Ratings Race Tightens Up in The Big Easy

We now have ourselves a horse race.... 

What's the most-watched TV news station in New Orleans? For decades, the answer was the same: WWL. Now, in the suddenly hyper-competitive local TV landscape, the answer is: Depends what time it is.

The Times Picayune writes that in the recently concluded May sweeps ratings period, Fox affiliate WVUE was champ in the 10 p.m. hour, winning the late local news battle for the second consecutive sweeps period, according to Nielsen weekday ratings figures. (Note: NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune and WVUE-FOX 8 have been news partners since 2013.)

NBC affiliate WDSU boasted the most-watched local weekday news program at 6 p.m., while CBS affiliate WWL still owned the ratings crown at 4:40, 5 and 6 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. weekdays.

But while each station can boast of its own May wins, the underlying story is the continued easing of the ratings death grip that WWL had on the market in almost every time period over the last 40 years. 

Here is a breakdown of the ratings by time period:

4:30 a.m.: WWL, 2.2; WVUE, 1.3; WDSU, 1.2; WGNO (network), 0.7
5 a.m.: WWL, 3.7; WDSU, 2.0; WVUE, 1.9; WGNO, 0.7
6 a.m.: WWL, 5.5; WDSU, 4.0; WVUE, 3.2; WGNO, 0.9
7 a.m.: WDSU (network), 4.6; WVUE, 3.7; WWL (network), 3.6; WUPL, 2.0; WGNO (network), 1.5
8 a.m.: WDSU (network), 3.7; WVUE, 3.3; WWL (network), 3.0; WUPL, 1.9; WGNO (network), 1.1;
Noon: WWL, 8.8; WVUE, 3.0
4 p.m.: WDSU, 4.6; WVUE, 3.4
5 p.m.: WWL, 7.2; WDSU, 6.7; WVUE, 4.6; WGNO, 1.1
5:30 p.m.: WDSU (network), 8.18; WWL (network), 6.8; WVUE, 4.6
6 p.m.: WDSU, 7.15; WWL, 7.05; WGNO, 0.8
9 p.m.: WVUE, 6.33
10 p.m.: WVUE, 6.8; WWL, 6.3; WDSU, 5.9; WGNO, 0.7

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