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.
I don't think Mara liked it either. I think it took all of them by surprise. Brit is certainly a sly dog. Who would have thought? I'm not sure I approve, but I still think it was hilarious.
I have always found Imus to say what he thinks and at times, it's right on the money. The only reason I don't listen anymore is that I discovered the Bill Bennett show and it became my favorite talk show.
"Although she eeked out a national ratings win, the big cities have already abandoned her."
I guess too many viewers said "eek!" after watching a few minutes of Katie
She was wearing WHITE after Labor Day.
Talk about starting off on the wrong foot.
I assume you were referring to Freddie the Beadle Barnes.
Earlier this week Bill O'Reilly and Bernie Goldberg were speculating about how Katie Couric would do, and thought CBS would have to keep her in place for a long time even if her ratings were poor.
I was going to watch but I had to rearrange my sock drawer.
Yeah, Barnes. I always thought McLaughlin was calling him beetle.
"Check THESE out America." LMAO
Like mashing your nuts flat with a sledge hammer to achieve orgasm.
Where is the Bill Bennett show?
It's on the radio from 6-9am eastern time. I don't think he's on in all markets. But I think he's the best talk show host out there.
"Our local CBS affiliate was crowing (on last night's local news) that Katie's rating in the Twin Cities area were much higher than the rest of the country."
Only because Ted Baxter is dead!
Tuned in last night to see Rush (surprised that he looked a little heavier by the way) but I was amazed at how ridiculous the reporting and show itself actually was. A few observations...
Why do I feel like there were only 3 or 4 items covered through the entire 30 minutes?
Just about all the news was centered on politics. I think the majority of the country who are interested know they can get all the political stories on the cable outlets.
The first story right off the bat was a direct slam attempt on the President.
I noticed that they did the Plame Game story and they mentioned that it was "illegal" to reveal the name of a CIA undercover operative but they neglected to mention the fact that the law doesn't apply in this case and that is the reason nobody (including Armitage) was charged.
I don't "get" Katie and her style. She seems to be relying on a "perky" factor that evaporated years ago. She tries to talk with her eyes too much. Okay for her former Today Show audience, not what is expected in a national NEWS program. Just the facts, Ma'am.
A number of local news programs around the country have already tried the casual, stand-up approach to the news and it has failed miserably each time.
Katie looked quite old and frumpy in that skirt pulled up over her belly. These days she probably would come off better sitting behind a desk.
What's with the Max Headroom monitor set-up on her news set desk? Awkward.
Lifeless.
Katie is being used to lure the Oprah viewer but the flaw in this strategy is that those women are either watching entertainment tonight or the we channel evil male stalker movie at that time in the evening, not really your hard news viewers.Now if they bring back uncle Walter commie that would match the age of their average viewer!
What was Brit's closing last night?
Thanks. I'll look for it. I'm in the DC area so I'm sure I can get it.
Couric Audience Slips Again, but Still Rates Number One
The audience for The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric slipped again in the new anchor's third night on the air, but were still good enough to place no. 1 in the network news race.
Couric notched a 6.4 household rating/13 share in preliminary ratings in the 53 metered markets, according to Nielsen Media Research. But the program slipped from a 7.0 rating for Wednesday night's broadcast and a 9.1 rating for Couric's Sept. 5 debut.
Evening News is still performing well-above its usual numbers. A year ago, for example, the broadcast registered a 4.6/9 overnight rating.
On Thursday, CBS' ratings beat out the ABC and NBC competition. ABC World News posted a 5.3/11 rating in the same 53 markets. NBC's Nightly News only aired in 45 markets because of the NFL season opener and posted a 5.3/10 in those markets.
Final ratings will be available from Nielsen later this afternoon.
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