Monday. Aug. 24.1987 Ratings Continued from Page 6A July 10 p.m. news, according to Nielson. RARE fared nearly as well in the Arbitron ratings, with a 28 percent share. “They are almost identical. They’re both so close the validity of the ratings is unquestionable,” Bass said. Not so, said Ron Handberg, vice president and general manager at WCCO. While Handberg admitted WCCO slipped slightly to second place, he said a reversal will be just as sudden. “This only confirms my feeling after the Nielsons,” Handberg said. “When fall comes and all the net works are at full strength, we ex pect a different story.” Handberg blamed poor lead-in and lead-out network shows — those before and after the news — for WCCO’s decline. “CBS lead-ins in July were abys mal,” he said. Still, WCCO executives agreed the July ratings are not a fluke. • “KARE is No. 1,” Handberg said. “It only demonstrates, as Nielson did, that it’s a horse race at 10 pm ... We love a battle and we’re looking forward to it “We know what matters,” Hand berg said, playing on his competi tor’s slogan. At KSTP, executives claim the ratings are being compared incor rectly. Bob Regalbuto, KSTP presi dent and general manager, said the figures should be interpreted not on a seven-day basis, but Monday through Friday. “They’re comparing apples and oranges,” Regalbuto said. “We have completely different news teams on the weekends. And ad vertisers buy time Monday through Friday, not Monday through Sun day.” Using that method, KARE still is first with a 28 percent share, KSTP is second at 25 percent and WCCO is third at 24 percent, he said. “I don’t think we have any dis pute that KARE is No. 1,” Regal buto said. “The thing that is inter esting is the precipitous fall of WCCO.” A year ago, WCCO led the pack with a 30 percent rating, while KSTP held 26 percent and KARE 24 percent The higher ratings mean KARE - will be able to charge advertisers more for a 30-second commercial during the news because the mes sage will reach more people. Bass said a 30-second commercial could cost at least $2,300 during the prime early part of the newscast. That figure compares to $200 per commercial KARE, then WTCN, charged advertisers based on an 8 percent rating for the same time slot in July 1983, two months before the present format was in troduced, Bass said. As suggested by its call letters, KARE has tried to distinguish its newscasts from rivals by stressing the station’s concern for the com munity. KARE’s frequent feature stories about senior citizens and on-air offers for pets available for adoption reflect this motif. . WCCO officials have said the station has no plans to copy KARE’s style but will concentrate on improving the things they say they already do well. Both ratings showed WCCO still holds a commanding 32 percent share for its 6 pm. newscast, al though KSTP and KARE both made marginal gains over last year. WCCO held even. At 5 pm., WCCO slipped into a tie for first with KSTP at 24 per cent, while KARE brought up the rear with a 21 percent average. KARE has been gaining on WCCO and KSTP in the lucrative 10 pm. time slot since Gannett, the nation’s largest media corporation, bought the station in April 1983. Conventional wisdom holds that newscasts do only as well as the network shows that precede them. In the case of KARE, however, the network’s show from 9:30 p.m. to 10 pm. ranked third, with only 20 percent of the viewing audience, Bass said. That suggests viewers are switching channels for the news, he said. Bass also said the July ratings vindicate KARE’s improved May ratings, which had come under at tack by WCCO. In a lawsuit, WCCO accused KARE of inflating its rat ings by sending out research ques tionnaires during the rating period. The questionnaires suggested peo ple should watch Channel 11 as much as possible, especially during the 10 pm. news.