NBC Wins Sweeps as Networks’ Audience Shrinks

To no one’s surprise, the crown for the November prime-time ratings sweeps went to NBC, but there was little consolation in the victory: NBC’s viewership was down 7% and the combined audience of all the three networks was off by about 3% from the previous November, network analysts said Thursday.

The reasons they cited for the decline included the delayed start of the fall season because of last summer’s 22-week writers strike, election night coverage and strong counterprogramming by independent stations.

In winning its 14th sweeps victory of the past 15, NBC averaged a 15.4 rating in the prime-time race, triumphing with the aid of youth-oriented counterprogramming that blunted the impact of the first 18 hours of ABC’s “War and Remembrance” miniseries.

ABC averaged a 14 rating in the November sweeps, a crucial time of intensive audience measurement that helps local stations set advertising rates. CBS had a 12.2. Each ratings point is said by the A.C. Nielsen Co. to represent 904,000 homes.

CBS, struggling to avoid a second consecutive season as No. 3 in prime time, was the hardest hit in what were the first sweeps comparisons involving the viewer activated “people-meter” rating systems that became the industry standard in September last year.

CBS’ ratings were 12% lower this November than last, while ABC, which finished third during those sweeps last year, scored a 10% increase.

The ratings estimates supplied Thursday by CBS and NBC lacked the final day of the Nov. 3-30 sweeps. Wednesday’s ratings weren’t available, network officials said, but wouldn’t affect the outcome.

Network viewing before the start of the November sweeps was off by an average 7%, according to David Poltrack, CBS vice president for research and marketing.

But he said he didn’t think the three networks would again lose the 9% of the national viewing audience they did last season. In fact, he said, the networks may do better than last season.

“The networks are gradually building strength” now, Poltrack said. “January is going to be the critical month. The independents were very strong in November.

“They knew we were vulnerable” because of the writers strike, he said, and “they really went after us. They had a lot of strong theatrical movies and first-run product”--and their ratings went up 47% over the previous November.

But January isn’t a sweeps period, Poltrack said, and independent stations can’t afford to put on programming as strong as they had in November.