"Jay walking? Try stumbling; After strong start, Leno’s falling ratings raise concerns" by Johnny Diaz, Globe Staff | October 17, 2009
Jay Leno’s entry into prime time television delivered big ratings for local NBC affiliate WHDH-TV in its first week, but the variety show has since dropped in local ratings and has hurt viewership for the late newscast that follows on Channel 7....
I never get anywhere near his show now that it is on at 10 (of course, I never watched at 11:30, either, but...)
Also see: Channel 7 Caves On Leno
The ratings crash also has hurt the 11 p.m. newscast that follows the Leno show: In the coveted demographic of viewers ages 25-54 for the first month of Leno’s show, viewership of WHDH’s newscast was cut almost by half, from 81,200 adults to 49,100.
Just as channel 7 said it would -- but NBC BENT THEM OVER anyway!
Chris Wayland, general manager and vice president of WHDH and sister station WLVI-TV (Channel 56) said it was too early to comment on the ratings. Jay Leno’s publicist referred calls to NBC spokesman John McKay, who agreed that no conclusions can be drawn yet. He also pointed to a recent Nielsen report that NBC affiliates across the country are down an average of 12 percent compared with a year ago....
MUST MISS TV?
“So far, the show’s performance is in-line with what our research predicted,’’ he said.
And what, pray tell, is this guy toking on?
NBC has been in a chronic ratings slump and hasn’t had a hit at 10 p.m. in recent years.
So they DESTROY the JEWEL of LATE NIGHT TV because NO ONE is watching the smarmy Conan.
But the network had high hopes for the Leno show, which includes similar programming from his previous late night show such as an opening monologue, headlines, “Jay Walking,’’ plus a new segment called the “Green Car Challenge.’’ Industry officials have said having the Leno show at 10 p.m. would cost a fraction of what a network might pay for a scripted series in that hour. In Boston, the most watched shows are scripted shows at 10 p.m. - CBS crime dramas such as “The Mentalist’’ and “CSI’’ Miami and New York series.
Initially, Leno’s show had high ratings. The Sept. 14 debut drew 321,000 total viewers, ranking as the 12th most watched program that week in Boston. The second show attracted 294,000 total viewers, the third show had 265,000, and the fifth show on a Friday night raked in 226,000 people. In the first week of the show, Leno benefitted from big celebrity guests such as Kanye West, Jerry Seinfeld, and Tom Cruise. “There was a sampling at work there, a curiosity factor because Leno did have a following and because it was an interesting experiment,’’ said Steve Safran, a Natick-based media consultant with the audience research firm AR&D.
OOOOPS!
But the show has seen a dramatic drop-off, with the episodes no longer appearing on Boston’s list of 30-most watched shows as they did in the beginning. The early numbers seem to confirm a fear that WHDH’s owner had when NBC announced that it would add Leno’s show at 10 p.m.
But did they listen? No, they didn't listen.
Last April, WHDH’s owner, Ed Ansin, said he would air a 10 p.m. newscast instead of Leno’s new show because he believed that a newscast would draw better ratings than Leno. After NBC’s top brass threatened to pull WHDH’s NBC affiliation, Ansin reversed his decision a week later. But early numbers show that Ansin was right - at least so far. WHDH actually was doing better in the key 25-54 demo before Leno premiered: During the July sweeps, the station had regained its top perch at 11 p.m. among those viewers....
--more--"And I'M a WINNER!
| What do you think of Jay Leno's new show?
| |
| I don't know, I haven't seen it. | |
 | 21.1% |
| I like it, but don't watch it all the time. | |
 | 19.3% |
| It's OK. I only watch it if there's nothing else on. | |
| | 19.3% |
| It's great. I watch it every night. | |
| | 15.8% |
| t's terrible. I don't plan to ever watch it again. | |
| | 15.8% |
| t's pretty bad. I only watch very infrequently. | |
| | 8.8% |
| Total votes: 57 | |
