Urban 'Vibe' rater
Talker's numbers slip; 'Wayans' hangs in
"Vibe" averaged a 1.8 national Nielsen household rating during the week of Aug. 11, marking an 18% decline from its premiere week average of a 2.2, according to Nielsen's latest syndie ratings report.
But there's still no national report card on the other new syndie latenight contender, "The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show."
For the second week in a row, national ratings for Buena Vista TV's "Wayans" were delayed due to problems with Nielsen's tabulation process. A spokesman for Nielsen Media Research said such delays were not uncommon for syndicated fare, adding that the second-week rating report was held up while Nielsen verified its station and timeslot lineup for "Wayans."
"Wayans" continues to have a strong showing in selected major markets, according to Nielsen's overnight survey of 38 metered markets. "Wayans" has ranked second among latenight talkers in New York and Los Angeles since its Aug. 4 debut.
After three weeks, from Aug. 4-22, "Wayans" is averaging a 3.2 household rating and 8 share in the metered markets, which is exactly the same as the average performance last month of the shows it replaced in those metered markets. "Vibe," which has named Laugh Factory founder Jamie Masada a comedy consultant, has a three-week metered-market average of 2.3/5, marking a 19% drop from its July timeslot averages.
Another trend is coming clear, predictably, for the talkshows aimed at young, minority viewers. "Wayans" and "Vibe" are pulling their highest ratings in such urban centers as Memphis, St. Louis, New Orleans and Atlanta. Correspondingly, both shows are not faring as well in the relatively suburban metered markets of Hartford, Conn., and Portland, Ore.
