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Super Bowl Brings Big Ratings to WBZ, CBS
By Michael Page | February 8, 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 in the 1980s. Keep in mind that the overall viewing audience was smaller in the ’80s, however.
Locally, WBZ was also thrilled with the game. At the peak of viewership (around 9:15 PM), 2,378,500 people were tuned in to channel 4.
You also might be interested to know that the :30 local spots WBZ got to sell for the game went for as much as $200,000, according to The Boston Globe.
Topics: National, WBZ (Channel 4) | 12 Comments »
February 9th, 2010 at 10:09 am
I thought CBS did a great job….a bit surprised when I read that there were 67 or so commercials.
February 10th, 2010 at 7:12 am
Not sure why it didnt help Bz the next morning.Boston has had enough of Paula Ebben. Time for a change.
February 10th, 2010 at 10:37 am
I disagree, I think both Paula and David do a good job on wbz. They are the reason I watch.
February 10th, 2010 at 11:28 am
Hey Stevo……Did Paula Ebben turn you down for a date or something? This site is for conversation about local news outlets and how they cover current events. It isn’t meant to be an outlet for you to continually attack any one individual news anchor. I think Michael Page needs to review your comments and maybe limit your input. It has consisted of nothing but slams on Paula Ebben. I don’t think that is his intended purpose.
February 10th, 2010 at 11:40 am
jjf I dont agree with you.This outlet is for opinions also.If you look at previous fox commentsyou will see comments about Kim should just stay home,Gene tells the same jokes all the time,Doug stinksETC.I think and have always said Paula is a terrific reporter and that is what she should do.I enjoy her consumer stories.Ratings dont lie.bZ IS IN 4TH OR 5TH AT 5 AND 6 every day and maybe they should make a change.Opinion not bashing.
February 10th, 2010 at 11:41 am
Yes, it is. I have said before that I really look down upon any type of personal attacks. I certainly avoid any type of petty discussion like that in my posts, and I am happy that most of the readers on this site follow with similar comments.
However, there are always those who decide to leave the high rode. I censor comments when they become overly rude, or just plain malicious (trust me, I have censored some winners). So far stevo hasn’t crossed the line, but I think his point has been made.
TV is a harsh business, and I always appreciate people pointing out comments they feel are over the line. Action will be taken if needed.
February 10th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
Really surprised me to hear this Super Bowl was THAT highly watched! this kind of snuck (is that a word?) up on me. Perhaps it was the fact the Pats exited so early, or it was Peyton and the Colts.
Good stories all around but the highest rated for 2 smaller market teams was an eye-opener. What was it The Who? bad weather on the East Coast? The closeness of the game? Or maybe a combo of all.
CBS did a solid job on the broadcast. The announcers were not over the top (Maddenesque), and the game was the story. A to CBS
February 11th, 2010 at 2:04 am
Not necessarily to defend Stevo, but there is something to the fact that usually such a heavily watched event on a station tends to leave viewers on that station who have turned off there and return with that station still on the next day.
I’ve only watched once or twice, but I did like the channel 4 morning news except for a few things. I think it may be just a case that other stations are doing so much better in the ratings that even with the superbowl frenzy, it wasn’t enough to make a difference.
February 13th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
So you’d think with 2.4 million people watching, you’d do pretty well the next morning… as people left their sets on your station and went to bed.
The news for WBZ – not so good.
At 5am, WBZ finished 4th… a full rating point behind first-place WCVB
At 6am, WBZ finished 4th (nearly 5th)… 2.6 rating points behind WCVB
Maybe everyone woke up late and watched The Early Show? Nope… WBZ finished 5th from 7-9am, behind WCVB, WFXT, WHDH *and* WMUR.
So I guess not enough people are “curious” why yawning is contagious…
February 13th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
That doesn’t sound like a very efficient way of looking at things, Peter. Which room do you think the vast majority of people watched the Super Bowl in? My money would be on the living room. That then begs the question, how many people actually eat their breakfast in front of that living room TV? Right, probably not many.
February 13th, 2010 at 5:38 pm
Well I wouldn’t blame the Early Show ratings on the affiliate. I tried watching the Early Show one day and found it to be horrible. Seems like a small market morning show, rather than a national one. It isn’t even HD.
I usually watch WBZ News in the morning.
February 14th, 2010 at 10:41 pm
I agree with Brad. The Early Show is awful. I wish there were a way for WBZ to not have to show it, and have their local news on until 9AM. I like WBZ’s morning news. I used to watch the full 4 hours of FOX-25′s morning show, until VB started getting on my nerves so much that the show became unwatchable for me. Even the Early Show is less annoying than that (but it’s still a lousy show).