This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The household numbers are in from the July sweeps, and the late-news race is the closest it's been in quite some time: KUTV-Ch. 2 - 6.6; KSL-Ch. 5 - 5.9; KSTU-Ch. 13 - 4.5; KTVX-Ch. 4 - 2.0.
(A rating point represents 1 percent of the 897,390 TV-equipped homes Nielsen estimates are in the Salt Lake television market. These ratings are for the 10 p.m. newscasts on Channels 2, 4 and 5 and the 9 p.m. newscast on Ch. 13.)
There are two very important things to remember about these numbers, however:
First, they are household numbers only. And household numbers are not particularly important — they're not used to sell advertising, which is the whole point of ratings.
(Demographics will be out in a few weeks. In recent sweeps, Ch. 13 has led among viewers 18-49; Ch. 2 and Ch. 13 have battled for the lead among viewers 25-54; Ch. 5 has been third; and Ch. 4 has been fourth.)
And, second, the July sweeps aren't particularly important. They're sort of busy work for Nielsen; February, May and November sweeps are much more consequential.
Keeping that in mind, here are some other results:
• At 4:30 a.m., Ch. 13 was first; Ch. 2 was a close second; Ch. 5 was third; and Ch. 4 was fourth.
• From 5-8 a.m., Ch. 2 was first; Ch. 13 was second; Ch. 5 was third; and Ch. 4 was fourth.
• At 8 a.m., Ch. 13 was first; Ch. 2 was a close second; Ch. 5 was third; and Ch. 4 was fourth.
• In midday news, Ch. 2 was first; Ch. 13 was second; Ch. 5 was third; and Ch. 4 was fourth.
• At 5 p.m., Ch. 5 edged Ch. 2 for first; Ch. 13 was third; and Ch. 4 was fourth.
• At 6 p.m., first place Ch. 5 opened up a 0.7 point lead over Ch. 2; Ch. 13 as third; and Ch. 4 was fourth.
The Salt Lake Tribune maintains a newsgathering partnership with KUTV. Channel 2 did not, however, have any input in this story.