But, alas, it's not viewers returning to broadcast
By Tom Conroy Oct 7, 2009
Typically, the cable networks see their ratings rise in the summer
as they roll out new and returning original series, at a time when the
broadcast networks are running either repeats or reality series, with
their ratings well down from the regular season.
But how does cable fare when the broadcast networks break out their new shows in the fall?
It's an interesting question, and at first glance it would appear
they’re suffering as viewers swing back over to broadcast, where there
are a number of new shows that could become breakout hits.
Cable ratings are indeed down for the first two weeks of the new
broadcast season. Over the weeks of Sept. 21 to Oct. 4, the top 19
ad-supported cable channels drew an average audience of 49.85 million
viewers in primetime, off from 54.15 million a year earlier, according
to Nielsen live plus same-day viewing figures provided by Horizon Media.
But in fact, for whatever buzz there is about this season's hot new
shows, it's not been enough to make up for the ongoing erosion of
broadcast audiences.
Broadcast too is down, though by a less significant margin, to 38.9 million viewers from 39.26 million last year.
What gives? So why is cable down so much, if not for the competition from broadcast?
Blame the news, or absence of it this year.
At this time last year, cable news shows were cranking big numbers in
the final weeks before Americans went to the polls to choose their next
president.
They are not this year, with no elections to follow, and ratings are
well down for CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, to an average of 3.53 million
total primetime viewers from 7.2 million for the same two weeks last
fall, which included huge viewership for a presidential debate.
The effect, as Horizon Media points out, was to drag down cable's overall numbers, and rather significantly.
Two observations can be drawn from the data, and the first is to
affirm the power of cable news to draw viewers during big news periods.
The second is that when broadcast loses viewers, they go to cable, but
when cable loses viewers, they leave TV entirely.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Oct. 4:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, USA, TBS, Spike TV, FX.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, USA, Fox News Channel, Nick at Nite, TBS.
Top movie (18-49s): TBS’s “The Longest Yard” (Saturday, 9 p.m.) 1.57 million.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Panthers/Cowboys” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.) 15.71 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s:
ESPN’s “Monday Night Football: Panthers/Cowboys” (Monday, 8:30 p.m.);
FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” (Tuesday, 10 p.m.); ESPN’s “SportsCenter”
(Monday, 11:37 p.m.); Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter” (Wednesday, 10
p.m.)
Show on the rise:
Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter,” Wednesday 10 p.m. The reality
competition averaged 5.31 million total viewers, up 81 percent from
2.94 million the previous week.
Show on the decline:
A&E’s “Hoarders,” Monday 10 p.m. A&E’s reality show slipped 9
percent week to week among viewers 25-54, from 1.32 million viewers to
1.20 million.
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending October 4
Rank
Primetime
Total Day
Net
(000)
Net
(000)
1
ESPN
2613
NICK
1542
2
USA
1858
NAN *
1173
3
FOXN
1693
USA
1038
4
NAN
1403
FOXN
1027
5
TBSC
1215
ESPN
1020
6
TNT
1143
TNT
900
7
AEN
1082
ADSM*
880
8
SYFY
987
TOON
771
9
TOON
952
TBSC
701
10
SPK
917
AEN
647
11
HGTV
899
LIF
594
12
LIF
862
FOOD
561
13
FOOD
838
SPK
545
14
FX
829
TRU
541
15
TLC
774
HGTV
536
16
HIST
746
HIST
497
17
TRU
741
FX
494
18
FAM
737
DISC
479
19
HALL
678
HALL
459
20
DISC
672
SYFY
446
21
CMDY
668
CNN
442
22
ESP2
668
TVLD
428
23
AMC
586
TLC
416
24
CNN
581
CMDY
410
25
BRAV
565
FAM
405
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS Ranked on Households
Week Ending October 4
Rank
Program
Net
(000)
1
Panthers/Cowboys
ESPN
11354
2
The Ultimate Fighter
SPK
3716
3
Sportscenter
ESPN
3363
4
Spongebob
NICK
3248
5
iCarly
NICK
3220
6
WWE Raw
USA
3125
7
Spongebob
NICK
3057
8
WWE Raw
USA
3043
9
Spongebob
NICK
2987
10
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
NICK
2900
11
Spongebob
NICK
2887
12
Sons Of Anarchy
FX
2758
13
The O'Reilly Factor
FOXN
2683
14
The O'Reilly Factor
FOXN
2671
15
Army Wives
LIF
2665
16
Monday Night Countdown
ESPN
2644
17
The O'Reilly Factor
FOXN
2643
18
Spongebob
NICK
2624
19
NCIS
USA
2609
20
College Football-Thursday Night
ESPN
2584
21
The O'Reilly Factor
FOXN
2523
22
NCIS
USA
2504
23
The Fairly Odd Parents
NICK
2499
24
NCIS
USA
2498
25
The Penguins Of
Madagascar
NICK
2486
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-34
Week Ending October 4
Rank
PRIME TIME
TOTAL DAY
Net
(000)
Net
(000)
1
ESPN
821
ADSM*
459
2
TBSC
579
ESPN
370
3
USA
567
TBSC
313
4
SPK
427
NICK
312
5
CMDY
364
NAN *
287
6
FX
339
USA
265
7
MTV
331
TNT
219
8
TLC
298
CMDY
218
9
SYFY
276
SPK
215
10
VH1
270
FX
205
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS Adults 18-34 Week Ending October 4
Rank
PROGRAM
NET
(000)
1
Panthers/Cowboys
ESPN
3948
2
The Ultimate Fighter
SPK
2708
3
The Hills
MTV
1601
4
The City
MTV
1461
5
Sportscenter
ESPN
1317
6
Kourtney & Khloe Take
Miami
EN
1314
7
Family Guy
ADSM
1307
8
Sons Of Anarchy
FX
1271
9
Family Guy
ADSM
1238
10
Family Guy
ADSM
1207
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 18-49 Week Ending October 4
Rank
PRIME TIME
TOTAL DAY
Net
(000)
Net
(000)
1
ESPN
1800
ESPN
727
2
USA
1154
ADSM*
624
3
TBSC
965
USA
565
4
SPK
744
TBSC
540
5
FX
663
NAN *
528
6
SYFY
661
NICK
503
7
AEN
627
TNT
499
8
TNT
578
SPK
388
9
CMDY
547
FX
386
10
TLC
538
AEN
365
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS Adults 18-49
Week Ending October 4
Rank
PROGRAM
NET
(000)
1
Panthers/Cowboys
ESPN
8635
2
The Ultimate Fighter
SPK
4117
3
Sportscenter
ESPN
2643
4
Sons Of Anarchy
FX
2499
5
WWE Raw
USA
2182
6
WWE Raw
USA
2053
7
The Hills
MTV
1991
8
The Real Housewives Of
Atlanta
BRAV
1978
9
Kourtney & Khloe Take
Miami
EN
1828
10
Family Guy
ADSM
1793
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS Adults 25-54
Week Ending October 4
PRIME TIME
TOTAL DAY
Rank
Net
(000)
Net
(000)
1
ESPN
1779
ESPN
666
2
USA
1169
USA
586
3
TBSC
823
TNT
524
4
SYFY
731
TBSC
466
5
AEN
673
NAN *
427
6
SPK
650
NICK
418
7
TNT
621
ADSM*
402
8
FX
596
AEN
378
9
FOOD
578
LIF
360
10
FOXN
545
SPK
339
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS Adults 25-54 Week Ending October 4
Rank
PROGRAM
NET
(000)
1
Panthers/Cowboys
ESPN
8436
2
The Ultimate Fighter
SPK
3142
3
Sons Of Anarchy
FX
2411
4
Sportscenter
ESPN
2402
5
WWE Raw
USA
2124
6
WWE Raw
USA
2050
7
The Real Housewives Of
Atlanta
BRAV
1804
8
Project Runway
LIF
1763
9
Monday Night Countdown
ESPN
1707
10
Ghost Hunters
SYFY
1658
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research data
