More local Nielsens, Fox No. 2?

KXRM/Channel 21 GM Steve Dant called me to say that my Nielsen story on Wednesday left out an important data point: KXRM was No. 2 (behind KOAA) in the 18-49 and 25-54 age groups.

Which is a pretty big deal. And a much bigger deal if they can do it consistently.

I've heard the argument that you can't compare 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. or 5 p.m. to 5:30 because there's a different viewer base -- it's maybe not apples to oranges, but at least Galas to Granny Smiths. Still, total numbers don't lie (they do occasionally mislead, however).

It's worth noting that KXRM still has a couple of ratings points to pick up to take over No. 2 in total viewers, but advertisers -- and hence station managers -- primarily care about those prime demographic groups. 25-54 is always the "money" demo, and 18-49 doesn't suck, either (oddly, the national networks only care about the 18-49 group and don't give a fig for 49-54 year olds. TV is a weird business).

We'll get a better gauge on this with the May book, which is just around the corner (although Nielsen won't send out the local results until late June).