In the November 2009 sweeps, WGRZ was one of many NBC affiliates to fall victim to the so-called "Leno Effect" (in which NBC affiliates' late-evening newscasts experienced decreased ratings stemming from the weakening NBC lead-in "The Jay Leno Show"); as in many of the affected markets, WGRZ's 11 p.m. newscast fell to a distant third, behind both WIVB-TV and WKBW-TV (although WGRZ's weekday morning newscast regained the lead over WIVB's morning show, thanks in large part to the return of John Beard to the Buffalo market after over 25 years in Los Angeles). With NBC moving Leno back to "The Tonight Show" in February 2010, WGRZ rebounded to a much closer second place behind WIVB-TV in the July 2010 sweeps; however, "Daybreak" lost ground, once again falling behind WIVB. In early 2011, "Daybreak" once again became the market's #1 morning show.