First, a disclaimer. Last week’s TV ratings, in which major programming changes took place at every local station, were affected by the shutting down of the Sherman Minton Bridge. The constant traffic reporting, as well as changed schedules for commuters, altered viewing habits. We just don’t know how they were altered.
So let’s not make any big conclusions about how the new shows did locally. On second thought, let’s do.

In the newly-competitive 9 a..m. slot, Great Day Live! on WHAS beat Regis & Kelly on WDRB by a narrow (3.8 to 3.4) margin. That shows that plenty of R&K fans found their show on a new station, and also that the new local show, hosted by Rachel Platt and Terry Meiners, may have found an audience. GDL still has a lot to prove, and the future departure of Regis Philbin from morning TV will factor in the future. And WLKY began airing the Anderson Cooper show at this hour. It pulled a 2.0, but has the potential to gain audience.
At Noon, WHAS and WLKY tied at 5.1 while WAVE’s decision to get rid of Live at 725 and replace it with Extra! did little for the station’s Noon ratings, stuck at a dismal 1.2.
In the afternoons, Dr. Phil had a big first week on WDRB, pulling a 4.9 at 3 and helping the 4 p.m,. newscast beat the brand-new newscast on WHAS-TV. WDRB’s 4 p.m. news did a 4.7, compared with a 3.6 on the new WHAS news, anchored by Renee Murphy and Claudia Coffey. Of course, the Young and the Restless on WLKY won the time period for the week at 5.4.
WAVE’s new show at 3, America Now, has certainly not caught on with viewers in Dr. Phil’s old time slot, doing a 1.5 for the week. And WAVE’s newscast at 7:30 p.m. lost audience from its 7 p.m. news. Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy still won the early evening time slot.
Today WDRB added reruns of The Big Bang Theory at 7:30 following Two and a Half Men, in hopes of improving on the respectable second-place 5.9 it got last week. And the station has purchased 30 Rock to air at 11:30.
Overall, WLKY remains ahead or tied with WHAS in most local news hours, with the exception of 6 p.m., where WHAS has a lead.
It’s just a week, remember, and the numbers will likely change before the November sweeps.