For our new cover story, “TV’s Top News Teams, by the Numbers,” we placed a spotlight on the individuals who actually deliver the news day in and day out. Mergers and acquisitions may excite those within the industry, but what matters to viewers is the anchors they watch every morning, evening and/or night.
B&C analyzed Nielsen ratings for thousands of local newscasts in 2015, separating them only by market size and dayparts for a more practical comparison. Newscasts on various ABC stations were dominant among the top 10 DMAs, for instance, nabbing the highest rating for morning, evening and late news. Find out how different station groups and affiliates fared, where the stations are concentrated across the country, which two stations had multiple top-rated anchor teams and why certain anchor teams are successfuly.
“Viewers respond to our team because we’re real,” said one anchor. “You can’t fake sincerity, because if people watch you long enough, they’ll eventually see through it.”
