UPDATED: In April ratings, WFTV-Channel 9 was the biggest winner in local news, although some races were tighter than usual.
The ABC affiliate won with 25-to-54 viewers at 6 a.m., at noon, from 4-6:30 p.m. and at 11 in late news. One exception: At 5 a.m., Fox-owned WOFL-Channel 35 edged WFTV.
Nielsen ratings were released Thursday for the period that ended Wednesday.
News advertisers are usually most interested in the 25-to-54 group, although those numbers can be small. With the age group, WFTV edged WESH-Channel 2 at 5 and 6 p.m.
WFTV also had the benefit of a huge 25-to-54 magnet in “Jeopardy!” at 7 weeknights. For 13 out of 20 days, “Jeopardy!” beat everything in prime time with the age group. James Holzhauer’s 15-day, $1.1 million run has electrified viewers.
The news ratings reflected how competitive the market can be.
At 6 p.m., for instance, WFTV averaged 19,912 viewers to WESH’s 18,452, WKMG-Channel 6’s 12,112 and WOFL’s 5,874. (The Sentinel has a content-sharing agreement with WOFL.)
The race at 6 a.m. was competitive and offered new wrinkles. WFTV was the leader with 19,193 viewers to WKMG’s 16,029, WOFL’s 15,745 and WESH’s 8,866. WESH usually runs second to WFTV in the time slot.
At 11 p.m. Monday-Sunday, WFTV enjoyed a wider lead. WFTV drew 16,471 viewers to WKMG’s 9,632, WESH’s 8,624 and WOFL’s 5,455.
In 10 p.m., WFTV had another reason to crow. Its news on sister station WRDQ-Channel 27 won the race Monday-Friday. On a Monday-through-Sunday count, the WESH news on WKCF-Channel 18 won a tight race over WOFL and WRDQ.
The ratings for all viewers 18 and older sometimes told a far different story. They also show that TV news is reaching a far bigger audience. In TV ratings, you can make a big splash by highlighting the most favorable measurement.
At 6 p.m., WFTV averaged 104,180 viewers and was way ahead of WESH with 76,623, WKMG with 44,018 and WOFL with 14,292.
At 6 a.m., the race was tighter: WFTV with 45,644, WESH with 33,173, WKMG with 32,551 and WOFL with 22,774.
At 11 p.m. CBS affiliate WKMG was in front with 66,477. It was followed by WFTV with 53,916 and WESH with 45,078.
The CBS prime-time lineup on WKMG was the most-watched locally with all viewers. The ABC schedule on WFTV edged the NBC schedule on WESH for second.
But another striking fact: “Jeopardy!” was bigger than any prime-time series with the total audience.
The next ratings race, the May sweeps, started Thursday (today).
Email Hal at hboedeker@orlandosentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter: @tvguyhal. Instagram: TVGuyHal
