Channel Surfing
by Laura Nachman
Bucks County Courier Times
May 18, 2004

With week two of sweeps in the books, WPVI is clinging to a small lead at 11 p.m., despite a five-point disadvantage to WCAU leading-in to the broadcasts.  At 11 p.m., Monday through Friday, WPVI has an 11 rating/18 share.  The ABC lead-in at 10:45 p.m. is a 9 rating/12 share.  At 11 p.m., second place WCAU has a 10 rating/17 share, which is a decrease from the NBC lead-in of a 14 rating/20 share.  KYW is in third place with a 9 rating/15 share, which drops off from the CBS lead-in at 10:45 of a 13 rating/19 share.  However, KYW should be proud that its 11 p.m. show is up 64% from last year.

It's not as close at 6 p.m., as WPVI leads with an 11 rating/21 share, though it is down 14 percent from last year.  Meanwhile KYW is up 95% with a 6 rating/11 share, surpassing WCAU's 6 rating/10 share, down four percent from last year.

At 5 p.m., WPVI leads with a 9 rating/18 share.  "Dr. Phil" on KYW has a 7 rating/14 share.  WCAU is next with a 5 rating/10 share.   And it's "Seacrest Out," as "On Air with Ryan Seacrest" on WTXF lags with a 2 rating/3 share.  At least, he has that little show called "American Idol" (Go Fantasia!) to fall back on.

At 4 p.m., the ladies rule as "Oprah" on WPVI leads the timeslot with a 9 rating/21 share and "Judge Judy" continues to do well for WTXF with a 4 rating/9 share, a shade behind WCAU's 4 rating/10 share.  The 4 p.m. news is one of the areas not improving for KYW, as it is in fourth place with a 3 rating/7 share.

Numbers are rounded off to the highest number.  Each rating point equals 28,743 households.

Maria LaRosa will be the new evening weekend weather anchor for KYW beginning in June.  LaRosa has a meteorology degree from Penn State.  She arrives from the Fox station in Cincinnati, Ohio.  LaRosa joins the KYW weather staff of Kathy Orr, Paul Deanno, Carol Erickson and Tom Lamaine. 


Gervase Peterson from the first "Survivor" is one of the five survivors on "The Greatest Summer Gig Ever" traffic reporter contest on WCAU. 

Weather enthusiasts may vote for their favorite local forecaster on the new local web site called "Philly's Metro Weather Forum" (http://p213.ezboard.com/bphillysmetroweatherforum).

A local couple will get married on "Your Morning" tomorrow on CN8 at 9 a.m.  Black tie optional.

For those who enjoyed the Carol Burnett special last Wednesday, TV Land airs "Carol Burnett and Friends" in her old Saturday night at 10 p.m. timeslot.