Utah’s older TV viewers still prefer to watch local newscasts on KSL-Ch. 5 and KUTV-Ch. 2. But when it comes to the demographics that count — the audiences that advertisers pay to reach — FOX 13 is No. 1.
And some of the numbers are downright startling. According to Nielsen, here are the average number of viewers (in the specified demos) who tuned in to the stations’ late-night newscasts during the recently completed February sweeps.
To put that in some context, the prime news demographic is viewers 25-54; 18-49 is also highly important. And when it comes to selling ads, viewers 65+ don’t matter.
That’s not the view of the stations — or me — but it is an advertising reality. And commercial broadcast stations are in business to make money, so advertisers matter.
Among total late-news viewers, KSL led KUTV by 3% and FOX 13 by 38%. But among viewers 25-54, FOX 13 led KSL by 8% and KUTV by 34%.
To make a sports analogy, having the most older viewers is like winning time of possession in a football game. It’s a nice stat, but it doesn’t mean anything if the other team is scoring touchdowns ... with the 25-54 demo.
It’s worth pointing out that, overall, local newscast audiences skew old. In the Salt Lake City area TV market during February sweeps, 39% of late news viewers were 65 and older — 47% for KUTV, 45% for KTVX, 33% for KSL and 32% for FOX 13.
The late news numbers were not unique. Here’s a look at 5 p.m.
KSL had more than twice as many total viewers as FOX 13 at 5 p.m. But 63% of KSL’s viewers were 65 or older, and FOX 13 led in viewers 25-54 and 18-49.
And here’s a quick summary of local newscasts in other time slots during the February sweeps (which ran Jan. 30-Feb. 26):
4:30-6 a.m. • KUTV led in viewers; FOX 13 led in 25-54 and 18-49.
6-7 a.m. • KSL led in viewers; FOX 13 led in 25-54 and 18-49.
7-9 a.m. • FOX 13 beat the networks’ morning shows — ABC’s “Good Morning America,” CBS’ “This Morning” and NBC’s “Today” — in total viewers ages 25-54 and 18-49.
11 a.m.-noon • FOX 13 was way out in front of KTVX-Ch. 4 in all measurements.
Noon-1 p.m. • KUTV-Ch. 2 led in total viewers; FOX 13 led in 25-54 and 18-49.
4-5 p.m. • KUTV-Ch. 2 led in total viewers; FOX 13 led in 25-54 and 18-49.
5:30-6 p.m. • “NBC Nightly News” on KSL (just over 68,000 viewers) had a massive lead in total viewers — 29,000 more than “CBS Evening News” on KUTV-Ch. 2; 34,000 more than “ABC World News Tonight” on KTVX; and 40,000 more than FOX 13′s local newscast.
But, once again, KSL skewed old — 57% of its viewers were 65 and older. FOX 13 led the time slot in 25-54 and 18-49.
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