Messing with the (Day)Time/Space Continuum - Don Seaman-TVB

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Quick – name the show that delivered these W25-54 local market ratings during the November sweeps: 9.6, 9.2, 7.1, 6.9, 6.4.

Big Bang Theory ? NCIS? Walking Dead?

No, no, and very no.

The Young and the Restless .

In Dayton, Baton Rouge, Jackson (MS), Greenville-N. Bern, and Myrtle Beach-Florence, respectively.

That's right – the soap isn't as all washed up as you may have been led to believe.

So for those who fall prey to the idea that Daytime is "past its prime", think about those Prime-like ratings one program is able to generate. Nationally these numbers are a bit more modest – Y&R had a national W25-54 rating for the same period of 2.1. But it's at the local level that these programs can really deliver. You just have to know where to look.

Certainly, it's not typical that Daytime programs deliver ratings in the 9's – but there are those who question whether anyone's watching Daytime at all. For those of you who believe that, we give you Daytime programs that deliver ratings that many Prime contenders would be proud of.

And don't overlook broadcast's daytime news, either. Local stations consistently outdeliver cable news for viewing not only in the W25-54 demo, but also with households and most other important demos.

Indianapolis regularly delivers daytime news HH ratings that are at least on par with some Prime shows. WISH delivers a 6.1 HH rating for their noon newscast (2.7 for W25-54). WTHR has a Household rating of 4.6 at noon and 5.2 at 12:30 (1.4 and 1.7 for W25-54).

In Boston, the noon news on WCVB delivers a 4.0 HH rating and a 1.1 with W25-54, compared with the highest rated cable network news: CNN's 0.6 (HHs) and 0.1 (W25-54) and Fox's 0.8 HH 0.1, respectively.

By the way, at 4:30AM, WCVB's news delivers a 1.7 HH rating and 0.4 W 25-54 rating. If you didn't notice, that's the Extremely Early AM news that's outperforming the cable news deliveries – in Daytime.

So for those who look to market to women, you may be tempted to dismiss Daytime as a daypart that's not what it once was. But if you look at the local opportunities, one might just have to agree. With more engaging content that can deliver audiences the size of Prime, you might just have to say that it's better.

Don Seaman joined the TVB in January 2012 as Manager of Marketing Communications, where he is responsible for promoting and raising awareness of the TVB, and of Local Broadcast Television’s value propositions within the traditional and digital media industries. Don can be reached at don@tvb.org.

Read all Don's MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Local Matters.

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