No blues here: Chicago's WLS is tough to beat.(MARKET EYE)(cable television broadcasting industry)

Broadcasting & Cable, May, 2005 by Romano, Allison

WLS President/GM Emily Barr recalls that, when ABC's prime time was sinking in recent years, her station still managed to be Chicago's top local news. "I'd tell [lead anchor] Ron Magers, 'You levitate above ether,'" she says. Now the network is better off with hits like Desperate Housewives, Lost and Grey's Anatomy, ABC-owned WLS is flying higher. "It is a great promotional platform and underpinning," Barr says.

WLS claims top ratings in early evening and late news--not an easy feat in a tough news town like Chicago. Ten different Nielsen-rated English and Spanish-language broadcasters are vying for viewers and ad dollars in this lucrative market, the country's third-largest and Comcast's second-largest cable market. Last year, local TV stations raked in...

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