LPWire: WABC is Positioned to Win 5 AM, 6 AM, 12 PM, 5 PM & 6 PM

ABC/7'S 'Eyewitness News' is Positioned to Win 5 AM, 6 AM, 12 PM, 5 PM & 6 PM
News Races in Down-to-the-Wire November'02 Nielsen Sweeps in New York

With just one day remaining in Nielsen's November'02 sweeps period, WABC-TV is poised to finish in first place in five of the six key local news races in the New York market. Demonstrating its strength, ABC/7's "Eyewitness News" is delivering higher ratings this November than it was one year ago when viewing levels were heightened by the recent occurrences of 9/11, the anthrax mailings, and the crash of Flight 587.

In addition to "Oprah Winfrey" standing to unseat "Judge Judy" for the second consecutive survey period of the 2002-2003 broadcast season, other highlights include:

At 6 am, "Eyewitness News This Morning" is the frontrunner with a 3.4 rating/14 share, holding a .2 rating/1 share point lead over WNBC-TV's "Today in NY 2." Lori Stokes and Steve Bartelstein anchor this edition of "Eyewitness News."

At 6 pm, it's a clear win for "Eyewitness News." Anchored by Diana Williams and Bill Ritter, "Eyewitness News" currently posts a 7.5 rating/13 share and holds a two share point lead over its nearest competitor.

At 5 pm, "Eyewitness News" with anchors Roz Abrams and Robb Hanrahan makes it a down-to-the wire race for first place with "Live At Five," both programs posting a 6.8 rating /13 share.

It's a showdown at high noon, with "Eyewitness News" and "CBS2 News at Noon" both in first place and delivering a 4.7 rating/14 share.

The 5 am "Eyewitness News This Morning" with Lori Stokes and Steve Bartelstein currently ties for first place with "Today In NY 1", both shows posting a 1.8 rating/11 share.

"ABC World News Tonight" with Peter Jennings will win the 6:30 pm network news race. Its 7.5 rating/13 share gives it a comfortable lead over its CBS and NBC competition.

"Live! With Regis and Kelly" is the top-rated morning talk show, delivering a 5.5 rating/16 share. "Live!" outperforms all competing programs airing Monday-Friday 5 am-5 pm.

"Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" on ABC/7 will be the clear winners in their respective prime access time periods, delivering an 11.2 rating/18 share and an 11.1 rating/18 share, respectively.

WABC-TV, Channel 7, is the ABC, Inc. Owned Television Station in New York City.

--Posted December 2, 2002
Source: WABC-TV