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WBIR, Channel 10, news at 11 p.m. has yet to feel the full brunt of what's being called "The Jay Leno Effect" - but management isn't certain it's not coming.

The so-called "effect" - a term coined within the TV industry - refers to how weak ratings from "The Jay Leno Show" may shrink audiences for local NBC affiliates' 11 p.m. newscasts. If you're already watching another network at 10 p.m., why get up and change the channel to watch the news?

NBC affiliates in bigger East Coast markets have been complaining Leno's low-rated weeknight show is starting to have an effect on local NBC newscasts.

"Jay Leno" debuted more than a month ago, and WBIR's 11 p.m. newscast, which has a history of being solid in the time slot, has lost some traction. WBIR's late-night news still sees modest ratings around an 8.0; WVLT, Channel 8, the CBS affiliate, is enjoying numbers close to or slightly better than that some nights.

CBS is winning Tuesday and Thursday primetime in Knoxville this season, virtually slaying "Jay Leno" locally. Eventually, this might create a consistent habit where audiences will stop changing the channel when it comes time to watch the local news.

However, WBIR management says it may be too soon to say if the "Jay Leno" effect is coming in full force. As far as WBIR general manager Jeff Lee is concerned, the game has just started and is cautious about "Jay Leno" eroding WBIR's late-night news numbers permanently.

"We're in the first few minutes of the first quarter," Lee said. "No pattern has developed so it will be a while before you see what (happens)."

In the Knoxville market, "Jay Leno" has been a minimal success. During its first Wednesday-night outing, "Jay Leno" scored its highest local rating in the country - a stellar 15.7 - from the Knoxville market. But the numbers have been rather flat ever since, with the comedy hour scoring around a 4.0 rating most nights.

For WBIR's 11 p.m. news, some nights are harder to win than others.

Even now, WBIR news director Bill Shory admits, "Thursday (nights) have not been the strongest (ratings wise)."

Shory would rather see the upside, though. "In some markets, they are happy to hold on to 80 percent of (the "Jay Leno") audience," Shory says. "Sometimes, we are doubling that (lead-in), and we have nights when we are tripling it. We can be behind the other (affiliates) at 10:45 (p.m.) but win at 11 (p.m.). That's pretty hard to do. ... We are hoping that continues."

Terry Morrow may be reached at morrowt@knoxville.com or 865-342-6445. His blog can be found at http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/telebuddy/. He contributes to "Live At Five At Four" on WBIR, Channel 10, and "The Marc & Kim & Frank Show" on WWST-FM, 102.1.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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