For a long time, the perception has been that cable shows don’t get much of a lift from digital video recorders. Just six months ago, one study found that broadcast networks were seeing double the boost of cable from live to time-shifted viewing.
This may be the season that cable narrows that gap.
An increasing number of scripted cable programs are seeing big gains from DVR playback, the most recent being TNT’s recently introduced drama series “Leverage.”
Through four episodes, the show is up 36 percent among adults 18-49 when live-plus-seven-day DVR viewing is compared to live, from 1.33 million viewers to 1.81 million. That puts it among the top gainers on broadcast or cable, according to Nielsen.
By comparison, “The Office” got the biggest DVR kick for a top-10 broadcast show for the week ended Dec. 14, rising 36 percent, with fellow NBC show “Heroes” at No. 2 with a jump of 34 percent.
“Leverage” has also risen 33 percent among 25-54s, where it’s the No. 1 cable show in its 10 p.m. Tuesday timeslot, going from 1.65 million to 2.19 million viewers.
“Leverage” isn’t the only cable show seeing a big DVR lift, however. Over the past year, other programs have also become popular replays on DVR, and appropriately, no one has more than Sci Fi Channel.
The network, which skews young and attracts a proudly geeky crowd, had three of the six most-timeshifted programs on television during 2008, according to Nielsen.
“Battlestar Galactica” led all shows, with its viewership rising 53 percent from live to live-plus-seven. “Sanctuary” tied for No. 3 with the CW’s “90210” and NBC’s “Heroes,” getting a 35 percent DVR bump.
And the network’s “Eureka” ranked sixth overall with a 34 percent boost.
In fact, eight of the top 13 most-DVRed shows last year were on cable, including three dramas on USA. "Burn Notice" had the biggest bump, soaring 44 percent, from 4.07 million viewers to 5.85 million, while "Psych" gained 35 percent, from 3.79 million to 5.13 million. Overall, the network has five shows gaining 29 percent or more from DVR replay.
TBS also had one show in the yearly top 10, “My Boys,” one of just two comedies, along with NBC’s “Office,” to make the list.
Why are DVR users finally taking notice of cable? It’s probably simply the natural lag time it takes to get comfortable with new technology. At first, DVR users were a small bunch who taped only a few shows.
Now, with Nielsen estimating that DVRs are in 28 percent of households, more than double the number two years ago, more shows and a broader variety of them are being taped.
Plus, many of the shows that attract the biggest DVR audiences air on young-skewing networks like TNT and USA, whose strength lies among the 18-49s most likely to own a DVR.
***
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended Jan. 11:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, FX, TNT, A&E.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, Nick at Nite, TBS, Fox News Channel.
Top movie (18-49s): TNT’s “The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 1.82 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “GMAC Bowl: Ball State/Tulsa” (Tuesday, 7:55 p.m.) 2.83 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s “WWE Raw” (Monday, 9 and 10 p.m.); Bravo’s “Top Chef” (Wednesday, 10 p.m.); FX’s “Nip/Tuck” (Tuesday, 10 p.m.).
Show on the rise: MTV’s “The Real World,” Wednesday 10 p.m. The 21st season kicked off with 1.46 million viewers 18-34, up 11 percent from 1.32 million 18-34s for the season 20 premiere last April.
Show on the decline: VH1’s “Rock of Love,” Sunday 9 p.m. The Bret Michaels dating show fell 14 percent week-to-week among viewers 18-34, from 1.11 million to 954,000.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending January 11 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2251
|
NICK
|
1660
|
|
2
|
NAN
|
1632
|
NAN
*
|
1534
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
1565
|
USA
|
1173
|
|
4
|
FOXN
|
1458
|
TNT
|
1012
|
|
5
|
TBSC
|
1351
|
FOXN
|
917
|
|
6
|
HIST
|
1243
|
ADSM*
|
852
|
|
7
|
FX
|
1203
|
TBSC
|
819
|
|
8
|
AEN
|
1199
|
TOON
|
807
|
|
9
|
HALL
|
1142
|
AEN
|
722
|
|
10
|
ESPN
|
1114
|
LIF
|
721
|
|
11
|
FAM
|
1026
|
ESPN
|
717
|
|
12
|
TOON
|
975
|
HIST
|
710
|
|
13
|
LIF
|
965
|
FX
|
629
|
|
14
|
DISC
|
937
|
TRU
|
598
|
|
15
|
HGTV
|
928
|
DISC
|
584
|
|
16
|
SPK
|
895
|
FAM
|
568
|
|
17
|
TRU
|
856
|
HALL
|
565
|
|
18
|
AMC
|
854
|
CNN
|
563
|
|
19
|
SCIF
|
840
|
SPK
|
563
|
|
20
|
CNN
|
816
|
HGTV
|
544
|
|
21
|
FOOD
|
723
|
FOOD
|
499
|
|
22
|
CMDY
|
719
|
AMC
|
493
|
|
23
|
MSNB
|
712
|
TVLD
|
489
|
|
24
|
TLC
|
667
|
CMDY
|
463
|
|
25
|
TVLD
|
628
|
SCIF
|
450
|
|
* 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 January 11 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
Monk
|
USA
|
3633
|
|
2
|
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
|
FAM
|
3531
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3324
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3321
|
|
5
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3215
|
|
6
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
3163
|
|
7
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3068
|
|
8
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
3059
|
|
9
|
iCarly
|
USA
|
2990
|
|
10
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2976
|
|
11
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2930
|
|
12
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2864
|
|
13
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2849
|
|
14
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2832
|
|
15
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2817
|
|
16
|
Psych
|
USA
|
2759
|
|
17
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2753
|
|
18
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2749
|
|
19
|
The O'Reilly Factor
|
FOXN
|
2731
|
|
20
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2724
|
|
21
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2692
|
|
22
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2690
|
|
23
|
Back At The Barnyard
|
NICK
|
2683
|
|
24
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2676
|
|
25
|
iCarly
|
NICK
|
2669
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending January 11 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC
|
652
|
NAN
*
|
516
|
|
2
|
USA
|
634
|
ADSM*
|
413
|
|
3
|
FX
|
487
|
NICK
|
364
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
417
|
TBSC
|
363
|
|
5
|
TNT
|
413
|
ESPN
|
282
|
|
6
|
ESPN
|
385
|
TNT
|
278
|
|
7
|
MTV
|
371
|
USA
|
274
|
|
8
|
CMDY
|
369
|
MTV
|
254
|
|
9
|
AEN
|
358
|
FX
|
253
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
350
|
CMDY
|
237
|
|
* 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 January 11 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Real World XXI
|
MTV
|
1459
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1419
|
|
3
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1381
|
|
4
|
Nip Tuck
|
FX
|
1341
|
|
5
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1290
|
|
6
|
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
|
FAM
|
1222
|
|
7
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1156
|
|
8
|
Top Chef
|
BRAV
|
1147
|
|
9
|
Real World XXI After Show
|
MTV
|
1146
|
|
10
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1141
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending January 11 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1387
|
NAN
*
|
855
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
1153
|
TBSC
|
660
|
|
3
|
FX
|
936
|
USA
|
650
|
|
4
|
TNT
|
928
|
TNT
|
634
|
|
5
|
AEN
|
770
|
NICK
|
570
|
|
6
|
NAN
|
767
|
ADSM*
|
554
|
|
7
|
ESPN
|
742
|
ESPN
|
512
|
|
8
|
HIST
|
732
|
FX
|
475
|
|
9
|
DISC
|
689
|
AEN
|
456
|
|
10
|
FAM
|
627
|
LIF
|
421
|
|
* 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 18-49
Week Ending January 11 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2593
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2519
|
|
3
|
Nip Tuck
|
FX
|
2403
|
|
4
|
Meet The Browns
|
TBSC
|
2348
|
|
5
|
Meet The Browns
|
TBSC
|
2319
|
|
6
|
Top Chef
|
BRAV
|
2077
|
|
7
|
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
|
FAM
|
1900
|
|
8
|
Monk
|
USA
|
1888
|
|
9
|
The Fast & The Furious:
Tokyo Drift
|
TNT
|
1817
|
|
10
|
Psych
|
USA
|
1746
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending January 11 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1433
|
USA
|
691
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
977
|
NAN
*
|
668
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
975
|
TNT
|
664
|
|
4
|
FX
|
884
|
TBSC
|
564
|
|
5
|
HIST
|
798
|
NICK
|
473
|
|
6
|
AEN
|
797
|
AEN
|
461
|
|
7
|
ESPN
|
712
|
ESPN
|
454
|
|
8
|
DISC
|
656
|
HIST
|
447
|
|
9
|
TRU
|
642
|
FX
|
425
|
|
10
|
NAN
|
638
|
LIF
|
422
|
|
* 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 25-54
Week Ending January 11 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2455
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2439
|
|
3
|
Monk
|
USA
|
2316
|
|
4
|
Meet The Browns
|
TBSC
|
2165
|
|
5
|
Meet The Browns
|
TBSC
|
2142
|
|
6
|
Top Chef
|
BRAV
|
2141
|
|
7
|
Nip Tuck
|
FX
|
2079
|
|
8
|
Psych
|
USA
|
1897
|
|
9
|
House
|
USA
|
1810
|
|
10
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
1797
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
