That Noise Coming From TV Is The Sound Of Stations At War
Nielsen’s November sweeps ratings are in, and all of Spokane’s TV stations can point to some good news:
KREM-2: Wins the 5 p.m. slot, as usual.
KHQ-6: Wins the 6 p.m. slot, as usual.
KXLY-4: Wins the 6 a.m. slot, and is pulling closer in the other news time slots.
Two newcomers also can be heartened by the numbers. “Fox News at 10” doubled its ratings from last year, although admittedly it doesn’t take much to jump from a 1 to a 2 rating.
Also, KHQ-6’s “Q6 4:30” newscast had some respectable ratings in its inaugural sweeps period. It pulled a 6 rating, compared to the 4 rating that “Sally Jessy Raphael” got last year in that time slot.
“Frankly, I would have been happy with a 4 rating for the premiere book,” said KHQ general manager Lon Lee.
It still doesn’t come close to beating the other shows in that time slot: “Oprah,” which gets an 11, and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” reruns, which gets an 8.
The only significant trend evident in the November sweeps is this: No single station is running away with the Spokane TV news market. The race is particularly close at 11 p.m. KHQ and KREM are in a virtual dead heat, with KXLY coming on strong.
Here are the Nielsen numbers for the greater Spokane market. The first number is the rating (the percentage of all TVs tuned to that show) and the second number is the share (the percent of all TVs in use at that time which are tuned to that show):
6 a.m.
KXLY: 4 rating, 25 share.
KHQ: 4, 23.
KREM: 3, 20.
5 p.m.
KREM: 15, 28.
KHQ: 12, 23.
KXLY: 10, 18.
6 p.m.
KHQ: 14, 24.
KREM: 12, 20.
KXLY: 9, 16.
11 p.m.
KHQ: 6, 26.
KREM: 6, 25.
KXLY: 5, 19.
A “Messiah” complex
You, too, can take part in the rebirth of a mass community “Messiah” in Spokane.
The performance will take place on Easter Sunday at the Masonic Temple, and all singers are invited to be in the choir.
This will be an even bigger event than the “Messiah” sing-along held a week ago at First Presbyterian Church.
This new event will have weekly rehearsals for months, and admission will be charged to the performance. It will be more like the old community “Messiahs” that Spokane once had.
The entire event will be a benefit for Ogden Hall, a shelter for women.
Why are we telling you about it so early?
Because rehearsals begin on Jan. 16 and 17. Weekly rehearsals will be held on Mondays at either the South Hill Bible Church at 29th and Arthur or St. Mary’s Catholic Church, S304 Adams; or on Tuesdays at either St. Luke’s Lutheran, N9704 Division, or the United Methodist Church in Cheney, 204 Fourth. All rehearsals begin at 7 p.m.
Choose the day and location that’s most convenient. All you have to do is show up for rehearsals if you want to be part of the event.
Our man Gunther
Gunther Schuller, the artistic director of the Festival at Sandpoint and the Northwest Bach Festival in Spokane, has been named Composer of the Year by Musical America. This is one of the music world’s highest honors.
Schuller, as you might recall, won another major award in 1994. It was a little thing called the Pulitzer Prize.
Our own private Elvis
Look for Spokane’s Elvis Wendlandt (his legal name) as the cohost of an “MTV Sports” segment in late January.
He’s an Elvis impersonator who was down in Las Vegas looking for a gig two weeks ago when an MTV producer spotted him and hired him to co-host the segment with Dan Cortese.
“Elvis is driving him around, showing them the sports in ‘his town,”’ said Wendlandt.
Those sports include bungeejumping, kayaking and the steeplechase.
The Capitol Steps
Check out “The Capitol Steps New Year’s Special” today at 1 p.m. on KPBX-FM, 91.1.
This political satire group will be doing that mournful ballad, “Hang Down Your Head, Tom Foley.”