Ratings give peek at challenges facing Ralston

Ratings, death, taxes.

As the latter two of life's certainties are lesser concerns to TV types, we turn toward the first to examine the latest weekday arrival: News-3's "Face to Face with Jon Ralston," its new 4 p.m. tenant, ousting "First News 3 at 4" -- and sending the station tumbling from a solid second place to a wobbly third place for that half-hour last week.

Competing in the Nielsen shadow cast by first-place Channel 8, "Face to Face," formerly of the late Las Vegas ONE, debuted Jan. 4, comfortably in second place with a 3.5 household rating, doubtless owing to viewer habit (many probably didn't know the news was gone) and curiosity tune-in. But the next day it skidded to a third-place 2.1, then to a 1.5 the next, having hemorrhaged nearly 60 percent of its audience. As of earlier this week: 0.9. That amounts to ... Yikes!

(Congrats, Channel 13. You drift up the rankings by default.)

Comparatively, Ralston reaps a viewer windfall. "Face" trades LV1's tiny cable audience for a larger broadcast viewership, even at these numbers, plus he airs in Elko and Reno. For his new employer, though, the ratings are a belly-drop.

Alarmed, News-3? "Not in the least," says news chief Bob Stoldal. "There was little promotion or marketing in advance. I could've waited 90 days and had focus groups, but I wanted it on now. An audience needs to be built for this type of program. Ralston is going to be on Channel 3 and the statewide network for a long time."

Weak one-week ratings? No reason to frantically save "Face" ... yet. Between its December acquisition and January premiere, there was barely time enough to paste the old "Face" into a new station. Still, initial numbers indicate industry issues facing this political issues show.

Journalistically, Ralston's a jolt of high-voltage cred. His power-punch interviews will be headline-generators for Channel 3's 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts. (And cheer News-3 for bravely attempting a break from the straight afternoon news rut.)

Guest selection could factor into watchability -- a compelling Dario Herrera interview was the opening show. Yet, the "Face to Face" audience tends more toward hard-core political junkies than general news viewers. At 4 p.m., most of the "Face" crowd is at work, likely to record it rather than watch live.

While journalism-based, "Face" isn't a newscast, with that separate identity. As a host-driven show, this hardball half-hour lands awkwardly amid daytime's softball vibe and happy yakkers -- Oprah, Ellen, Doc Phil -- whose central appeal is their inviting personas more than their guests and themes. That hampers the aggressive Ralston, neither an entertaining eccentric nor fuzzy-wuzzy figure with whom viewers can emotionally relax. Even local news anchors competing with him head-on at 4 p.m. bank on projecting a comforting aura. Ralston in this time slot is, frankly, a pug among puppies.

Why not rethink it? As often advocated here, go interactive via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail. Perhaps go hourlong. Add an easygoing but savvy co-host such as Sophia Choi as viewer traffic cop, reading online feedback and questions, and offsetting Ralston's grill-'em style. Let newsmaker confrontations spark viewer conversations. Talk with us, not at us.

Now could be that "Face"-the-future moment.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.