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This Issue from John Kuczaj, the Chicago Media Examiner:
• Chicago Tonight Ratings
• Paige disses Mariotti
• Channel 9 Anniversary
• Musings
• Ask CME: July Sweeps
• Out of the Box: Summer Reruns
Chicago Tonight
Okay, I've dumped a bit on Chicago Tonight recently, so I decided it was time to give Bob Sirott & the CT crew some props. Since the show was revamped and expanded, more people are watching. How much more? How about 50% more than were watching the last season. That's not an easy feat. Generally, when a news program is expanded from 30 minutes to 60 minutes, the average audience drops off. Not so with CT. Of course, it's really no longer a pure news program, is it? But that's a debate for another time. A note about the numbers first: Ratings mean little to the average person, Household ratings even less. I like to look at actual audience, that is thousands (000's) of viewers. The Chicago Tonight numbers:
Adults 18+ Viewers in Thousands
| May 2003 |
60min |
77.5 |
| Feb 2003 |
60min |
79.2 |
| Nov 2002 |
60min |
75.8 |
| |
|
|
| May 2002 |
30min |
49.9 |
| Feb 2002 |
30min |
59.6 |
| Nov 2001 |
30min |
58.3 |
| May 2001 |
30min |
54.1 |
| Feb 2001 |
30min |
69.4 |
| Nov 2000 |
30min |
77.0 |
Source: Nielsen Media Research
Wow! Look at that dramatic turn-around! It's like everyone who abandoned the show in 2001 decided to return to the show. Good Job Bob!
Of course, that's just a cursory look at a general demographic, in this case: 18 years old to dead. I wondered how those numbers broke out by certain age groups. Here's how it looks:
Chicago Tonight Viewers in Thousands
| Sweep |
|
18+ |
18-24 |
25-34 |
35-54 |
55+ |
| May 2003 |
60min |
77.5 |
0.9 |
0.2 |
16.6 |
59.7 |
| Feb 2003 |
60min |
79.2 |
1.0 |
3.8 |
18.1 |
56.3 |
| Nov 2002 |
60min |
75.8 |
0.2 |
1.2 |
17.4 |
57.1 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| May 2002 |
30min |
49.9 |
0.0 |
1.1 |
12.6 |
36.2 |
| Feb 2002 |
30min |
59.6 |
1.2 |
5.0 |
9.7 |
43.7 |
| Nov 2001 |
30min |
58.3 |
0.0 |
5.1 |
7.5 |
45.7 |
| May 2001 |
30min |
54.1 |
2.5 |
0.6 |
11.9 |
39.1 |
| Feb 2001 |
30min |
69.4 |
3.0 |
1.7 |
12.8 |
51.8 |
| Nov 2000 |
30min |
77.0 |
0.0 |
5.1 |
21.6 |
50.4 |
Source: Nielsen Media Research
So, in November 2000, 65% of the audience was 55 years old or older while in May 2003, 77% of the audience was 55+. Okay, no one ever said Bob Sirott had a young following but I still find it interesting that only approximately 1,100 people aged 18-34 watches Chicago Tonight-especially since I'm one of them. It now makes sense that when Bob does features on old radio and old bands that no one under 35 cares about anymore; he's playing to the audience. Seriously though--WCFL? Isn't that an all-women's football league in Canada?
Woody Paige disses Mariotti
Denver's alt-weekly did an article about the Denver Post's Woody Paige and the new fans he has now that he's on ESPN's "Around the Horn". It's an interesting alt-weekly look at the merging of two established, yet incompatible things: Sportswriters and young fans. From the new 20-something fans to the Chicago-based guy who started www.woodypaige.com , (I wonder if anyone's done anything with www.jaymariotti.com ?) the crusty old sports scribe has become an odd cult figure. The cool thing is that he's very outspoken. I especially loved these nuggets:
Earlier, he recalled being approached by a couple of tweens who asked what [Around the Horn host Max] Kellerman was like. "He's a dick," Paige told them.
But while he seldom finishes in the lead, Paige wins more laughs than any of his fellows -- particularly [Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay] Mariotti, whom he says "has no sense of humor whatsoever" and obsessively keeps tabs on how often he's victorious. Not so Paige. "I don't take myself that seriously, and I don't take the show that seriously, either," he says. "It's supposed to be fun."
Jay Mariotti obsessively keeps tabs on his victories? I can't say I'm surprised.
Channel 9 Anniversary
Get out the party hats on Friday, August 22nd--WGN's Noon newscast turns 20 years old. One more year and it can buy us beer! That's right, it was August 22, 1983 when WGN's Midday News replaced Bozo's Circus at noon every weekday. I hope they acknowledge it in some way--maybe letting Steve Sanders solo anchor for old times' sake.
Musings
One point I forgot to make last week in regards to the "demotion" of David Greising's column in the Tribune. As far as research goes, it's funny what bits of information are used and what are not. It's my understanding that when the general population is polled on preference, most prefer a newspaper in an easy-to-handle tabloid format than the 19th century-era broadsheet. I don't have hard info on that, just the fading memory of something I read somewhere.
Not to take anything away from Channel 32's Byron Harlan, but Sunday night's Channel 32 9pm newscast with Danielle Serino & Nancy Pender was pretty cool. Yes, I think a newscast with Walter Jacobson & Mark Suppelsa would rule, but I also think Danielle & Nancy rule as well (and not just as the subjects of my letter to Penthouse Magazine, er, I mean, um, Respectable Anchor Illustrated). Channel 32 should think about same-gender anchors for all of its shows. That'd be interesting. Speaking of Nancy…
Is Nancy Pender "Nancy Preggers"? A few people have emailed me asking that question, and though I haven't read anything about it, it sure looks that way to me. This might explain the conservative or plain looking clothes she's been wearing of late--and the prominent belly I'm suddenly noticing. Gee, I hope she's not just putting on the pounds now that she's married--that'd make me all mean and everything for saying something.
Ask the CME
Every once in a while I get email questions. Let's make it a regular feature. Ask me anything about the Chicago media & I'll try to track down the answer. TV is my forte, but I know a few people who are experts in Radio & Newspapers. In the meantime, I'll start it off:
F.W. asks me, "Why don't you track the sweeps stories during the July sweep"?
Good question. Mainly it's because the July ratings sweep is inconsequential. Very rarely do salespeople use the July numbers to sell commercial time--they use the May numbers until the November rating book comes out in December. The reason is that 1. Viewing levels are low in the summer months, skewing the ratings and affecting the margins of error. 2. With the networks largely in reruns, all those great lead-ins to the late newscasts are gone. In the summer you may have cases where the top ranked station loses more viewers than the second ranked, letting that second-ranked station back into a victory. Who cares if it's just for summer though? 3. Not all stations bother to do sweeps stories during the July sweep. 4. Those that do generally run tons of fluff, so, who cares?
News shows are not immune to the viewer drop-off in the summer, and while it's nice to track how things go, many of the stations let their anchors take much-needed vacations so even the shows are in flux. The July rating sweep used to have some relevance, but not much these days.
Out of the Box
As someone who works in television and has to watch way too much television in order to keep current, the summer rerun season has been a great respite for my TV-weary eyes over the years. Not anymore. Four shows are ongoing right now that I'm loving. First, the second season of "Monk" on USA started up recently. Tony Shaloub is just fabulous and Bitty Schramm is quite funny as well. So far the show hasn't lost anything despite moving production from Vancouver to Los Angeles. Excellent writing, tremendous wit and entertaining performances. The only bad thing about the show is horrendously crappy Randy Newman theme song replacing last season's instrumental. Dumb. Second, USA just debuted "Peacemakers" starring Tom Berenger. While not in the class of "Monk", it's a pretty good cop show--something that I've missed for a while (Law & Order is not a pure "cop show"). Yes, it's basically CSI in the old west, but even formula dramas can be entertaining when they execute well. Lots of executions in the old west, don'tcha know. The third show I'm loving is "Keen Eddie" on Fox. I doubt the fish-out-of-water cop show will be picked up after summer, but I'm enjoying the straightforward formula cop show with a hint of British wit. The fourth show that I'm loving right now is "The Wire" on HBO. I can say with certainty that "The Wire" is definitely a better show than Six Feet Under, and pick either its first season or this current season; "The Wire" is much better than "The Sopranos" was after its first season. The writing is simply incredible and the performances are blowing me away. With each season encompassing one massive police investigation, it can be forgiven if the writing on the show falls below average. It hasn't. The writing is superior--the way the plot unfolds week after week is mind-boggling to me. Forget about the forced storylines drawing out "24" over a season--"The Wire" is a gripping show that deftly lays out its tale in a leisurely, unforced manner. Brilliant.
IN THE CURRENT CHICAGO RED FACE:
- CTA: "We Are Now 73% Urine-Free!"
- Bucktown to Secede From Chicago?
- Blagojevich to Change Name of state to "Illinoisovich"
- Sotheby's to Auction clues to new Seuss
- Dude that nailed Marilyn Monroe had flu symptoms
- Yankees Purchase Far East
- JAY MERRYMAN: Hundley Deal Huge Mistake
- Cool Again: Clip Shows
Check it out at: www.chicagoredface.com.
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Wednesday, July 30
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Wednesday, July 23
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