Well, the February sweeps period is mercifully over, which means we'll no longer be subjected to reports such as Channel 3's man-boobs reduction story (see video above) or Channel 13's latest we're-all-going-to-die scare story.
Which station racked up the big victories?
No surprises here.
Channel 3, as always, dominated at 5 and 6 p.m. - no station even comes close. In the morning, Channel 31's "Good Day Sacramento" beat Channel 3 in the 5-5:30 a.m. segment, but Channel 3 rebounded in other morning time slots.
KCRA also came out ahead in the noon hour, which is becoming a battleground between channels 3 and 13 - Walt Gray and Co. ekked out a 3.2 to 2.7 edge over Stefanie Cruz and CBS13.
In the always contentious late news, where advertisers really take notice, the winner depends on which station's spin you believe. Channel 13 has long maintained that its 10 p.m. news should be compared evenly with Channel 3's at 11 p.m., but the KCRA suits say only head-to-head competition should count.
In any case ...
CBS13 came in with a 5.4 rating at 10 p.m., Channel 3 with 4.7 at 11. News10, meanwhile, is nipping at the heels of KCRA at 11, finishing only .4 behind.
Meanwhile, here's a trend that no local TV suit will like: Viewership is either down or relatively flat in all time slots compared to previous sweeps periods. Could it be lingering effects from the writers' strike? Or are people just getting their news from other sources?
UPDATE (Feb. 29, 8:30 a.m.): An alert reader asks why we left out KCRA's 6:30 p.m. news - which has no competition from other local news outlets. "Don't Dave and Lois deserve a little respect for their hard work?" the reader asks. OK, so here goes: At 6:30, Channel 3 had a 6.4 rating, beating out "Jeopardy!" on News10 (5.8) and "Entertainment Tonight" on Channel 13 (4.5).
The numbers:
5 a.m.
Good Day Sacramento: 2.1
KCRA Reports: 2.0
News10 Good Morning: 1.3
CBS13.com: 0.8
6 a.m.
KCRA Reports: 4.1
Good Day Sacramento: 2.7
News10 Good Morning: 2.6
CBS13.com: 1.3
KUVS (Univision): 0.9
Fox40: 0.6
7 a.m. - 9 a.m.
Today (KCRA): 4.4
Good Morning America (News10): 2.9
Good Day Sacramento: 3.0 (7 a.m. hour). 2.4 (8 a.m.)
My58TV (KCRA sister station): 1.0 (7 a.m.), 0.8 (8 a.m.)
Fox40: 0.6
Midday news
KCRA: 3.2 (noon)
News10: 2.8 (11 a.m.)
CBS13: 2.7 (noon)
5 p.m.
KCRA: 9.4
CBS13: 3.4
News10: 3.0
6 p.m.
KCRA: 8.8
News10: 4.0
CBS13: 3.0
KUVS (Univision): 2.1
Late news
10 p.m.
CBS13: 5.4
Fox40: 3.8
My58TV (half hour only): 2.2
11 p.m.
KCRA: 4.7
News10: 4.3
KUVS: 1.3
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