medialifemagazine.com
Cable emerges as strike's real winner
By Toni Fitzgerald
Apr 23, 2008 - 1:15:20 AM
When the writers’ strike began, ad-supported cable had already built a lead on broadcast in primetime viewing. But the strike really widened that gap.
During the first six weeks of the season, ad-supported cable’s adults 18-49 rating was 6 percent ahead of broadcast, with an aggregate 16.3 rating to a 15.4, based on live-plus-seven-day-DVR-playback data as analyzed by the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau in a new report.
During the 14-week writers’ strike, that gap widened to 28 percent, with cable at 17.8 and broadcast at 13.9.
And in the six weeks after the strike ended, when a number of shows were still sidelined, cable had a 17.8 to broadcast’s 13.3, a 34 percent difference.
In total, cable had a 23 percent advantage on broadcast during the first half of the year, compared with a 3 percent advantage for the same time last year.
The CAB study, which covers the first 26 weeks of the 2007-08 season, compares ratings for 77 cable channels and seven broadcast channels.
The numbers are striking but hardly surprising.
Broadcast was hit hard by the strike, which led to a huge decline in the amount of scripted programming during first quarter and an increase in lower-rated reality fare.
The percentage of scripted repeats on the Big Five networks more than doubled during February sweeps compared with last year, according to Magna Global, while the percentage of reality shows increased by almost 60 percent.
Meanwhile, dozens of cable networks scored their best-ever primetime first quarter numbers in 18-49s. And cable’s advantage among younger demographics, including 18-34s and 18-24s, was even greater, at 43 and 76 percent, respectively.
Still, the Television Bureau of Advertising points out that broadcast draws far and away the biggest concentration of viewers to its programs, airing 94 of the top 100 shows for the week ended April 13, for example.
“Undoubtedly the writers’ strike affected primetime broadcast ratings, but it is intriguing that broadcast still managed to win all but a handful of the top 100 week after week,” says TVB spokesperson Gary Belis. “And viewers don’t watch aggregates, they watch programs. Advertisers don’t buy aggregates, they buy programs.”
CAB counters that cable’s aggregate rating grew year to year in 18-49s, while broadcast fell, giving cable a boost heading into the upfront season.
***
Meanwhile, in other cable ratings for the week ended April 20:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): USA, TBS, TNT, ESPN, Discovery.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): USA, TNT, TBS, Nick at Nite, Fox News Channel.
Top movie (18-49s): TBS’s “Pretty Woman” (Sunday, 8 p.m.) 1.55 million
Top sporting event (total viewers): TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Hawks vs. Celtics” (Sunday, 8:50 p.m.) 3.43 million
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: USA’s “WWE Entertainment” (Monday 10 p.m.); VH1’s “Rock of Love 2” (Sunday 9 p.m.); Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” (Tuesday 10 p.m.); TNT’s “NBA Basketball: Hawks vs. Celtics” (Sunday, 8:50 p.m.).
Show on the rise: MTV’s “Rob and Big,” Tuesday 10:30 p.m. The reality show attracted 1.11 million viewers 18-34 last week, up 36 percent from 820,000 the previous week.
Show on the decline: Sci Fi Channel’s “Ghost Hunters,” Wednesday 10 p.m. While still a top-15 show among viewers 25-54, “Hunters” was down 12 percent week-to-week in the demo, from 1.77 million viewers to 1.55 million.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending April 20 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
2046
|
NICK
|
1628
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
1563
|
NAN
*
|
1257
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
1374
|
USA
|
1077
|
|
4
|
NAN
|
1358
|
TNT
|
988
|
|
5
|
FOXN
|
1283
|
ADSM*
|
908
|
|
6
|
ESPN
|
1226
|
TOON
|
829
|
|
7
|
LIF
|
1089
|
FOXN
|
768
|
|
8
|
TOON
|
1072
|
TBSC
|
746
|
|
9
|
SPK
|
1035
|
LIF
|
712
|
|
10
|
DISC
|
1012
|
ESPN
|
709
|
|
11
|
HGTV
|
941
|
AEN
|
614
|
|
12
|
AEN
|
937
|
DISC
|
599
|
|
13
|
FX
|
899
|
SPK
|
565
|
|
14
|
HALL
|
883
|
HALL
|
554
|
|
15
|
HIST
|
875
|
TRU
|
553
|
|
16
|
CMDY
|
872
|
HGTV
|
541
|
|
17
|
FAM
|
871
|
HIST
|
531
|
|
18
|
SCIF
|
842
|
FX
|
520
|
|
19
|
AMC
|
816
|
CMDY
|
517
|
|
20
|
CNN
|
807
|
FAM
|
512
|
|
21
|
TRU
|
802
|
MTV
|
501
|
|
22
|
MTV
|
792
|
CNN
|
485
|
|
23
|
VH1
|
758
|
FOOD
|
481
|
|
24
|
TLC
|
656
|
AMC
|
439
|
|
25
|
FOOD
|
643
|
TVLD
|
436
|
|
* 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 20 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
3125
|
|
2
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3054
|
|
3
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
3016
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2991
|
|
5
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2898
|
|
6
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2875
|
|
7
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2798
|
|
8
|
Back At The Barnyard
|
NICK
|
2770
|
|
9
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2759
|
|
10
|
Rock of Love 2
|
VH1
|
2751
|
|
11
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
2749
|
|
12
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2687
|
|
13
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2673
|
|
14
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2662
|
|
15
|
Back At The Barnyard
|
NICK
|
2643
|
|
16
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2632
|
|
17
|
Back At The Barnyard
|
NICK
|
2625
|
|
18
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2579
|
|
19
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2565
|
|
20
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2526
|
|
21
|
Spongebob
|
NICK
|
2509
|
|
22
|
Deadliest Catch
|
DISC
|
2507
|
|
23
|
Hawks/Celtics
|
TNT
|
2502
|
|
24
|
NCIS
|
USA
|
2491
|
|
25
|
Fairly Odd Parents
|
NICK
|
2467
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending April 20 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
TBSC
|
636
|
ADSM*
|
384
|
|
2
|
USA
|
532
|
NICK
|
361
|
|
3
|
MTV
|
524
|
NAN
*
|
354
|
|
4
|
ESPN
|
494
|
TBSC
|
299
|
|
5
|
TNT
|
487
|
ESPN
|
295
|
|
6
|
CMDY
|
482
|
CMDY
|
278
|
|
7
|
VH1
|
421
|
MTV
|
276
|
|
8
|
DISC
|
392
|
TNT
|
259
|
|
9
|
FAM
|
371
|
USA
|
245
|
|
10
|
NAN
|
369
|
DISC
|
225
|
|
* 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 20 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
2744
|
|
2
|
Rock of Love 2
|
VH1
|
2216
|
|
3
|
South
Park
|
CMDY
|
1615
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1323
|
|
5
|
Real World XX
|
MTV
|
1322
|
|
6
|
Hawks/Celtics
|
TNT
|
1185
|
|
7
|
Family Guy
|
ADSM
|
1184
|
|
8
|
Deadliest Catch
|
DISC
|
1167
|
|
9
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
1131
|
|
10
|
Rob And Big
|
MTV
|
1112
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending April 20 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1201
|
NAN
*
|
601
|
|
2
|
TBSC
|
1079
|
TNT
|
595
|
|
3
|
TNT
|
1042
|
USA
|
578
|
|
4
|
ESPN
|
882
|
NICK
|
570
|
|
5
|
DISC
|
821
|
TBSC
|
515
|
|
6
|
SPK
|
712
|
ESPN
|
497
|
|
7
|
CMDY
|
709
|
ADSM*
|
489
|
|
8
|
FX
|
649
|
DISC
|
445
|
|
9
|
MTV
|
638
|
CMDY
|
407
|
|
10
|
NAN
|
637
|
FX
|
385
|
|
* 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 April 20 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
The Hills
|
MTV
|
3223
|
|
2
|
Rock of Love 2
|
VH1
|
3154
|
|
3
|
Deadliest Catch
|
DISC
|
2579
|
|
4
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2512
|
|
5
|
Deadliest Catch
|
DISC
|
2288
|
|
6
|
South
Park
|
CMDY
|
2219
|
|
7
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2198
|
|
8
|
Hawks/Celtics
|
TNT
|
2122
|
|
9
|
Top Chef
|
BRAV
|
1875
|
|
10
|
Mavericks/Hornets
|
ESPN
|
1844
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
|
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending April 20 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
USA
|
1191
|
TNT
|
611
|
|
2
|
TNT
|
1028
|
USA
|
592
|
|
3
|
TBSC
|
931
|
NAN
*
|
471
|
|
4
|
DISC
|
800
|
NICK
|
462
|
|
5
|
ESPN
|
779
|
TBSC
|
453
|
|
6
|
SPK
|
713
|
ESPN
|
432
|
|
7
|
AEN
|
623
|
DISC
|
425
|
|
8
|
SCIF
|
621
|
LIF
|
392
|
|
9
|
FX
|
599
|
AEN
|
385
|
|
10
|
LIF
|
586
|
SPK
|
365
|
|
* 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 April 20 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Deadliest Catch
|
DISC
|
2543
|
|
2
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2373
|
|
3
|
Deadliest Catch
|
DISC
|
2290
|
|
4
|
Rock of Love 2
|
VH1
|
2083
|
|
5
|
WWE Entertainment
|
USA
|
2073
|
|
6
|
Hawks/Celtics
|
TNT
|
1902
|
|
7
|
Top Chef
|
BRAV
|
1737
|
|
8
|
Mavericks/Hornets
|
ESPN
|
1675
|
|
9
|
Jazz/Rockets
|
ESPN
|
1622
|
|
10
|
76ers/Pistons
|
TNT
|
1589
|
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research based on data from Nielsen Media Research.
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