News and sports programming have long been considered DVR-proof because of their compelling live nature.
Add another genre to that list: movies.
According to new data compiled by Nielsen and distributed by Hallmark Channel, movies are the second-most-viewed live genre on television, following news but actually ahead of sports.
Some 98.4 percent of households view movies live, compared with 98.7 percent for news and, in fifth place, 97.8 percent for sports.
Children’s shows are third at 98.1 percent and sitcoms are fourth at 98 percent.
The least-compelling live programming: drama, mystery or sci-fi programs, at 96.6 percent, followed by adult animation such as Adult Swim’s cartoons at 97.3 percent.
The numbers are part of the first quarter live-plus-three-day-DVR-playback commercial ratings, called C3 ratings, released by Nielsen last week. The data also show that cable networks, which show far more movies than broadcast, are far ahead in C3 retention, and six cable networks that are known for their movies rank in the top 15 for C3 audience retention among adults 18-49.
Nick at Nite led C3 audience retention for 18-49s among cable and broadcast networks at 95.5 percent, followed by Hallmark at 93.2 percent, Weather Channel at 92.5 percent, TV Land at 92.1 percent and Cartoon Network at 91.4 percent. Fox was the top broadcast network at 90.2 percent.
In addition to Hallmark, other movie-heavy channels in the top 15 included USA Network, TBS, TNT, ABC Family and Lifetime.
Why the high live ratings for movies as compared with other genres?
Perhaps the biggest reason is that while movies may not draw the highest ratings on cable, they still carry the urgency of an event, which gets people to tune in when they are set to begin.
Networks put a lot of promotional muscle behind them, often including cross-network advertising, as seen with the recent premieres of the “Star Wars” movies on Spike.
Miniseries in particular force viewers to watch them live, so that they can keep up with each bite-sized installment instead of sitting down to six or eight hours of taped entertainment.
Networks also invest a fair chunk of money into their movie franchises, and thus give them prime programming slots. Hallmark showcases many of its movies on Saturday nights, when it is among the top cable networks in households, as does Lifetime.
These latest C3 ratings are sure to get lots of scrutiny heading into the upfront, which is expected to break sometime after the broadcast networks hold their schedule presentations in two weeks. Last year for the first time media buyers used C3 ratings to negotiate ad buys.
***
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended April 27:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): TNT, USA, TBS, ESPN, Discovery.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, TBS, Fox News Channel, Nick at Nite.
Top movie (18-49s): TBS’s “Monster-In-Law” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 1.43 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “NFL Draft” (Saturday, 3 p.m.) 5.03 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN’s “NFL Draft” (Saturday, 3 p.m.); USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday 10 p.m.); TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Suns/Spurs” (Tuesday, 9:40 p.m.); ESPN’s “NBA Basketball: Spurs/Suns” (Friday, 10:33 p.m.).
Show on the rise: MTV’s “The Real World,” Wednesday 10 p.m. In its 20th season the reality staple still has the ability to grow among young viewers, last week jumping 33 percent among viewers 18-34, from 1.32 million to 1.76 million.
Show on the decline: VH1’s “Miss Rap Supreme,” Monday 10 p.m. The reality competition slipped 15 percent week-to-week among total viewers, from 1.69 million to 1.44 million.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending April 27 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TNT
|
2147
|
NICK
|
1627
|
|
2
|
USA
|
2049
|
NAN
*
|
1317
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
1403
|
TNT
|
1206
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
1388
|
USA
|
960
|
|
5
|
FOXN
|
1345
|
ESPN
|
882
|
|
6
|
ESPN
|
1245
|
ADSM*
|
869
|
|
7
|
LIF
|
1029
|
TOON
|
834
|
|
8
|
DISC
|
988
|
TBSC
|
773
|
|
9
|
TOON
|
956
|
FOXN
|
771
|
|
10
|
CMDY
|
916
|
LIF
|
708
|
|
11
|
AEN
|
914
|
AEN
|
597
|
|
12
|
CNN
|
900
|
HALL
|
581
|
|
13
|
HALL
|
888
|
DISC
|
566
|
|
14
|
HGTV
|
877
|
TRU
|
553
|
|
15
|
SPK
|
863
|
MTV
|
533
|
|
16
|
FX
|
846
|
FAM
|
521
|
|
17
|
SCIF
|
833
|
SPK
|
520
|
|
18
|
FAM
|
829
|
HIST
|
518
|
|
19
|
HIST
|
794
|
HGTV
|
511
|
|
20
|
TRU
|
775
|
CMDY
|
500
|
|
21
|
MTV
|
765
|
FOOD
|
498
|
|
22
|
AMC
|
727
|
CNN
|
487
|
|
23
|
TLC
|
669
|
FX
|
481
|
|
24
|
FOOD
|
658
|
TVLD
|
433
|
|
25
|
VH1
|
582
|
AMC
|
414
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending April 27 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
NFL Draft
|
ESPN
|
3785
|
|
2
|
Suns/Spurs
|
TNT
|
3435
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3298
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3138
|
|
5
|
House
|
USA
|
3040
|
|
6
|
House
|
USA
|
2909
|
|
7
|
House
|
USA
|
2900
|
|
8
|
Spurs/Suns
|
ESPN
|
2851
|
|
9
|
Hornets/Mavericks
|
TNT
|
2808
|
|
10
|
Zoey 101
|
NICK
|
2805
|
|
11
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2797
|
|
12
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2774
|
|
13
|
The Hillls
|
MTV
|
2755
|
|
14
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2750
|
|
15
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2744
|
|
16
|
Nuggets/Lakers
|
TNT
|
2691
|
|
17
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2690
|
|
18
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2686
|
|
19
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2673
|
|
20
|
House
|
USA
|
2662
|
|
21
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2647
|
|
22
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2627
|
|
23
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2602
|
|
24
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2601
|
|
25
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2585
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending April 27 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TNT
|
842
|
ADSM*
|
476
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
635
|
TNT
|
422
|
|
3
|
USA
|
597
|
NAN
*
|
421
|
|
4
|
MTV
|
491
|
ESPN
|
404
|
|
5
|
ESPN
|
477
|
NICK
|
342
|
|
6
|
CMDY
|
456
|
TBSC
|
315
|
|
7
|
DISC
|
413
|
MTV
|
291
|
|
8
|
NAN
|
340
|
CMDY
|
252
|
|
9
|
FX
|
332
|
USA
|
241
|
|
10
|
VH1
|
292
|
DISC
|
211
|
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending April 27 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
|
