WPTV-CHANNEL 5 TOPS IN LOCAL SWEEPS

 November 29, 2003 | Palm Beach Post, The (FL)

 | Page: 1F | Section: BUSINESS
409 Words | Readability: Lexile: 1220, grade level(s): 11-12


WPTV-Channel 5 again dominated the market for the November sweeps period, despite a drop in ratings from the same period a year ago.

WPTV, an NBC affiliate, topped the other stations in prime-time programming and local newscasts for Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast for the November ratings period, Nielsen Media Research said Friday.

WPTV also boasted improvement in its morning and noon news programs because of its morning game shows, the station said.

The station with the biggest jump in its ratings was WPEC-Channel 12, a CBS affiliate. It made ratings gains in seven of its eight daily newscasts, which officials attributed to the news management as well as CBS programming.

"This success is a tribute to the terrific staff here at News12," Steve Hunsicker, WPEC's executive news director, said in a statement. "Our news management team had a plan in place and executed it to perfection."

The market's ABC affiliate, WPBF-Channel 25, came in third place, and the Fox affiliate, WFLX-Channel 29, came in fourth. WFLX's news broadcasts, which air at 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., are produced by WPEC.

The West Palm Beach market is the nation's 39th largest. The area includes Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties.

For local news at 6 p.m., WPTV had a 14.7 rating, a slight increase from its November 2002 rating of 14.4. The station's 11 p.m. rating fell to 10.4 from 11.4 a year ago.

WPEC's 6 p.m. ratings jumped to 9.0 from 7.4 a year ago. Its 11 p.m. newscast improved slightly, to 8.4 from 8.2 in November 2002.

The West Palm Beach market has 709,290 households, according to Nielsen. One ratings point is equivalent to 7,092 homes.

WPBF dropped in its 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. ratings, to 4.2 at 6 and 4.8 at 11.

WFLX gained ground in the 7 p.m. time slot, going to 1.6 from 0.9 a year ago. It lost some market share at the 10 p.m. slot, dropping to 4.4 from 5.3 a year ago.

Officials at all the TV stations were unavailable Friday for comment.

kristi_swartz@pbpost.com

Late newscasts

Rating Rating

Nov. Nov.

Station 2003 2002 Change

WPTV 10.4 11.4 -1.0

WPEC 8.4 8.2 0.2

WPBF 4.8 4.9 -0.1

WFLX * 4.4 5.3 -0.9

6 p.m. newscasts

Rating Rating

Nov. Nov.

Station 2003 2002 Change

WPTV 14.7 14.4 0.3

WPEC 9.0 7.4 1.6

WPBF 4.2 4.8 -0.6

WFLX**

* Newscast at 10 p.m.

** WFLX does not have a 6 p.m. news broadcast

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