OPINION

RATINGS NOT TURNING UP ROSES FOR KTLA CHANNEL-5 IN LOS ANGELES ON ROSE PARADE COVERAGE

SECOND YEAR IN A ROW RATINGS DECLINE AFTER CHANGES MADE TO BROADCAST

(Jan 5th, 2007 9:00AM PST)

BY ERS NEWS

For the second year in a row, KTLA-TV’s Rose Parade coverage has suffered a decline in the ratings of the televised coverage of the world renowned Pasadena event. The station has been bedeviled with decreasing ratings since they decided to boot longtime co-anchor Stephanie Edwards from the broadcast and replaced her with KTLA Morning News Anchor Michaela Pereira.

Over the years the broadcast has dominated the ratings on the annual New Years Day broadcast in Los Angeles.

Bob Eubanks, well known TV personality and the other long time host of the KTLA parade coverage touts the long running success of KTLA’s parade coverage on his own web site telling his fans: “Each year Bob can be seen on the Tournament of Roses New Year's Day Parade, for Tribune Broadcasting. His multiple Emmy Award winning coverage traditionally receives a fifty plus share, making it one of the highest-rated television shows in Southern California, many years surpassing the ratings of the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards.”

It’s been widely rumored that this will be the last year long-time host of the parade Bob Eubanks.  His former co-anchor Stephanie Edwards was tossed to the curb two years ago, after co-hosting the parade with Eubanks since the late 1970’s. 

Edward’s fans mounted an email writing campaign to the management of KTLA when Edwards was replaced. This year, long time Edwards fans started a new email effort directed at Sam Zell the new boss at Tribune in an attempt to have Edwards reinstated to the broadcast.

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