This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The folks at KSL got a big present this Christmas — the demographic data from the November ratings sweeps came in and put Ch. 5 in first place in late news and at 6 p.m.

KUTV-Ch. 2 won (for the most part) in the morning and midday. Ch. 2 won among viewers 25-54 at 5 p.m.; Ch. 5 won among viewers 18-49.

KSTU-Ch. 13 took a serious hit. Its late-news numbers were down significantly from November 2014 to November 2015.

And KTVX-Ch. 4 continues to struggle.

For the average viewer, the numbers that follow don't mean much. To most of you, they don't mean anything at all.

If we were counting attendance like at a football game, KUTV would have sold the most tickets.

But keep in mind that TV stations make money by selling advertising. And they don't sell advertising based on how many households or even the total number of people who tune in to a newscast, they sell it based on how many people in the demographics advertisers pay to reach.

For news, the most important demo is 25-54, and 18-49 remains significant in some quarters.

Here's a look how the late-news demographics stack up from the November 2015 sweeps:

PERSONS 25-54

KSL-Ch. 5 • 3.7 (up 0.6/16 percent vs. Nov. 2014)

KUTV-Ch. 2 • 2.8 (down 0.2/ 7 percent)

KSTU-Ch. 13 • 2.1 (down 1.7/45 percent)

KTVX-Ch. 4 • 1.0 (down 0.5/33 percent)

PERSONS 18-49

KSL-Ch. 5 • 2.8 (up 0.6/21 percent)

KSTU-Ch. 13 • 1.8 (down 1.0/35 percent)

KUTV-Ch. 2 • 1.3 (down 0.3/19 percent)

KTVX-Ch. 4 • 0.8 (down 0.3/27 percent)

The folks at KSL long blamed the lousy lead-in their late news was getting from NBC's primetime schedule as the reason —or, at least, a reason — for their weak 10 p.m. ratings. And they can certainly point to NBC's increased strength as a reason for their resurgence.

On the other hand, Fox's schedule has been a disaster. With the exception of "Empire," the network isn't giving Channel 13 much of a lead-in.

There are, as always, umpteen ways to spin this. I'm trying to avoid that, except to point out one rather important fact — there will never be a ratings sweep like this one again.

November 2015 is the final time demographics will be compiled using diaries — books sent to viewers, who record what they watch using paper and pen.

How quaint.

In the future, beginning in February, nobody will have to write anything down. It will all be done electronically.

Which is supposed to give us more accurate numbers. We'll see how that works out.

Scott D. Pierce covers television for The Salt Lake Tribune . Email him at spierce@sltrib.com; follow him on Twitter @ScottDPierce.