In the May ratings, WKMG-Channel 6 interrupted WFTV-Channel 9’s dominance in the news ratings.
With viewers ages 25-to-54, WFTV was tops at 6 a.m., noon and 6 and 11 p.m., according to the Nielsen ratings.
Yet in a major surprise, WKMG emerged as the leader from 4 to 6 p.m., and WFTV dropped to third behind WKMG and WESH-Channel 2.
WESH highlighted that its 10 p.m. news on sister station WKCF-Channel 18 had finished first with 25-to-54 viewers for the ninth consecutive rating period.
WOFL-Channel 35 and WFTV were basically tied in 25-to-54 viewers at 5 a.m. (The Sentinel has a content-sharing agreement with WOFL.)
The stations put the emphasis on 25-to-54 viewers, who are crucial to news advertisers. But the age group is a small sliver of the overall audience. In the age group at 6 p.m., for instance, WFTV drew 18,849 viewers to WESH’s 16,964, WKMG’s 15,864 and WOFL’s 5,304.
But with all 18 and older viewers at 6 p.m., WFTV averaged 104,707 to WESH’s 76,006, WKMG’s 49,339 and WOFL’s 17,016.
WFTV was the leader in most news time slots with all 18 and older viewers. An exception was 11 p.m., where WKMG rose to the top behind a strong CBS prime time. In late news, WKMG averaged 68,144 viewers, surpassing ABC affiliate WFTV (48,947) and NBC affiliate WESH (46,933).
CBS was the clear prime-time favorite in the ratings period that ended Wednesday. With all viewers 2 and older, WKMG averaged a whopping 114,559 viewers. It was far ahead of WESH (83,975), WFTV (56,492) and WOFL (37,897). CBS offered such ratings draws as “NCIS,” “60 Minutes” and the series finale of “The Big Bang Theory.”
WFTV benefited from the strong showing of “Jeopardy!” at 7 weeknights and the impressive winning streak of James Holzhauer.
