of the five time slots for newscasts at noon, 5, 6, and 11 p.m., and it also won the race for the all-important 25-54 age group that advertisers look for in those same periods.
WTVG took honors in 25-54 from 5-7 a.m. And the shuffling of Sashem Bray to the morning anchor desk helped boost Channel 13's lead over WTOL.
As for Channel 24, the station needs to stop being in the news and start perfecting it.
Ron Musselman is The Blade's Media columnist.
>> Email him at mussel@theblade.com.