At Boston's WCVB, where the 11 p.m. newscast scored 102 points lower than the 6 p.m., assistant news director Neil Ungerleider believes it's harder to keep viewers at 11 p.m.
People are tired, ready for bed, and they've already heard the news earlier in the day.
At 11 p.m., in contrast, many stations tend to pick up the tempo to keep viewer attention. But more stories can come at a cost. Higher story counts can mean lower quality scores. WHDH, with the highest story count at 11 p.m., had the lowest score. It's no surprise.