News Room | News Releases
11/28/11WWL-TV Continues 33 Year Winning Streak
During the November ratings period, WWL-TV Channel 4 has again won the sign-on to sign-off battle according to Nielsen Media Research. This continues a winning streak that spans 33 years and 149 sweeps.
Channel 4 News Director Bill Siegel said, “I believe Channel 4’s success for more than three decades is based on maintaining our journalistic integrity. We continually research and write good stories - both inside and outside of sweeps.”
In November, Eyewitness News continued its award-winning "4 Investigates" reports with examinations into everything from judges using public funds for luxury trips, to a hit-and-run accident involving a local police officer. The station also aired a number of features on subjects that included a dolphin named after Saints quarterback Drew Brees, a behind-the-scenes look at the “Young & the Restless” TV show, and a local dance team making their debut in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade - to name a few. Popular news franchises “Weight Loss Wednesday”, “Wrinkle Free Friday”, “Franksgiving” and Mackie Shilstone’s “5 at 5” garnered good ratings - as did live morning show remotes from Houma, Louisiana and at the Audubon Zoo.
“We worked hard to get the right mix of top-notch investigative reporting, important day-to-day newsgathering, in-depth sports coverage and those memorable stories into our newscasts,” said Siegel. “I think what makes WWL so special is that we always take our job seriously and never take our viewers for granted.”
WWL-TV’s “Early Edition” with anchor Mike Hoss, earned a 5.8 rating. Channel 4’s “Eyewitness Morning News” from 7-9AM, co-anchored by Sally-Ann Roberts and Eric Paulsen, earned a 9.0 rating, an increase over the previous year. At 8AM, their audience was larger than the audience of all of their competitors - combined. Paulsen also commanded mid-day, with an 11.4 rating, or one-fourth of the audience in WWL-TV’s DMA.
Co-anchors Angela Hill and Mike Hoss’ “Eyewitness News at Five” achieved a 9.8 rating, which was four points higher than their closest competitor. Hill and anchor Dennis Woltering also led at 6PM, where Channel 4 earned a 9.1 rating. At 10PM, anchors Dennis Woltering and Karen Swensen won the market’s late news #1 spot with a 9.8 rating for “Eyewitness News Nightwatch”.
With exclusive investigative reports, unique features and a dedication to covering events in more detail, WWL-TV continues to earn the title of “Louisiana’s News Leader”.
Source: Nielsen New Orleans overnights, rolling averages (Oct. 27, 2011 to Nov. 23, 2011)
About Belo Corp.
WWL-TV is part of Belo Corp. (BLC), one of the nation’s largest pure-play, publicly-traded television companies, that owns and operates 20 television stations (nine in the top 25 markets) and their associated Web sites. Belo stations, which include affiliations with ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW and MyNetwork TV, reach more than 14 percent of U.S. television households in 15 highly-attractive markets. Belo stations rank first or second in nearly all of their local markets. Additional information is available at www.belo.com or by contacting Chris Merrifield, WWL-TV Creative Services Director, at 504-529-6273.
