WRDQ beats WOFL at 10 -- but the gap was not as large as this WRDQ graphic would make it appear on first glance

Catching up on some Orlando TV News after taking a short blogging break…

Yes, it’s really true. For the first time since its launch in 2002, WRDQ’s 10 p.m. newscast knocked off the No. 1 early-late news in town: Fox 35 News at 10. According to a WRDQ news release, Eyewitness News at Ten won the time period with adults 25-54 Monday through Friday in the August ratings period. TV27 delivered 1,113 more adults than Fox 35, despite having a lower-rated lead-in. TV27 grew 136 percent off its Oprah rerun lead-in while WOFL lost 33 percent of its lead-in audience. “The tremendous growth Eyewitness News at Ten has shown in August is a testament to TV27’s dedication to provide viewers with a quality fast-paced newscast,” said WFTV/WRDQ GM Shawn Bartelt. “I’m excited to see this trend continue for our Eyewitness News brand.” …

And after being dethroned in July as the morning news king by WESH, WFTV was back on top in August. From 5-7 a.m., Channel 9’s Eyewitness News Daybreak pulled in 20,538 adults 25-45. WESH 2’s Sunrise was No. 2 with 14,440, followed closely by Local 6’s Morning News with 14,180 and Fox 35 Morning News with 12,250. …

WFTV won all the news time periods in August, including the iconic 6 p.m. time period where it had 49,042 adults 25-54, followed by WESH (29,152), WKMG (14,665) and WOFL (11,775) …

A new Twitter site is posting Orlando TV ratings daily.OrlandoRatings has the scoop. The numbers look legit, but analyze at your own risk.

Andrea Jackson

In a note to Sentinel TV Guy and More blogger Hal Boedeker, Jackson said, “It’s been a great experience being a part of ‘The Buzz’ since the very beginning. After being on the air for seven years, it’s the right time for a change. … Stay tuned.”

The nationally syndicated show moved to Orlando in the summer of 2004 from Dayton, Ohio. It originally aired on and was headquartered at WKCF-Channel 18 in Lake Mary. Once WESH parent Hearst-Argyle bought WKCF, it booted the Buzz so it could air local news on the station. The Daily Buzz found a new home on the dial at WRDQ-Chanel 27 — and new studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park.

The show still airs on 145 stations natioanlly. After Jackson’s departure, only weather guy Mitch English will remain from the original hosts — which also included Ron Corning.

Here’s a clip from The Daily Buzz web site feature Jackson:

Because of tower relocations and the switch to a digital signal, many area stations will reach more households over the air than they did with their analog signals — especially households in and around the Metro Orlando area. Here’s the map showing the new digital signal areas vs. the old analog signal areas for all of Orlando’s stations.

One of the big losers is WESH 2 (NBC). The good news: Homes with digital boxes in Polk, Brevard, Osceola and Indian River counties can pick up WESH’s digital signal — thanks to its digital broadcast tower being in east Orange county. The bad news: When WESH’s transmitter on its tower in Orange City is turned off, households in Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Sumter, Marion, Levy, Alachua, Putnam, Clay and St. Johns counties won’t get WESH’s signal anymore. You can read more about WESH’s signal here.

Here’s how some other area stations will fare:

• WRDQ- 27 (Independent): Analog tower in Osceola County; digital tower in east Orange. It picks up a larger number of households in Volusia, Putnam, Marion, Sumter, Hernando, Pasco and Polk. The more northerly digital tower means the loss of households in Hardee, Highlands, Okechobee and Indian River counties. 
• WOFL-35 (Fox): Analog tower in east Orange; digital tower in east Orange. With new digital footprint, it gains households in Flagler, Putnam, Marion, Sumter, Hernando, Citrus, Polk, Osceola, Brevard and Indian River counties. 
• WKMG-6 (CBS): Analog tower in east Orange; digital tower in east Orange. It gains households in Flagler, Putnum, Marion and Sumter; it loses homes in Pasco and Polk counties. 
• WFTV- 9 (ABC):  Analog tower in east Orange; digital tower in east Orange. It keeps its signal footprint vitrually the same, but it gains households in Polk and Indian River counties. 
• WMFE-24 (PBS): Analog tower in east Orange; digital tower in east Orange. Gains households in Flagler, Marion, Lake, Sumter, Polk, Osceola and Brevard counties. 
• WVEN-26 (Univision): Analog tower in northwest Volusia County; digital tower in Orange City. It gains households in Lake, northern Osceola and northern Brevard. It loses households in St. Johns, Putnam, Alachua and Marion counties. 
• WBCC-68 (PBS): Analog tower in Oscoela; digital tower in east Orange. It gains households in Volusia, Seminole, Lake and Polk counties. 
• WDSC-15 (PBS): Analog tower in Daytona Beach; digital tower in east Orange. It  picks up households in Lake, Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Polk and Brevard counties.

The unusual — and basically meaningless — March sweeps ended on Wednesday. To no one’s surprise, WFTV-Channel 9 was once again the Nielsen powerhouse for Central Florida.

The ratings numbers show 9’s Eyewitness News was the top choice in households and in the 25-54 demo in all the time periods. WESH 2 News was No. 2, followed by WKMG’s Local 6 News.

At 10 p.m., WOFL’s Fox 35 News nearly doubled the viewers for the WFTV-produced Eyewitness News at 10 on WRDQ-Channel 27.

Details and more numbers here from from the Orlando Sentinel’s TV Guy.

Despite lawmakers’ approval of a plan to extend the digital transition period until June, at least three Orlando stations may pull the plug on their analog broadcasts as early as Feb. 17.

Public broadcaster WMFE-Ch. 24, Univision’s WVEN-Ch. 26 and indy WRDQ-Ch. 27 may turn off their analog signals 12 days from now, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

“I don’t think there is much of anything to be gained by postponing it to June 12,” WVEN VP/GM Antonio Guernica told the Sentinel. “I think everybody who is going to be ready is ready and those who aren’t ready now, I don’t believe they will prepare between now and June 12. There are some folks who will react only when they go to their TV and their favorite programming is not there.”

Meanwhile, among other stations: WKMG-Ch. 6, WESH-Ch. 2 and WKCF-Ch. 18 will likely wait until the new June deadline to end analog broadcasts, while WFTV-Ch. 9 hasn’t made a decision on what to do.

Why pull the plug early? Money. The stations could save thousands of dollars in electricity bills by turning off their analog transmitters by the original DTV deadline of Feb. 17. They’re already paying for power for both analog and digital transmitters now.

Read the full story here.

 A couple of quick notes, the first two courtesy of Sentinel TV Guy Hal Boedeker …

WRDQ-Channel 27 will provide live coverage of the Central Florida speeches by former President Bill Clinton and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tonight. Clinton and Obama will be in Kissimme, making their first joint appearance on the campaign trail. The speeches aren’t expected until 11 p.m.

And, Good Morning America is coming to Orlando on Thursday. The ABC News morning show will broadcast from Church Street Station in downtown Orlando. Diane Sawyer and Chris Cuomo will be in town for the show, which will air from inside and outside the Cheyenne Saloon on Church Street. The public is invited – coffee and bagels will be available at 6:15 a.m. for early risers.

And finally …. Former WKMG anchor Mark McEwen will be the narrator for Lincoln’s Year, which will be performed Saturday at 8 p.m. by the Orlando Philharomic Orchestra. For more information, click here.