Nielsen reissued the results for the February sweeps rating period in Boston on Monday.
Nielsen reissued the results for the February sweeps rating period in Boston on Monday.
While the results for WBZ, WCVB, WHDH, and WBTS stayed the same for the most part, WFXT FOX 25 saw its ratings decline in some key time periods.
The ratings were called into question after FOX 25 experienced a sudden rise in ratings towards the end of the February book. While the four other stations noticed the anomaly and filed formal complaints with Nielsen, FOX 25 did not question the results.
FOX 25 had celebrated wins at 10pm, and at 11pm (for the first time since February 2015), but these wins have turned out to be short lived.
The biggest story in the reissued results is at 10pm. For the first time since WHDH 7 News has had a 10pm newscast, they beat WFXT's FOX 25 News at 10 in the adults 25-54 demographic.
In the original results, FOX 25 maintained a slight win with a 1.5 versus 7 News' 1.4 in late news Monday-Friday. In the reissued results, FOX 25 dropped to a 1.2, and 7 News maintained its 1.4 rating. However, if the audience for WLVI's simulcast of 7 News at 10pm is added in, WHDH adds a .3 rating to their victory. In fact, if WLVI is added in, 7 News would have beat FOX 25 at 10pm with the original results anyways.
At 11pm, FOX 25 was quick to claim their win at 11pm in the A25-54 demo. In the reissued results, both WBZ and WCVB maintained a 1.0 rating and tied for first place in late news Monday-Friday. FOX 25 dropped from a 1.2 rating to a 0.7, and went from first place to fourth. WBTS was close behind with a 0.6.
Here are some other highlights from the A25-54 demo:
- WBZ and WCVB tied at 4:30am
- WCVB won at 5am and 6am
- FOX 25 dropped from 1.0 to .9 to tie with WHDH from 7am-9am - WBTS won the time period with a 1.4 for the Today show
- WHDH doubled FOX 25's audience from 9am-10am for the win
- WCVB won at noon
- WHDH won from 4pm-6pm, with FOX 25 dropping from .4 to .3 at 4pm and 5pm, and from .8 to .6 at 6pm
- WCVB won at 6pm
- At 6:30, WCVB won with ABC's World News Tonight - in the local news race, FOX 25 dropped from .8 to .6, and WHDH won with a 1.4
- WCVB won at 7pm
- WHDH won at 10pm for the first time over FOX 25 in Monday-Friday and Monday-Sunday
- WBZ and WCVB tied at 11pm in Monday-Friday; it was a three way tie for first place at 11pm in Monday-Sunday results
You can take a look at the changes in adults 25-54 below (original ratings are blue, red ratings are reissued), and a chart with households, A25-54, and P2+ beneath that.
March ratings are due out at any time now - how will the story change for March? Stay tuned!
