Last week the first ever BBM PPM (Portable People Meter) ratings for television in Edmonton were released. Known as the Fall 2011 survey, the ratings cover the time period beginning September 12, 2011 and ending December 18, 2011. The ratings are further broken down into three demographic categories: 18+, 18-49, and 25-54. The top show in Edmonton? Big Bang Theory, on CTV Edmonton, with an average of 117,000 viewers per minute during each broadcast. In the 18+ demographic, Global Edmonton scored 5 of the top 10 shows, followed by CTV Edmonton with 4, and CBC Edmonton with 1.
That’s interesting, but what I really care about is local news, stuff that is produced here in Edmonton. Here are the numbers for local news for the 18+ demographic:
Here are the numbers for local news for the 18-49 demographic:
Here are the numbers for local news for the 25-54 demographic:
All of that data comes from: BBM Canada PPM, Edmonton EMA, Sep 12-Dec18/11; min 3 airings. AMA means average minute audience, the average number of viewers per minute during the broadcast.
What I find particularly interesting is that in the 18+ demographic, the six o’clock news for both Global and CTV do quite well at #3 and #10 respectively, but if you look at the 18-49 demographic they drop considerably, to #26 and #44. That suggests to me that seniors make up a big chunk of the audience for the local six o’clock news. Not an encouraging sign if that’s your business.
Still, as far as as news is concerned it was a strong result for Global Edmonton, and their news release says as much:
Edmontonians have made it perfectly clear: their number one choice for news is Global Edmonton. According to BBM PPM (Portable People Meter) Fall 2011 survey, all of Global Edmonton’s newscasts continue to win their timeslots – morning, noon and night in total audience and in all key demographics including A18-49 and A25-54. Edmonton was recently added to the BBM’s electronic PPM system, providing a much better estimate of viewing habits.
Given that Global did so well in the first survey, I wanted to hear what Tim Spelliscy, Global’s Regional Director for News in Alberta, thought of the results. He agreed to answer my questions via email.
- Why is the BBM PPM survey important to Global Edmonton?
This is the first extensive survey using new (PPM) technology, so we know it’s a more accurate reflection of actual viewing rather than someone trying to recall what they watched and filling out a survey by hand. It reflects viewing patterns that we felt were happening, so it confirmed what our own research had been telling us about audience support.
- What’s the impact of being #1 in news?
Edmonton is a strong news market with excellent production provided by several local stations, so to come out as the top news station by such a wide margin is very flattering. We are grateful for this kind of support, and it’s fantastic for all of our sponsors and community partners to know that they are associated with a very strong local news brand. I think the confirmation that we are number one will bring new viewers to our news programs. They want to see what they’ve been missing.
- The News Hour is the 3rd most watched program in the 18+ demographic, but it falls to 26th when you narrow the demographics to 18-49. Does that concern you?
We’re still the top news program in 18-49, and the numbers are close with a lot of other shows, but it does give us an area we can work on. We can always do a better job attracting younger viewers.
- What’s on the horizon for Global Edmonton? How are you going to remain #1?
We’ve got to keep doing the small things right to remain number one. We have to focus on story selection and story treatment and we need to be on top of breaking news and ensure we are covering the stories that viewers really care about. That seems simple to do, but it’s not. I think there are lots of areas where we can improve the news programs we produce, but there won’t be any major overhauls – just some tweaking. We also need to continue to be the local news leader in our use of technology. We’ve done well with an early conversion to HD and we have the only television news helicopter in our city. We have some good ideas about what changes and improvements we can make next – stay tuned!
- Which of the other top Global shows is your favorite?
It’s Glee for sure. We try to watch it every week or I set my SHAW PVR and watch Glee on the weekend. Good characters and good music. It’s light, funny and an “escape”!
Thanks to Tim for answering my questions!
I look forward to the next survey results.
MasterMaq's Blog 
Great coverage of this story Mack. It’s an excellent one to tell and is a huge turnaround in just a few years. Edmontonians may not understand that for years and years CTV (CFRN) led the fall ratings at 6pm. This much of a drastic change is like having the Oilers being a perennial Cup contender.
I guess losing Oprah as the lead-in show on CTV really hurt.
Not shocked that CBC isn’t even on the radar. Time to privatize it.
Yes, you are in the company of people like Ezra Levant, Harper and Sun NewsNetwork (recipient of $250M in subsidies and tax breaks..even though its a private company) who want to destroy CBC. But there are so many Canadians out there who know what is the purpose of public broadcasting and see our neighbours to the south who have Fox News to provide so much misinformation, propaganda and lies that democracy is seriously compromised. I have listened to CBC radio all my life and enjoy the benefits of learning about art, science, literature, music, politics and the world in general. No station in Canada does that. Nope….don’t try to dumb down Canadians.
Thanks for highlighting the age gap. Wow! If I’m doing the math right on first check (and I may not be) something in the range of 60-70% of the TV news audience is over the age of 54.
Sounds like a Neilsen report south of the border is going to back up the stats here: people under 35 are moving away from actual televisions.