“Patient Approach” To Geraldo’s Ratings

“Twentieth Television is taking a patient approach to Geraldo at Large, despite the show’s modest rating,” Broadcasting & Cable says. “In the first two weeks since replacing A Current Affair, Geraldo has averaged a 2.2 rating/4 share and a 2.3/5, respectively. It’s also off 31% from its average lead-in and down 12% from the year-ago time-period average.

“Twentieth is looking to grow the numbers gradually through a public-relations push (Rivera has made appearances on everything from The View to Howard Stern’s radio show) and by reaching out to Rivera’s former Fox News Channel viewers through opt-in e-mail lists. Twentieth executives want to see the show’s ratings above a 3.0 by the end of the February book, and they will concentrate promotional dollars that month to back the effort.”