KCBS still waiting for Diaz
Anchor's push hasn't paid off in newscast ratings
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The high profile 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts that Diaz recently began anchoring with Harold Greene showed little spark compared to last November.
In fact at 5 p.m., with two days to go in the rating sweep, the newscast was down 23% in household rating and down 20% in share to a 2.0 rating/4 share, according to Nielsen.
At 11, traditional also-ran KCBS (4.3/9) did see a Mon.-Fri. uptick in rating -- by 2% -- although its share was down 10%. The rating was helped by considerably larger growth on the part of the Los Angeles area CBS O&O's primetime lead-in (7.2/12 from 10:45-11), which was up 11% in rating and flat in share.
In addition to unprecedented promotion behind the addition of Diaz to KCBS, the station and its new sibling, KCAL, have begun strategizing together this year since a Viacom duopoly was created in the spring by Viacom's purchase of KCAL from Young Broadcasting.
Don Corsini, who runs the duopoly as KCBS and KCAL prexy-G.M., told Daily Variety that his stations aim to be the news leaders in Southern California over time, not overnight.
"The bottom line is news viewership -- no matter what -- does not turn around in 60 days," Corsini said, adding that the stations already are seeing some newscasts edge up, such as KCAL's 8 and 9 p.m. programs, as well as the half-hour infocast on KCBS that was recently moved from noon to 11 a.m., where it's actually beating KNBC ever-so-slightly for second in news behind KABC in the slot.
"It's one day at a time," Corsini said. "And we're pleased as punch that Laura is with us."
The late news race in L.A. is getting particularly competitive, due in part to some dramatic shifts in the lead-ins.
Traditional leader KNBC remains in first at 11, with a 7.5/15, which is down 1% in rating and 12% in share. The ever-important 10:45-11 lead-in to the infocast was down by 5% in rating and 14% in share to 10.4/18.
Second-place KABC, whose 11 p.m. share perf matched its lead-in share, was up at 11 by 12% in rating and even in share to a 6.6/13, fueled by a 10% rating growth from 10:45-11 (7.8/13). Its share was down 7%.
KCBS actually came in fourth for the time period, behind KTLA's off-network run of "Friends" (up 26% in rating and 13% in share to 4.4/9), but third among newscasts.
The Spanish-lingo outlets also continue to show growth at 11.
Univision's KMEX is up at 11 to 3.3/7 by double-digit percentages in rating and share and up in rating and flat in share during its lead-in. Telemundo station KVEA, new sibling to NBC O&O KNBC, is up at 11 to 1.8/4 by triple digit percentages in rating and share and up dramatically during its lead-in.
There's also one more player at 11 than there was last year, and one less at 10. KCOP (1.5/3), whose newscast has been moved from 10 to 11 since last November -- out of the way of its News Corp. sibling, Fox O&O KTTV -- was down by double-digit percentages from what "Blind Date" did in the time period last year and is also down from what it did at the 10 spot.
At 10, KTLA (4.1/7) beat rival KTTV (3.3/5) on a Mon.-Fri. basis, where it was up 2% in rating and flat in share, while KTTV was down 18% and 29% in rating and share, respectively.
KTTV's dips followed double-digit year-to-year drops in its 9:45-10 p.m. primetime lead-in (from Fox). KTLA's lead-in (from the WB) was virtually flat.
