At 5:30 am NewsCenter 7 increased share to a 34 share versus WDTN's (13 share). At 6:00 am WHIO-TV continued to gain audience with an unbelievable 38 share while WDTN achieved only a 14 share.
At 7:00am, WHIO-TV's NewsCenter 7's This Morning local news broadcast won the hour with a 29 share of audience, while WDTN's network coverage of NBC's Today Show achieved only a 9 share. NewsCenter 7 at Noon crushed its local competitor with an incredible 44 share against WDTN-TV's 7 share. NewsCenter 7 at Noon has an audience 6 times higher than local competition and showed a 5-share point growth over last May.
All of these morning broadcasts helped WHIO-TV be ranked the #1 Newscast in the country for audience share in metered markets during 5am - 8am.
Weekday editions of NewsCenter 7 at 5PM, 5:30PM and 6PM continued their dominance as the Miami Valley's first choice for local news. At 5PM NewsCenter 7 achieved a 27 share, versus WDTN-TV 14 share. At 5:30PM NewsCenter 7 increased its audience with a 28 share and nearly triples the audience WDTN-TV that lost audience to an 11 share. NewsCenter 7 at 6PM newscast continued to overwhelm the other news competitors by growing its audience to a 30 share, and out delivering the combined efforts of WDTN-TV (11 share) and WKEF-TV (6 share). On a national scale all of these broadcasts were in the top five in the country in audience share in metered markets.
WHIO-TV had another resounding victory at 11pm as NewsCenter 7's Nightbeat continued its late night dominance with a 27 share and delivered local news to more viewers than WDTN-TV (13 share) and WKEF-TV (5 share) combined. NewsCenter 7 at 11pm was also ranked nationally as the #1 newscast in the country in audience share, in metered markets, during this time period.
"May was a challenging news month and these numbers represent a team wide effort to provide special coverage of the big news and weather stories from all over the valley. We are honored with the overwhelming support of our viewers," said Harry Delaney, Vice President and General Manager of WHIO-TV.
In syndicated programming, Dr. Phil completed his third season with a 33 share in May, a 6-share point increase over last year. Other number one shows for WHIO-TV in May were Wheel of Fortune, Entertainment Tonight, Live with Regis and Kelly, Inside Edition, Family Feud, The Price is Right, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, As the World Turns and Guiding Light. When it came to season finales on CBS, WHIO-TV was among the top 5 affiliates in the country for the Amazing Race, and action dramas CSI, CSI NY, Without a Trace, and Cold Case.
WHIO-TV is owned by Cox Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., a leader in broadcasting, newspaper publishing, broadband communications/cable, interactive websites, and automobile auctions. Cox Broadcasting includes television stations, national TV sales representation firms, and a television production company. Cox Broadcasting is majority owner of publicly-traded Cox Radio, Inc. (NYSE: CXR).