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When the broadcast tower fell along with 1 World Trade Center on Sept. 11, WCBS-2 and WXTV-41 were the beneficiaries of a terrible gift.
Because both had transmitters on the Empire State Building, millions of television viewers without cable could still receive those two stations and get their desperately needed news. No other stations were available to them.
WCBS and WXTV are still the only broadcast stations with full-power signals that can reach the outermost areas in the boroughs and the suburbs. But while Spanish-language WXTV has made spectacular gains, with its news viewership leaping more than 50% in recent ratings periods, WCBS' surge was short-lived.
"There was a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on a technological advantage, which (WCBS) obviously failed to do," says Al Primo, an industry consultant.
In the important November sweeps, viewership for the station's 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. broad casts actually declined from the same period a year ago. The 6 p.m. news rose slightly,...