WABC/Channel 7 maintained its dominance of local news, winning every daypart in the just-concluded November sweeps, according to Nielsen.

Starting in the weekday mornings, Eyewitness News This Morning with Lori Stokes, Ken Rosato and Bill Evans had the highest Household rating at 4:30.

At 5 a.m., WABC was tops in Households and Adults 25 to 54, while during the 6 o’clock hour, once again, more viewers watched Channel 7 than any other local newscast.

Stokes, Rosato, and Evans return at noon, and so do the great ratings. The broadcast holds a 39 percent advantage over its closest competition among Households. The lunchtime newscast also draws more than twice as many Adults 25 to 54 and Women 25 to 54 as its closest competitor.

A change of anchors at 4 p.m., but the result is the same for WABC. With Liz Cho, David Novarro, and Lee Goldberg, Channel 7 won in the pivotal Adults 25 to 54 grouping. The 4 p.m. newscast, which debuted in the summer, only falls short in the key Household rating to Judge Judy on WCBS/Channel 2.

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The tragedy of 9/11, which of course started in the morning, was one of those rare breaking news stories when nighttime anchors were pressed into action.

One by one, the highest of high-profile anchors were on the air at the height of the disaster.

We begin our special Fishbowl series 9/11: New York Remembers by reexamining the 9/11 attacks with the Holy Trinity of New York anchors: Ernie Anastos, WNYW/Channel 5 (then with WCBS/Channel 2), Bill Ritter, WABC/Channel 7, and Chuck Scarborough, WNBC/Channel 4.

Bill Ritter, who lives in Manhattan, had the easiest trek to WABC’s Upper West Side studios. He got a call from his producer after the first plane struck the north tower at the World Trade Center. Even before knowing the full extent, Ritter was making his way to WABC.

Thanks to a short commute, Ritter (above, with Diana Williams during WABC’s 9/11 coverage) was on the air just after 10 a.m.—meaning he was describing to viewers as the second tower imploded.

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WABC/Channel 7 maintains its news dominance, winning the May Sweeps (the official last day is tomorrow) period among the overall Households and a pivotal demographic–Adults 25 to 54.

In the ratings tabulated by Nielsen, Eyewitness News This Morning with Lori Stokes, Ken Rosato, and Bill Evans had the highest Household rating from 4:30 to 5 a.m., while boasting twice as many Adults 25 to 54 as any other station. At 5 and 6 a.m., Channel 7 beat all competitors in Households and Adults 25 to 54.

In the newscast at noon, WABC held a 50 percent lead over WCBS in the Households rating, and by twice as much in the Women 25 to 54 demographic.

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For more than an hour late Friday afternoon, two workers dangled precariously 12 stories over the side of a Yonkers high rise.

The timing of the accident (just after 5 p.m.) made for instant drama: just add water and stir.

The men who had been out on the scaffolding were ultimately brought down to street level safely.

With choppers providing live video from the scene, viewers saw all the riveting images.

Although not all images were as riveting as others, Channel 4, for example, which shares the helicopter with Fox 5/WNYW, actually had a much grainier feed than their partner. Apparently, WNBC was overcompensating for the darker, albeit clearer, picture on WNYW.

WNYW, though, was late to get to the coverage, taking approximately 30 minutes longer than WCBS and WABC for their choppers to arrive.

Once all the stations were on air and up in the air, this played out right through the 6 p.m. newscasts.

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As we reported earlier, WCBS-TV has reason to celebrate, winning their first sweeps at 11 p.m. in 17 years.

But, it is “steady as she goes” at WABC/Channel 7.

WABC won the key demographic Adults 25-54 in most dayparts throughout the day.

Starting in the predawn hours, Eyewitness News This Morning with Lori Stokes, Ken Rosato and Bill Evans, the station edged the competition at 4:30 a.m. In the 5 a.m. hour, however, Channel 7 had a whopping 67 percent lead.

The advantage, according to the Nielsen figures released by WABC and obtained by FishbowlNY, was maintained in the second full hour, with a 42 percent lead in the pivotal Adults 25-54 demo.

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Charles Perez, who only spent two years at WABC/Channel 7, was believed to be groomed for the main anchor gig.

In his new book, Confessions of a Gay Anchorman, Perez discusses his coming out and how his TV gigs were affected by it.

For the chapter on his stint at WABC, (lasting all of 12 pages), however, Perez’s focus was not on his sexuality, at least not on the surface.

But Perez, hardly a memorable name in the annals of Eyewitness News history, took one jab after another at his former colleagues.

“To me it’s not about any of the people I mentioned,” Perez tells FishbowlNY. “It was about how shocked I was to get to a place that I thought was going to be about professionalism and journalism. In my experience, it was about ego more than anything. It was a culture of inflated egos and inefficiency,”

In the book, Perez calls WABC’s shop “by far the most overstaffed facility I’d ever worked in.”

In response, Perez joked, “How many people does it take to put in a light bulb?”

Faced with breaking news, Perez says he was forced to be at the cameraman’s beck and call.

“I could sit down there waiting for a photographer for a freaking hour and a half before he would actually get in the truck and pull out,” Perez alleges. “Everybody was moving like snails.”

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WABC-TV/Channel 7 is probably sorry to usher in the New Year. In figures released by the Nielsen Company (and obtained by WABC), the station topped all competitors for weekday newscasts in 2010.

Starting out in mornings, WABC expanded Eyewitness News to 4:30 a.m. during the week. Led by Lori Stokes, Ken Rosato, and Bill Evans, the additional 30 minutes beat all rivals in Household (HH) rating and doubled the amount of Adults 25 to 54.

In the 5 a.m. hour, WABC maintained its lead over all other stations, with a full year HH rating that was at least 36 percent larger than any other channel. Among the key demographic Adults 25 to 54, Eyewitness News This Morning at least doubled the closest rival.

At 6 a.m., good fortunes continued, as Channel 7 held a 27 percent advantage over its closest competitor.  WABC surged to a 45 percent lead in the Adults 25 to 54 demo.

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WABC/Channel 7 was the people choice for television station in the November sweeps period ended last Wednesday.

WABC beat out its competitors in every weekday newscast from early morning to late evening.

In figures from the Nielsen Company (obtained by WABC), Channel 7 was tops in Households and in a key demographic–Adults 25 to 54.

Starting with Eyewitness News This Morning with Lori Stokes, Ken Rosato, and Bill Evans, the newscast (after 5 a.m.) has a 25 percent advantage in Households, while more than double as many Adults 25 to 54.

At noon, the Stokes and Rosato return to the anchor desk with a 56 percent bulge over the closest competition in Households. That newscast was victorious with Women 25 to 54, winning by better than two to one.

WABC continues its ratings dominance in the evening after the jump.

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