Variety
The latenight news wars are heating up in Los Angeles, where a number of factors — including NBC’s 10 p.m. “Jay Leno Show” strip — have narrowed the gap between first and last place.
KABC continues to lead the 11 p.m. race among adults 25-54 — the demo of choice for advertisers on newscasts. But through last Friday, the station’s weekday late news is down 14% from last year (1.9, from 2.2).
The real drop, however, is at KNBC, which has slumped 26% year to year, posting a 1.4 rating vs. a 1.9 last year. The Peacock-owned station has likely been hit hard by “Leno’s” low ratings. (KNBC, though, is down a relatively tame 5% at 10 p.m. in the 25-54 demo.)
KNBC also went through a major anchor shift earlier this year as longtime Channel 4 presence Paul Moyer exited.
Only station posting a gain at 11 p.m. is KCBS, which is averaging a 1.2 rating in the demo — up 20% from last year’s 1.0. More…