Viewers Tuning Out the News in Denver
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The ratings are in for the November book in Denver and the news is not good, not good at all.
The Denver Post writes that the Denver stations suffered market-wide, double-digit declines in late newscast viewership in the November 2017 ratings sweeps. The decline in people using television, a factor for a decade, continues.
“That’s something that’s scary for all of us,” KMGH news director Holly Gauntt said.
All of Denver’s late newscasts lost viewers: KUSA-Channel 9, while still the market leader, was down 28 percent at 10 p.m. KDVR-Channel 31, was down 12 percent at 9 p.m., down 16 percent at 9:30 p.m. and down 16 percent at 10 p.m. KCNC-Channel 4 saw a 20 percent drop at 10 p.m. KMGH-Channel 7 dropped 22 percent at 10 p.m.
KUSA’s decline of 28 percent, down from a 3.09 rating last November to 2.23 this year, translates to a loss of nearly 15,000 viewers.
The chief reason for the decline is obvious: Digital devices continue to draw attention away from television as younger audiences desert the medium in droves. According to a September 2017 Pew Report, in a drastic change from a generation ago, “the internet substantially outpaces TV as a regular news source for adults younger than 50.”
On the plus side, KUSA proved that patience is a virtue when it comes to “Next with Kyle Clark.” That non-traditional 6 p.m. news show had a resurgence in the ratings, beating the competition with a 2.26 rating.
KDVR-Channel 31 is on the rise, continuing a recent trend in the Denver TV ratings race. While KUSA-Channel 9 has been dominant for decades and remains No. 1, the Tribune-owned Fox affiliate “Fox31” finished a strong No. 2 in the November sweeps.
Denver viewers favored Lester Holt on NBC (KUSA) among the evening network news anchors. Jimmy Fallon on NBC (KUSA) was tops locally for late night comedy.
The three most popular prime time shows in the market during November were all on CBS: “The Big Bang Theory” followed by “Young Sheldon” (the spinoff of “Big Bang”), followed by “60 Minutes.” But KCNC couldn’t use that lead-in advantage from CBS to boost its late news numbers.
