Sweeping Up in San Antonio

San Antonio's ABC affiliate KSAT-TV nearly swept the local news ratings and finished No. 1 in prime time during the just-completed May sweeps.

According to Nielsen numbers, KSAT continued its traditional ratings reign for newscasts in the morning (5 to 7 a.m.), at noon and 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

“We're really thrilled to continue in Jim Boyle's footsteps in delivering the news that connects with South Texas,” KSAT news director Bernice Kearney-Bonner said.

Boyle, a longtime news director at the station, died in March.

The station's one Achilles' heel is the 4 p.m. broadcast. Led by Ursula Pari, it continued to lag behind the Deborah Knapp-anchored “First at Four” on KENS-TV, which had a 5.5 rating to KSAT's 4.2. A ratings point equals 9,062 San Antonio-area households.

In other head-to-head news races, KENS finished second and WOAI-TV third.

However, in the late-news competition, KABB-TV's more youthful 9 p.m. news, co-anchored by Mike Valdes and Cynthia Lee (who left the station Wednesday), actually outdrew the 10 p.m. broadcast on WOAI, its more established Sinclair Broadcasting sister station. The Fox affiliate drew a 5.6 rating for its late newscast, KABB reported; WOAI, 4.6.

KSAT's signature 10 p.m. news hour — co-anchored by Steve Spriester and Isis Romero — was a big success story for the station. Its first half-hour not only beat all news competitors, but the second half walloped David Letterman's “Late Show” and Jimmy Fallon's “Tonight Show.”

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