Study: NBC Stations Dominate Local News

A new report from The Media Audit comparing local early evening and prime newscasts reveals that 10 of the top 20 news programs are produced by NBC affiliates while the country’s top ranked news program is produced by a CBS affiliate. The Media Audit report went on to say that news programming continues to be important for local television stations because it represents a disproportionate amount of a station's income. It cited a recent survey conducted annually by the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) that said that news accounts for almost 16 percent of a typical station's programming each day (almost four hours per day), but news programs on average represent nearly 45 percent of a station’s revenue. The study further suggests that the percentage of revenue from news may not be affected by a weak economic climate. Historical data from the RTNDA surveys show that the share of revenue from news was slightly higher in 2001 than it had been in 1999, even though 2001 was a down year in the economy and 1999 was near the end of the 1990s boom. According to The Media Audit report, 25.2% of U.S. adults currently tune in to a local NBC affiliate for early evening news in the typical week, down 3.3 percentage points from a 2005 survey, followed by 24.9% for ABC stations, down 1.7 percentage points from 2005 and 21.6% for CBS stations, down 2 percentage points from 2005. Currently, 19.3% of U.S. adults tune in weekly to a Fox affiliate for a prime time newscast, a figure that has remained unchanged over the past three years.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2008/05/27/daily.7/