Little Rock, Ark. NBC affiliate KARK says it took election night in the market by winning every quarter hour from 6:30 p.m. until 3 a.m. last Tuesday night.
The station’s 10 p.m. was the highest rated program of the night. Its 12.3 rating was a 46 percent increase from the 2012 election when the broadcast average 46,000 viewers.
“For the last 4 years, we’ve worked extremely hard to build the ‘Your Local Election Headquarters’ brand,” said KARK and Fox16 news director Austin Kellerman. “Throughout the election season, we made political reporting a top priority. From hosting debates and forums to out-of-state series on medical marijuana to exposing issues in the election process, we positioned ourselves for these results.”
There are 540,000 viewers in the Little Rock market.
“This is part of a shift we’ve seen in the market over the last few months,” said KARK General Manager Mike Vaughn. “For the last few years, we’ve made severe weather, big story coverage and political reporting our top priorities. We’re glad to see that’s making an impact with our viewers.”
KARK’s Fox affiliate sister station KLRT, saw a 40 percent increase in ratings, averaging 32,000 viewers at 9 p.m. compared to 23,000 in 2012.
“I’m extremely proud of our team of award-winning journalists,” added Kellerman. “Countless hours of hard work and planning culminated on election night. We’ll proudly celebrate this victory.”