WABC, WPIX winners in Gotham Nielsen sweeps

By RICHARD HUFF

WABC, Capital Cities/ABC's flagship station, has polished off another November sweeps session with a win, maintaining its dominance over the Gotham television marketplace, although showing some daypart declines, according to final Nielsen statistics for the period.

Tribune-owned WPIX showed growth to finish in the top spot among the independent broadcasters.

This November outing marks the first time that WPIX has been the top-rated independent in both measurement services.

WABC won the total day race, beating nearest competitor WNBC by 1.7 ratings points. WABC was tops in total day with a 7.5/19. WNBC posted a 5.8/14; WCBS a 5 .3/13; WPIX a 4.7/12; WNYW a 4.2/10; and WWOR a 3.2/8.

WNYW's morning news program "Good Day New York" slipped to third place, the first time since February 1991, losing ground to WNBC's "Today." The station's "GDNY" spinoff, "Good Day Street Talk," did not fare well. The show is actually one of the lowest-rated programs airing in daytime.

In the afternoon talk race, WABC's "Oprah" was tops over WNBC's "Donahue," although down almost two points, which can be attributed to a lower lead-in being provided by "General Hospital." WNBC's "Maury Povich," which airs at 3 p.m., pulled in a 5.5/16, up from a 4.9 generated in the same period a year ago.

While WNYW's overall numbers dropped, the station was able to maintain its grasp on the 10 p.m. news crown. WNYW's 10 p.m. newscast posted a 5.6/9 to WPIX's a 4.3/7 and WWOR's a 2.8/4.

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