WDIV-Local 4 saw a major spike from homebound viewers seeking news and entertainment shows during these unsettling and unprecedented times. The station was the leader in nearly all newscasts during the March TV sweeps period for Detroit (2/27-3/25/2020), with first place finishes in key newscasts, access (7 to 8 p.m.), and late-night programming.
“Even though most of our team is working remotely during this pandemic, they still have managed to figure out ways to get important, life-saving information to our viewers, and for that I am so proud and grateful,” said Vice President and General Manager Marla Drutz. “And from the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank our frontline and essential workers who are the true heroes during this crisis and we want everyone to know that we will continue to do everything we can to help our community until this nightmare is over.”
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WDIV’s website, ClickOnDetroit.com, finished March with its highest month ever, due to the increase in users coming to the site for information about the Coronavirus Crisis, reaching 12.6 million Unique Visitors, well above the 9 million seen in January of 2019 due to the Polar Vortex. ClickOnDetroit.com also finished as the No. 1 media website in Metro Detroit (Comscore/February 2020).
WDIV Local 4’s first place newscast finishes include:
- Local 4 News First at 4 is No. 1 in the 4 p.m. time period across all the key demographics, beating both The Now (WXYZ 4 p.m.) and Judge Judy (WJBK 4 p.m.).
- Local 4 News at 5 p.m. continues its nine-year winning streak and is the leader in the time period across all key demographics, beating both WXYZ and WJBK.
- Local 4 News at 6 p.m. continues its No. 1 position across all demographics, beating both WXYZ and WJBK.
- Local 4 News airing Monday through Sunday at 11 p.m. retains its title as Detroit’s No. 1 Late News. This month, Local 4’s 11 p.m. News experienced huge year to year increases across all demographics and beat WJBK’s 10 p.m. news, WXYZ, and WJBK M-F 11 p.m.
- WDIV-Local 4 also continues to be the leader in late-night programming, claiming the No. 1 spot withfirst place finishes in The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Saturday Night Live.
- In the all-important access period at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! continue to dominate across all demographics compared to WXYZ’s 7 p.m. news and The List, and WJBK’s TMZ/EXTRA.
At 6 a.m., Local 4 News Today, anchored by Rhonda Walker, Evrod Cassimy, Jason Carr, Brandon Roux and Kim DeGiulio, placed a closed second to WJBK at 6 a.m.
In other dayparts, WDIV’s mid-morning talker - Live in the D – finished at a close 2nd in the time period, beating The Doctors on WXYZ. Live in the D is up 40% in the key Women 25-54 demographic.