Florida News Center

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – April ratings underscore just how tight the race for Central Florida viewers has become and how the competition is challenging longtime leader WFTV-Ch 9.

The numbers in this story, unless otherwise noted, reflect viewers in the 25-to-54 age group, which is most important to news advertisers.

In the April ratings period that ended Wednesday, WESH-Channel 2 and WOFL-Channel 35 overtook WFTV in the 5 p.m. half-hour. (But WFTV was ahead of WOFL at 5:30.)

WESH was tops at 5 and 5:30 and came close to WFTV at 6. WESH was also reaching the most 25-to-54 viewers with its 4 p.m. newscast….Cont….

(from TVNewsCheck.com) – Orlando is a real Mickey Mouse place. Except when it comes to local TV news.

Then it’s a real dog-eat-dog fight for ratings supremacy between heavy hitters like Cox Media Group, Post-Newsweek, Hearst and Fox.

The top dog is Cox’s ABC affiliate WFTV. In November 2012, WFTV boasted a 40% share of the market’s news broadcasts (adults 25-54, Mon.-Sun., 5 a.m.-11:30 p.m.), says Bob St. Charles, who’s been the creative services director at the station since 2002. “It’s been the overall news leader … in every daypart since 2004,” St. Charles says.

Each station brings a distinctive marketing approach to the battle, says  Hal Boedeker, longtime TV writer for the Orlando Sentinel.

“WFTV stresses that it has connected with viewers by having everyday people on camera,” he says. “WESH [the Hearst-owned NBC affiliate] plays up a magazine poll as the market’s best….Cont….

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(from TVNewsCheck.com) – Allyson Meyers today was named vice president and general manager of Fox-owned WOFL (Fox)-WRBW (MNT) Orlando, Fla. (DMA 19), and WOGX Gainsville, Fla. (DMA 163).

She replaces Dennis Welsh, who was recently named VP-GM of Fox O&O WFLD Chicago. Effective Thursday, Jan. 17, Meyers will oversee all editorial, business and administrative functions for the stations.

Most recently, Meyers was VP-general sales manager of Fox O&O WTXF Philadelphia. Previously, she spent nearly nine years with Tribune Broadcasting….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - WFTV-Channel 9 was easily the big winner in the November ratings race.

In December, WFTV was the main victor, but some contests were mighty tight. WESH-Channel 2 came on strong in the early evening, and WKMG-Channel 6 was right behind WFTV in the 5 a.m. half-hour.

The stations concentrate on the 25-to-54 age group, which is most important to news advertisers. In that count at 11 p.m. Monday-Friday, WFTV averaged 27,300 viewers to WKMG’s 23,700, WESH’s 22,900 and WOFL-Channel 35’s 12,800. In a Monday-Sunday count, WFTV was the leader, but WESH edged WKMG by just 100 viewers….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – A reporter on WOFL-Channel 35 will be familiar to many Central Florida viewers: It’s Mary Nguyen, formerly of WFTV-Channel 9.

Nguyen is free-lancing for Fox-owned WOFL and hasn’t been hired, a station spokeswoman said….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - The folks at WFTV-Channel 9 can start spreading the news:  They were the big winners in the November ratings period known as sweeps.

WFTV said it had won every news time slot in the 25-to-54 age group, which is most crucial to news advertisers. The ratings period ended Wednesday.

WFTV General Manager Shawn Bartelt said the November news competition was fierce because of Hurricane Sandy and tight election results in Florida. But she added, “Our news product is unequalled in Central Florida. That is our promise and we intend to keep it.”….Cont….

Tampa’s WTVT and Orlando’s WOFL (WOGX – Gainesville) unveiled a new graphics package today. This new graphics package also debuted on all sixteen Fox O&O network stations. Other new changes include a semi-return to horizontal Fox “station” logo’s for graphic bugs, using the former vertical styled logos only for intros and bumper graphics.

Check out the YouTube video below from WTVT and the embedded stories to further demonstrate these new graphics at WTVT and WOFL.

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(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – Breaking news: WFTV-Channel 9 was the big winner in October news ratings.

The ABC affiliate won at 11 p.m., held off WESH-Channel 2 at 5 p.m. and emerged as the clear leader in the morning. The October ratings period ended Wednesday; the November sweeps started Thursday.

Fox-owned WOFL-Channel 35 was the winner in 10 p.m. news. WFTV was tops in other crucial time slots. The ratings race is measured on the 25-to-54 age group, which is most important to news advertisers.

At 11 p.m. weekdays, WFTV averaged 30,800 viewers. The rest: CBS affiliate WKMG-Channel 6 with 26,000, NBC affiliate WESH with 21,900 and WOFL with 13,200….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) - NBC affiliate WESH-Channel 2 is claiming victories in late and early news for the September ratings period that ended Wednesday.

WESH won in late news last month, thanks to a lift from the Olympic Games in London. WESH got support this month from a strong NBC prime-time lineup that included football, “America’s Got Talent” and “The Voice.”

The ratings victories in news are calculated on the 25-to-54 age group, which is most important to news advertisers.

At 11 p.m. Monday through Sunday, WESH averaged 26,700 viewers in the age group to WFTV-Channel 9’s 22,300 and WKMG-Channel 6’s 14,900….Cont….

(from OrlandoSentinel.com) – Lauren Johnson is joining Fox-owned WOFL-Channel 35 as a weekend morning anchor, starting Aug. 13.

She will share the weekend duties, from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, with Tom Johnson.

Lauren Johnson is coming from WHBQ, the Fox-owned station in Memphis. She has been a morning anchor and a health reporter there.

Her WHBQ bio reads: “Lauren’s health reporting has been nominated for three regional Emmy awards. In addition to health reporting, she has covered other major news stories, including the trial for Jessie Dotson,” who was convicted of one of the worst mass murders in Memphis history….Cont….