This is what I’m thinking:
“We’re No. 1, we’re No. 1.”
I am always amused by promos on WGRZ-TV (Channel 2) and WIVB-TV (Channel 4) proclaiming their news departments No. 1.
WGRZ-TV (Channel 2) is running promos claiming to be No. 1 in local news in all time periods and age groups. The source is in very small print and flashes across the screen too quickly for most people to see.
It is based on results from ComScore, the alternative ratings source to Nielsen. All three local news stations now use ComScore, which is gaining acceptance while Nielsen is losing clients. Channel 2 no longer subscribes to Nielsen; Channel 4 does.
Both ComScore and Nielsen have flaws when it comes to assessing demographics in different ways.
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According to Channel 4 researcher Bob Gallivan, Nielsen provides separate household and demographic ratings. However, Nielsen gets its demos by modeling the viewing habits in similar households in its people meter markets. In other words, the demos aren’t registered locally.
Gallivan said ComScore’s demographics refer to people who reside in households. It doesn’t claim to know who is in front of the set, only who is in the households. In other words, if a person age 18-49 is in a ComScore household, he would be included in the demographic even if he weren’t watching the program.
Channel 2 hasn’t responded to Gallivan’s explanation.
Of course, Channel 4 runs its own promos “thanking viewers” for making it No. 1 based on Nielsen results during the February sweeps.
It also has more hours of daily newscasts on sister station WNLO-TV. An indisputable statement would be if Channel 4 declared itself the “most watched” news department because it has more hours of newscasts via its sister station WNLO-TV than Channel 2 carries.
WIVB’s Ali Touhey is the latest example of a local anchor or reporter who benefited from a change of scenery. She appears to be much more confident and happier than she ever did when she worked at WKBW-TV (Channel 7).
One of my few favorite broadcast network programs, ABC’s “A Million Little Things,” ends its run at 10 tonight on Channel 7.
I can’t recall a bigger tearjerker than last Wednesday’s episode dealing with my favorite character, wise-cracking Gary Mendez (James Roday Rodriguez), battling late-stage cancer as all his friends rallied to support him and his wife, cancer survivor Maggie Bloom (Allison Miller). The series finale tonight has to walk a fine line of mixing sadness with joy.
I didn’t see this one coming. According to trade publications, writer-producer Chuck Lorre has hired Charlie Sheen as a recurring character in the upcoming HBO Max series starring Sebastian Maniscalco, “How to Be a Bookie.” Yes, that’s the same Sheen who had a fallout with Lorre and was fired from “Two and a Half Men.” His character was killed off, too, when a piano fell on his head. Buffalo native Nick Bakay, who has worked on several Lorre comedies including “Mom” and “The Kominsky Method,” is the co-creator of “Bookie” with Lorre.
I know the scripts for the CBS family police drama “Blue Bloods” are written months in advance and it is a fictional program. But I’m still surprised when Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) and the mayor refer to the governor of New York State as a man.
Kathy Hochul has been governor since Aug. 24, 2021. It is time for the program to get with the times and refer to the governor as a woman.
WEBR (1440 AM) radio owner Bill Yuhnke has named veteran radio disc jockey Tony Venturoli as the station's new program director.
"Tony has a long record in radio and is a perfect fit for what we are doing at WEBR," said Yuhnke in a release. "We are committed to offering our listeners the best radio that we can and Tony fits perfectly with that effort."
In the same release, Venturoli said, “There's no secret to my radio formula. Just be yourself and be who your are. I come from South Buffalo, and I've used my real name all the way, dating back to when I first started in radio at Top 40 station WNIA in 1972."
He worked at WHTT, 104.1, for 17 years before joining WEBR two years ago for the noon to 3 p.m. shift.
