Posted on 09/08/2006 8:39:00 AM PDT by MindBender26
The overnight Nielsen Ratings are in, and they are a disaster for Katie Couric.
Couric's CBS Evening News was beaten by ABC WNT in New York, Chicago and other major markets
After all the hype, CBS and the other networks had expected a "honeymoon" lasting for at least a month as viewers sampled Couric's new show. It lasted one night.
Although she eeked out a national ratings win, the big cities have already abandoned her.
In places such as New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, where the big advertising dollars are spent, last night's CBS/Couric ratings free-fall mean one thing; Viewers sampled her Wednesday night, and didn’t like what they saw.
The huge ratings drop would have been understandable had there been a major breaking story, and viewers would have been expected to go to Gibson or Williams for Cronkiteian experience and “gravitas.” But it was a slow news night, a perfect time for Couric's "perky charm" to radiate and attract viewers, but both she and the ratings fell flat.
Bottom line, $15 million a year and months of super-hype.... all for nothing.
Old contacts at CBS I spoke with this AM said everyone is making lunch reservation to eat/drink together.... but at restaurants far from Black Rock or West 57th. Everyone wants a "tribal think" to decide who (other than themselves) is to blame for this disaster, but they are eating in out of the way places in Greenwich Village or the East Side, so they won’t be seen together.
There will be much more of this over the weekend.
LOL... Both are very fitting.
It is the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed. In an effort to not look perky she pushes the audience away. She replaced Perky with nothing. Is is the most uncomfortable TV I have ever watched. It would not matter if she were to the right of Rush.. I can not stand to watch her.
Unless something changes she will be well below Rather's last ratings before next week is out. She is toast.
That was some wreck! Even turned the words around backwards.
One wonders if the people responsible for this garbage are even faintly aquainted with the medium we call television. Have they ever produced a news show before? Have they ever watched television?
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