Grand Rapids Fox affiliate WXMI was the most watched station in West Michigan, in both the morning news and late news time periods, during the Nielsen rated May sweeps period.
Among Adults 25-54, from 5-9AM, Monday-Friday Fox 17 averaged a 1.6 daily rating (WOOD averaged a 1.3, WWMT a 1.0 and WZZM a .9) Fox 17 Morning News was the #1 rated newscast from 7-8AM with an average daily rating Monday-Friday of 2.2. 7-8AM was the most viewed hour during the morning news time period.
“May was a turning point in West Michigan news,” said Fox 17 General Manager, Kim Krause. “We’ve been seeing consistent ratings growth for a while, but in May everything came together for us. We came out on top in the morning and with our late newscast. In addition, we had a dominant presence on social media. Two videos in particular went viral and yielded over 15 million views combined.”
In addition to Fox 17’s success in the morning, during the May sweep Fox 17’s 10PM newscast was the #1 rated late newscast in the market. Which is to say that among Adults 25-54, Monday-Friday Fox 17’s 10PM news achieved a higher daily average rating than all other West Michigan broadcaster’s 11PM newscasts.
“These numbers show West Michigan viewers are sampling our news and they like what they see,” said Fox 17 News Director, Brooks Blanton. “When it comes to our morning news, more viewers than ever are discovering what our fans have known for a while. Our morning team is passionate about covering the stories that affect West Michigan, but they do it in a way that allows our viewers to start their day with a smile.”