WCAU can say it is in the ratings race for the long haul, as it has been right alongside WPVI, which once was the undisputed ratings leader in all newscasts.

By LAURA NACHMAN
Courier Times

Once again, sweeps is going down to the wire, but it looks like WPVI will win the 11 p.m. news race for the May ratings period which ended last night. Going into the final three nights of sweeps, WPVI anchored by Jim Gardner had a 12.0 rating and WCAU, which resorted to sending out postcards to remind viewers to watch, had an 11.5 rating with Larry Mendte and Renee Chenault-Fattah. Each rating point equals around 28,010 households.

The two stations have been duking it out the last year and a half as WCAU had won three of the last four ratings periods at 11 p.m. over WPVI by slim margins going into this ratings period. Both stations can be happy, as WPVI gains viewers at 11 p.m. despite its weak ABC lead-in, and WCAU can say it is in the ratings race for the long haul, as it has been right alongside WPVI, which once was the undisputed ratings leader in all newscasts.

Also of note, KYW's ratings are around the same as last year at 11 p.m. with roughly a 6.0 rating, but the newscasts at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. are down. Some of the blame can be placed on "The Weakest Link," which replaced "Sally Jessy Raphael" at 4 p.m. The only thing that could be worse for KYW would be if Sally hosted "The Weakest Link."

However, KYW reports that its 5-7 a.m. newscast anchored by Amy Caples and Tom Negovan is up 35 percent. By the way, an insider at KYW said that Rich Noonan, formerly of WTXF was interested in the KYW position, which went to Negovan. For WTXF, its recent personnel moves may be paying off, as "The Ten O'clock News" is up almost a full rating point from a year ago with new anchor Dawn Stensland and "Good Day Philadelphia" continues to improve with new co-host Kerri Lee Halkett. WPHL, with new news director Chuck Carter, continues to have around half the audience at 10 p.m. as WTXF.

IT'S YOUR COUNTY

CN8's "It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle" should move its studio from Penn's Landing to Bucks County since many of the principals of the show are from this area. Doyle lives in Yardley, commentator John Ziegler, who went to Holy Ghost Prep in Bensalem and is a former Courier Times Golfer of the Year, and contributors Laura Jones and Matt Stafford all live in Bucks County. The Monday-Thursday talk show hit the five-year milestone last week.

While WGTW, the television equivalent of the land of misfit toys, can only dream about having numbers like the aforementioned stations, it does have one success story, the guilty pleasure "Cheaters." Hosted by the man with the perpetual five o'clock shadow, Tommy Grand, the show follows men and women who are suspected of infidelity with a hidden camera and then confronts them. One of Channel 48's highest rated shows with a 1.0 rating, it airs Friday at 9 p.m. and Saturday at 10 p.m. Hey, it beats "Matlock" reruns.

PHILLY CAN HACK IT

Good news and bad news for Philadelphia with the announcement of the network fall schedules last week. First, the bad news is that "Philly," starring Kim Delaney, was canceled by ABC. The good news is that for the first time, a network television show will be filmed here as "Hack," starring Philadelphia resident David Morse ("St. Elsewhere"), will be part of the CBS schedule. Morse plays a cab driver ... Longtime WPHL director of creative services Dan Reese left the station "to pursue other interests" last week. Reese was with WPHL for 14 years.

Reach Laura Nachman at [email protected].

Thursday, May 23, 2002