Aftershock Pumps Up Local TV Ratings

Last Friday’s aftershock near Big Bear sent local television ratings jumping: An additional 645,000 households looking for news switched on their TV sets immediately following the temblor.

KTLA-TV Channel 5, which was on the air with its morning news show when the quake hit just after 8 a.m., led all stations in total ratings, picking up an additional 165,000 homes after the ground shook and averaging about 420,000 homes for the first hour following the quake.

But KCBS-TV Channel 2, KNBC-TV Channel 4 and KABC-TV Channel 7, which interrupted the national network morning shows, all saw their ratings leap dramatically too.

Ratings for Channel 2 soared the most--about 180,000 homes just after the shaker--but those numbers fell off rapidly. For the hour after the earthquake, Channel 2 averaged about 205,000 homes, trailing not only KTLA but also Channel 4 with 330,000 and Channel 7 with 280,000 households.

The “I Love Lucy” marathon on KTTV-TV Channel 11 was hurt by the quake, but still managed to score the highest ratings in the eight-year history of the day-after-Thanksgiving event. The “Lucy” episodes accounted for 20% of the TV viewing from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Meanwhile, KTLA’s 13-hour “Twilight Zone” marathon on Thanksgiving Day managed a 10% share of the audience against stiff football competition.