Spectrum TV news outlets in Tampa and Orlando outperform other stations during Milton

When natural disasters, such as recent hurricanes, cause havoc in Florida communities, residents often turn to broadcast news outlets for the most up-to-date breaking bulletins to keep them informed and possibly save lives.

Spectrum news outlets in Tampa and Orlando appear to have come out on top compared to the competitors during Hurricane Milton, which slammed Florida first on the Gulf Coast on Oct. 9 and then roared through the interior of the state before exiting into the Atlantic Ocean through the Space Coast on Oct. 10.

When the powerful hurricane first struck the west coast of Florida, Spectrum Bay News 9 in Tampa saw the most viewers from Oct. 7, when the storm was bearing down on the state, through Oct. 9, the day the storm plowed into the Gulf Coast, according to Spectrum officials.

“Bay New 9’s comprehensive coverage of Hurricane Milton recorded more viewership than ABC, FOX and CBS combined, with three times the audience of ABC and FOX, four times that of NBC, and six times CBS. In all, viewership was 226% above the previous month’s average,” a news release from Spectrum said.

Spectrum officials based their ratings claims on the company’s set-top box monitoring and streaming service data. The ratings are also based on a minimum threshold of watching an outlet for five consecutive minutes or more of viewing.

In Orlando, viewing results were similar during Milton. Spectrum officials claim Spectrum News 13, covering Central Florida, saw higher viewership than CBS and NBC affiliates combined.

“News 13 beat ABC by 24%, doubled the audience of NBC, and recorded four times the viewership of CBS and FOX. News 13 viewership was 154% above the previous month’s average.” However, Spectrum acknowledged coverage of Hurricane Helene, which struck the Gulf Coast on Sept. 26, was not included in the calculations as total coverage from Sept. 21 through Sept. 30 was excluded from the “average benchmark.”

However, Spectrum also claims its television news outlets on the Gulf Coast and Central Florida outperformed the Big Dog in hurricane coverage on The Weather Channel.

“Both Bay News 9 and News 13 recorded higher viewership than The Weather Channel during the period of October 7 -11,” the Spectrum news release said.