WINFREY, KTLA COMEDIES STIR UP A RATINGS STORM

Oprah Winfrey is outdrawing Phil Donahue, and KTLA Channel 5’s first-run comedy shows are off to a good start, but KCBS Channel 2’s new news format hasn’t been a miracle cure for the station’s lackluster ratings.

That’s what ratings from the A. C. Nielsen Co. tell about the first weeks of the fall TV season on the local scene.

Most surprising, perhaps, is the big way that “The Oprah Winfrey Show” on KABC Channel 7 has grabbed hold against “Donahue,” its well-entrenched competition on KNBC Channel 4. Winfrey’s Chicago-based talk show, in its first season of national syndication, not only is attracting larger audiences than the 19-year-old “Donahue” show but also is helping the ratings of KABC’s “Eyewitness News” at 4 p.m.

Since its Sept. 8 premiere, “Oprah Winfrey” has averaged an 8.4 rating, compared to a 6.7 rating for “Donahue.” Each local rating point is said by the A. C. Nielsen Co. to represent 45,168 homes, or 1% of the homes estimated to have TV in the Los Angeles-Orange County market.

The ratings for “Donahue” are about the same as they were at this time last year. KABC’s are up about 66% from a year ago, when it was broadcasting its own talk show, “Three Three O,” in the 3-4 p.m. weekday time slot.

As KABC had hoped, that increase is carrying over to its 4 p.m. newscast, where its rating is up about a full point from last year, to challenge KNBC for leadership in the first hour of local news. Since Sept. 15, KNBC has averaged a 7.2 rating from 4-5 p.m., while KABC has averaged a 7.

KCBS, meanwhile, which introduced a new format for its local newscasts Sept. 15, is trailing in the 4-5 p.m. period with a 3.9 rating--about the same as last year.

KCBS has lost ground in the 5-6 p.m. news competition and continues to trail in the 6-6:30 p.m. period as well.

Nevertheless, KCBS spokeswoman Andi Sporkin said that officials there had not expected immediate positive results from the new format, which divides the period between 4 and 6:30 p.m. into seven separate newscasts.

“We said before we went on with this that we expected to go down (in the ratings),” she said. “We’re introducing new faces, a new format and new times. Each of those elements typically can cause a drop in ratings.”

It might be three to six months before KCBS begins to see an upturn in its local news ratings, she said. “It’s going to take a while, but we’re committed to it,” she said.

In the 5-6 p.m. period, KABC has averaged a 9.5 rating since Sept. 15, compared to an 8.2 for KNBC and a 5.2 for KCBS.

From 6-6:30 p.m., KNBC leads with an 8.3 average, compared to 8.1 for KABC and 5.5 for KCBS. That’s a change from a year ago at this time, when KABC was top-rated in that period.

Unlike KCBS, the gamble taken by KTLA in scheduling new comedy series at 7:30 p.m. weeknights has paid immediate residuals, although the premiere ratings for last week declined this week. Still, the independent station has averaged a 10.4 rating during the first week and a half, up from a 6 at this time in 1985, when it was showing reruns of “What’s Happening.”

“The New Gidget” registered a 12.4 rating to win the time period Sept. 23, then dropped to a 9.7 this week. “What a Country” finished second in its time period Sept. 24 with a 10.6 rating, then got a 9.6 this week. “One Big Family,” with Danny Thomas, won its time period Sept. 25 with a 12.1 rating.