SALT LAKE CITY – There is a NEW news leader in Utah. KSTU FOX 13 News has moved ahead of all local news stations in morning news, weekend morning news, midday news, early evening news and, for the first time ever, moved into a virtual tie for #1 position in the late evening news with KUTV 2 in all key demographics, according to the latest Nielsen ratings survey.
KSTU FOX 13 recent ratings gains started in September 2013 with the launch of “Fox 13 News Live at 4” in addition to adding one of televisions’ most popular sitcoms, “Modern Family,” to its programming schedule. KSTU FOX 13 audience growth in the November 2013 sweeps continued in February 2014 despite stiff competition from the popular Winter Olympic Games on KSL/NBC. That growth trend has accelerated in the recently completed May sweeps period.
FOX 13’s advantages over all competitors are in the A25-54 and A18-49 demographic groups -the predominant industry measurements. Below are the May 2014 numbers for Adults 25-54 from A.C. Nielsen:
EARLY MORNING NEWS Monday-Friday 6-9 a.m.:
FOX 13 (#1) scored a 12% advantage over KUTV and 80% over KSL in the advertiser-coveted A25-54 category (FOX 13 18,000, KUTV 16,000, KSL 10,000, KTVX 4,000.)
WEEKEND MORNING NEWS Saturday-Sunday 7-9 a.m.:
Fox 13 (#1) scored an impressive 200% advantage over KUTV (FOX 13 12,000, KUTV 4,000) Note: FOX 13 and KUTV are the only local stations producing weekend morning newscasts.
MIDDAY NEWS Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-1 p.m.:
Fox 13 News Live at Noon (#1) edges out KUTV and KSL with a 20% advantage (FOX 13 6,000, KUTV 5,000, KSL 5,000, KTVX 1,000)
EARLY EVENING NEWS Monday-Friday 5-7 p.m.:
Fox 13 News Live at 5 and 5:30 (#1) scores an impressive win for the first time ever in the highly competitive early evening news race. Fox 13 has a 40% advantage over KUTV and 100% over KSL (FOX 13 14,000, KUTV 10,000, KSL 7,000, KTVX 4,000)
LATE NEWS Monday-Friday 9-10:30 p.m.:
Fox 13 News at Nine ties perennial leader KUTV for #1. Fox 13 News at Nine beats the other two 10 p.m. newscasts with a 6% advantage over KSL and 55% over KTVX (FOX 13 34,000, KUTV 34,000, KSL 32,000 KTVX 22,000)
“Though Fox 13 has been producing the most news in Utah for some time, it is particularly rewarding to see the growth in our audience numbers at a time when the overall news viewing audience is shrinking. We are bucking the trend,” said KSTU FOX 13 President and General Manager Tim Ermish. “We have some good competitors that keep the Fox 13 staff on their collective toes, but it seems our brand is winning. Whether it is on-air or on our digital platforms, I think Utahns know that if you want it local and you want it now, they turn to the experience and diversity that is Fox 13 News. I am very proud of our hard working staff in reaching this milestone.”
“Our commitment is to breaking news and digging up important local stories that viewers can’t find anywhere else. And they responded,” said Vice President of News Renai Bodley.
Utah’s Most Local News Television Station
With over 55 hours of live, local coverage per week, KSTU FOX 13 airs more local news than any other Utah broadcaster. FOX 13 began broadcasting 3.5 hours of news per week back on New Year’s Eve 1990 with Nick Clooney as their first anchor. It was dubbed “Nick at Nine!” At various points KSL, KUTV and KTVX all attempted to produce a 9 p.m. newscast on partner stations in the market, but all attempts failed to garner any significant viewership. FOX 13 also leads the market in the social media field with over 400,000 Facebook fans and the market’s largest news Twitter following.
TRIBUNE is one of the country’s leading multimedia companies, operating businesses in broadcasting, publishing, and interactive. The company’s broadcasting group owns or operates 42 television stations, WGN America on national cable, the national multicast networks Antenna TV and THIS TV, Tribune Studios and Chicago’s WGN-AM. In publishing, Tribune’s leading daily newspapers include the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, Sun Sentinel (South Florida), Orlando Sentinel, Hartford Courant, The Morning Call and Daily Press. Popular news and information websites complement Tribune’s broadcast and print properties and extend the company’s nationwide audience.
