Gannett Station Widens Lead in Buffalo Ratings

It wasn't that long ago when WGRZ the Gannett station in Buffalo ​was in last place in the news ratings.

The Number 1 station was WKBW followed by WIVB and then WGRZ.​

You can flip that upside down now.​

WGRZ topped the news ratings from morning to evening. WIVB gets a win late, thanks to CBS prime time and WKBW continues to suck wind.​

As FTVLive told you a few weeks ago, WKBW GM Bill Ransom is going to retire later this year. When Ransom took over the station is was a solid number one. Under Ransom's leadership the station went from first to worst. And you wonder why the guy gets to retire, instead of being fired a long time ago?​

One interesting trend in the market, more Buffalo viewers are watching at 5 a.m. and fewer viewers are watching at 5 p.m.

The combined rating of the Big Three at 5 a.m. was 8.8, which was 25 percent higher than it was a year ago. And all three stations saw 5 a.m. increases.

The combined rating at 5 p.m. was 16.6, which was about 15 percent lower than the 19.3 rating a year ago. And all three stations saw 5 p.m. decreases. Channel 4 dropped about 20 percent at 5 p.m. from a year ago.

Also, WIVB is just starting a pissing match with Time Warner Cable on Retrans fees. The station did the same thing a few years ago and was off the area's biggest cable system for about a month.​

If that happens again, it could spell more bad news for the falling second place station.​

H/T Buffalo News