HDTV Doesn't Help Tucson TV News

Washington, D.C. (July 8, 2007) -- KVOA-TV's news programs took a ratings dip in May despite a heavily publicized switch to High-Definition.

KVOA-TV is the NBC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona.

The station's 10 p.m. news program plunged from a 8.7 Nielsen rating in February of this year to a 6.3 in May, according to the Arizona Daily Star. The 5 p.m. newscast fell from 7.4 to 5.1 and the 6 p.m. program declined from 6.8 to 5.1.

KVOA became the first Tucson station to broadcast the news in high-def on April 22 of this year, shortly before the May ratings period.

"I think all of us over the years have found ratings books where we've wondered what happened, and this is certainly one of them," Gary Nielsen, president and general manager of KVOA, told the Daily Star. "I find it hard to believe that our newscasts went down."

But one rival Tucson station, which has yet to switch to high-def news, says KVOA overemphasized HD in its promotions.

"Maybe 18 percent of the population has HD sets, and you're targeting all of your marketing to the HD audience," said KOLD general manager Jim Arnold. "It is the thing of the future, and we salute them for that."

KOLD, the CBS affiliate in Tucson, says high-def news is on the station's "long-distance radar" but there are no immediate launch plans.

Nielsen dismisses the criticism, saying the ratings should rise shortly.

"We are extremely pleased with what we have on the air," he said. "I'm confident that in the next ratings book in the fall, the numbers will be back in sync."

Despite KOLD's charge that the high-def promotions hurt KVOA, Dallas station WFAA-TV says its ratings rose after it switched to HD news last February.

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