Final sweeps results for February demonstrated that major discrepancies remain between the Nielsen and Arbitron ratings services, but none of the Los Angeles TV stations appears willing to pony up the big bucks it will take to correct the problems.
After a lengthy study last year, an independent research company called for a drastic increase in the number of ratings meters in the market. But local stations, faced with declining profit margins, can't afford the huge pricetag for the larger sample size.
So they will be forced to live with an imperfect, crazy-making system in which news leader KABC-TV nabs a 10.3 rating/18 share in Nielsen at 6 p.m. while Arbitron hands out an 8.8/15 for the same newscast.
With each ratings point for news potentially worth more than $ 1 million in the L.A. market, the contradictory numbers can cause station exex and ad buyers to rush for the Rolaids.
Faced with this hodgepodge of data, media buyers often have had to rely on their gut instincts in crafting deals based on hyped sweeps data.
KNBC-TV, which finished second to KABC in news during the February Nielsen sweeps after fending off a charge by the once-invisible KCBS-TV (Daily Variety, March 4), has not had to worry about conflicting numbers.
The O&O dropped Arbitron a couple of years ago, claiming its sampling method was flawed. From the results of the latest sweeps survey, however, it would appear the service has taken corrective action.
In one of the great ironies of the February measurement period, KNBC performed better in most key time periods in Arbitron than it did in Nielsen. Nielsen had KNBC ahead in only one time period, 5 p.m., but a mere two-tenths of a point separated the two services in the hour. At 3, 4 and 6 p.m., Arbitron showed KNBC running slightly ahead of Nielsen.
The gap, however, widened considerably in the critical 6:30-8 p.m. block when KNBC was earning about a half a rating point more during each half-hour in Arbitron.
And at 11 p.m., there was an enormous difference between the two services. KNBC scored a 7.9/17 in Arbitron compared to a 6.7/15 in Nielsen.
The Nielsen households favored KABC in early fringe and access, providing the No. 1 L.A. station with the biggest advantage over Arbitron at 5 p.m. (9.9/20 vs. 8.7/17), 6 p.m. (10.3/18 vs. 8.8/15) and the network news at 6:30 p.m. (10.7 /18 vs. 8.9/15).
In fact, Nielsen provided the ABC station with an unprecedented 5 share advantage in the little-watched sign-on to sign-off average. KNBC finished second.
Nielsen families also seemed to favor the firstrun syndie action hours on KCOP. The new primetime alternative apparently has taken a toll on the O&Os, which declined in the daypart.
Led by the astromonical success of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," seven new action hours premiered this season in prime (all but two appear on KCOP).
"Next Generation" earned a network-level 15.3 rating in Nielsen during the sweeps, with "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" capturing a 12.9.
"The Untouchables" received a 10.9, "Time Trax" an 8.8, "Baywatch" a 5.2 and "Kung Fu" a 5.8. The latter series faced competition from the Michael Jackson interview with Oprah Winfrey on KABC and the Grammys on KCBS.
Two weekend hours appear in prime time on KTLA, with "The Highlander" garnering a 5.4 and "The Renegade" hauling in a 4.1.
Another Nielsen sweeps highlight was the rise of KCAL-TV's prime time news block. During a month that had a fair share of breaking news, the Disney-owned indie saw its 8 p.m. newscast jump to 5.7 from 5.0 in February 1992, its 9 p.m. program climb to 5.7 from 3.9 and the 10 p.m. show rise to 4.0 from 2.8.
Moreover, KCAL, which is about to celebrate its third news anniversary, pulled a coup at 10 p.m., knocking Fox-owned KTTV out of second place for the first time. As usual, KTLA took the indie news crown.
KTLA, meanwhile, had a potent early-fringe duo in the 6-7 p.m. block. "Full House" scored 8.0/14 and "Saved by the Bell" climbed to 8.5/14, providing the station with a second-place finish behind KABC in the hour.
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