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Boston Remains Market 7

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

Nielsen announced on Friday that Boston remains market 7 for the 2010-2011 broadcast season. In fact, there were no changes in rank for any of the top 10 markets. Within the top 20 markets there was only one change: Miami moved up one spot to 16, knocking Denver down to 17. Boston will add about 50,000 [...]

Super Bowl Brings Big Ratings to WBZ, CBS

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Last night’s match up between the Colts and Saints was not only great for sports fans, but also for CBS execs. The game launched into television history, becoming the most watched program ever. According to CBS, 106.5 million people tuned in for the game, passing the 105.97 million viewers who watched the finale of M*A*S*H [...]

Gibson to Retire, Sawyer Replaces

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

Although this isn’t local news, it is a big change up on the national scene. ABC’s Charles Gibson announced this morning that he will retire from ABC at the end of this year. Diane Sawyer, Charlie’s former co-anchor on GMA, will replace him as World News anchor beginning in January. Gibson has been the evening [...]

2009-2010 DMAs Announced

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Nielsen has announced its 2009-2010 DMA Rankings, which go into effect next month. Boston will stay at market 7, and all other top 10 markets remain unchanged. Boston’s total TV homes increases from 2,409,080 to 2,410,180. Total TV homes around the country increases from 114,456,650 to 114,866,380. In the top 20 markets, there are some [...]

“And that’s the way it is…”

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Walter Cronkite, the long-time CBS Evening News anchorman, died tonight at 92. For weeks it has been rumored that his health was deteriorating. Cronkite sat on the anchor desk through many a major event, including the 1969 landing on the moon which was commemorated this week.

Swine Flu Coverage

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

OK, I try not to rant too often, but this Swine Flu mess is really driving me crazy. For the last week, national and local news coverage has literally flooded us with the latest on the swine flu. I am sick of it. Seriously, do you feel any better by watching the coverage? Are you [...]

The Ratings Game

Monday, March 30th, 2009

As many of you know, the March Sweeps numbers will be out shortly. These numbers are mainly used to set ad rates in the future. If you are not intimately acquainted with the TV industry, the way ratings are measured may be confusing. This article in today’s Globe may help you sort it all out.

DTV Delay

Monday, February 9th, 2009

Earlier this month the President and Congress delayed the national transition to all digital TV. The transition, which had been scheduled to take place later this month, will now occur on or by June 12. Here in Boston, WBZ and WCVB both say they will delay the switch as recommended by the government. The FCC [...]

This is News?!

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

As many of you astute viewers know, November is a sweeps month. Even though sweeps are far more important for markets without electronic meters, Boston stations still try to present their “A” game in hopes of scoring new viewers and more ad revenue. Investigative Units are usually kept very busy during sweeps, and special reports are featured [...]

ABC, WCVB Win Election Night

Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

The election is over! Can you believe it? My guess is that many in the TV business are not too happy. The Herald estimates that Boston TV news stations picked up a combined $35 million on political ads, a nice supplement to revenue amid a poor economy. Last night’s coverage was not only coverage of a [...]

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