Local News Trumps Cable In Viewer Numbers

3Ladies-WatchTVDespite all the big brand awareness of the major cable news networks, the TV station community would like you to know that local TV news programs still deliver much bigger numbers in the respective major markets.

In a report release for its TVB Forward Conference, the TV trade association says in the top 10 U.S. markets, the cable networks networks only deliver 3% to 8% of local audience compared with TV stations' evening news. This information was gleaned from the May 2012 Nielsen data against the five highest-rated cable news networks CNN, CNBC, Fox News Channel, HLN and MSNBC.

The numbers are even bigger when it comes to the collective top three U.S. markets -- New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. There, the advantage over cable news is 168%. Among the top 10 U.S. markets, the number is 430%.

Looking at key TV news viewers, the aggregate audience for early and late local evening news in the top 10 U.S. TV markets had 38% of adults between the ages of 35 and 54 and 62% age 55 plus.

Steve Lanzano, president of the TVB, statess: "With the vast disparity in audience numbers, the significantly more attractive audience demographic and the broad gulf in credibility levels, it’s clear that in terms of reach and cost, advertising spending is maximized by purchasing spots during local broadcast news programming.”

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1 comment about "Local News Trumps Cable In Viewer Numbers".
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  1. Mike Einstein from the Brothers Einstein, September 12, 2012 at 8:20 p.m.

    It has nothing to do with credibility. It's simple math. You can only get local TV news on three or four channels in any given market - that's why they call it local. And whereas there are only several slices in the local TV news pie, there are hundreds of slices in the prime-time TV pie, which accounts for the paltry portions served by any single channel - national or local - in prime.

    BTW, those 35-54 numbers are closer to 50+ than the local TV guys will ever let on.

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