[BC] Interesting sign-offs and Tech Difficulties

[Rich Wood]

------ At 12:31 PM 8/20/2006, Bob Foxworth wrote: -------

>A few days after 9/11 happened I heard Limbaugh marveling
>at news that Dan Rather's NYC ratings were so much higher (for
>the evening news) than the opposition. I took this to be due to
>Channel 2 (WCBS TV) remaining available over-the-air, while the
>competition was only available on cable. However I never heard him
>address that point. As I was out of the NY area, I could not directly
>confirm that.
>
>Was this in fact true?

That would be my guess. The top rated news station was WABC and the 
top billing station was WNBC. WCBS was behind in both in the 20 years 
I was in the market. They were constantly fiddling with the format 
and replacing News Directors. I saw a lot of people with portable TVs 
in the street. Everyone was hoping for ambulances that never 
appeared. People with cable didn't have to change their normal news 
routine. I can't imagine millions of people suddenly concluding that 
Dan Rather was the best source of news when they had ignored him for 
so many years.

According to the NY Department of Information Technology and 
Telecommunications, New York City (all boroughs) had approximately 
1,695,482 cable subscribers as of December 31, 2004. That leaves 
millions who get their TV over the air. Only Dan was on the air from 
a site that covered the city.

Rich


Rich Wood
Rich Wood Multimedia
Phone: 413-454-3258