NEW YORK -Tom Brokaw is giving Brian Williams a clear head start as he prepares to pass the baton on NBC's Nightly News. Brokaw's broadcast has been dominant this fall over its closest rival, ABC's World News Tonight
after a brief stretch last spring when the two ran neck-and-neck in the ratings, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Brokaw, 64, steps down Dec. 1 as host of the program he's led since 1983. Williams, his chief substitute, will take over the next day.
Through four weeks of a new TV season, the Nightly News average of 9.7 million viewers is up 7 percent over the same period in 2003, according to Nielson. Brokaw typically has 1.1 million more viewers than ABC's Peter Jennings this season, compared to 412,000 during the same stretch last year.
Steve Capus, executive producer of Nightly News said he believes viewers are more likely to turn to his broadcast during busy times, like the presidential campaign.
I think that NBC News has become the news brand Capus said. I think that's true. I think the viewers have
in essence
cast their votes on that.
His chief rival, World News Tonight executive producer Jon Banner, is not buying that theory. He said ABC's springtime rally came during a strong news period, with the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and the report on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
ABC's ratings often suffer in autumn because World News Tonight is moved or pre-empted in some West Coast markets because of Monday Night Football
he said.
I think that we will continue to battle it out
he said. There is always an ebb and flow in the ratings. There are so many variables here on any given day that it is very difficult to determine what exactly is having an impact.
Clearly, prime-time viewing habits make no difference; NBC has been slumping this season while ABC's ratings are up.
If anything, Brokaw's gain is coming at Dan Rather's expense. The CBS anchor, enmeshed in a controversy over his story about President Bush's National Guard service, has seen CBS Evening News ratings drop by 6 percent since last year.
Both Capus and Banner discounted any thoughts that nostalgic viewers are giving Brokaw a victory lap.
It's too soon
Capus said. People aren't focused on that. They're focused on the election and other news matters. We're not at all focused on Tom's departure.
The ratings trend does, however, enable NBC News executives to breathe a little easier. They have been meticulously planning the transition for two years and nobody is quite sure how a change in the evening news anchor chair will upset the equilibrium since there has not been one for two decades.
Capus said he plans little change in how the broadcast looks or operates when Williams takes over.
Though Brokaw, who will settle into a life of book-writing and occasional documentaries, will likely bid viewers farewell on Dec. 1, Capus said not to expect a big Brokaw party that night.
Tom has made very clear to me that 'Nightly' is not going to be in the tribute business
he said.
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