If the Time Warner Cable blackout is hurting CBS, there is at least one figure offering striking evidence to the contrary. By one measure, household prime-time ratings on Tuesday were down a mere 2% in the New York market. After that, though, things aren’t as rosy.
Helped by “Person of Interest” unexpectedly jumping 21%, the Big Apple's WCBS was able to offset drops with “NCIS” and “NCIS: LA” to average a 3.6 on Tuesday, which amounted to that slight decline compared to the previous pre-blackout Tuesday.
But there are plenty of other figures indicating CBS-owned stations off the air in Time Warner Cable homes during a fee dispute are suffering.
In Los Angeles, there was no “Person of Interest” increase to the rescue for KCBS on Tuesday as household ratings dropped 15% to a 2.3. At KTVT in Dallas, ratings plummeted 27% to a 2.8 for the night.
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Also on Tuesday, “NCIS” fell by double-digit numbers in all three markets, down 10% in New York, 16% in Los Angeles and 28% in Dallas.
The New York, Los Angeles and Dallas markets are most impacted by the blackout as far as number of homes affected.
On Monday, CBS saw its household prime-time average in New York fall 11% to a 3.9 -- using Monday-over-Monday figures. WCBS was hurt by a 15% drop for hit “Under the Dome” to a 6.3.
Still, some of that decline might be attributable to having to compete against the final “Bachelorette” programming on ABC. “Under the Dome” was down 11% nationally in households.
Even so, it fell 53% to a 2.3 in Los Angeles and dropped 30% in Dallas to a 5.9.
Overall, though, the CBS station in New York appears to be weathering the blackout better than its cousins in L.A. and Dallas. KCBS had a higher 22% drop on Monday to a 2.0, while KTVT fell 15% to a 4.1.
There were some bizarre performances for the CBS two-hour comedy block on Monday as some individual shows actually saw increased ratings on the stations.
In New York, “How I Met Your Mother” rose 41% to a 2.4. In L.A., a “Mike & Molly” episode was up 42% to a 1.7. And in Dallas, “How I Met Your Mother” was up 27% to a 3.8. The jumps occurred even as the shows went against the final “Bachelorette” programming on ABC.
Still, local-market ratings often produce wide swings with relatively small sample sizes used to glean ratings.