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was all about jocks
NBA, NASCAR and WWF had 16 of top 20 shows
By Elizabeth White
With season finales and May sweeps stunts on the broadcast networks last month, sporting events took over the cable rankings in May.
Sixteen of the top 20 household programs during the month were athletic events, and another 13 sporting events ranked in the top 105 programs.
That’s more sporting events among May’s top 105 than episodes of Nickelodeon’s "Rugrats," the program that typically has the most representation in the rankings.
During May, TNN’s "WWF," TBS and TNT’s coverage of the NBA playoffs and FX’s NASCAR races were the programs of choice.
Among the top 10 programs in both households and adults 18-49, eight were "WWF," one was game two of the Lakers/Spurs series on TNT, and one was the NASCAR Pontiac Excitement. Among adults 25-54, the NASCAR Winston Open ranked fifth for the month, displacing one hour of "WWF."
And the networks that showed these events, for the most part, reaped the benefits in May.
TNT ranked first in primetime for the month in households, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54. TBS was second in primetime among adults 18-49 and adults 25-54.
TNN was tenth during primetime in households and eighth in the demographics, and FX ranked twelfth in households, ninth among adults 18-49 and tenth among adults 25-54.
But that’s where the good news ends for some of the networks that relied on sports last month.
Both TNT and TBS suffered overall primetime rating and delivery declines during May 2001 versus May 2000. TNT’s average primetime household rating for the month went down 17 percent, the adult 18-49 rating went down 6 percent and the adult 25-54 rating was down 5 percent. TBS dropped 17 percent in primetime households, 14 percent among adults 18-49 and 17 percent among adults 25-54.
ESPN, lacking any top events of its own, suffered some of the most severe losses versus last May. During primetime, the sports network declined 21 percent in households, 20 percent among adults 18-49, and 26 percent among adults 25-54.
The decline in these networks reflects an exceedingly competitive May sweeps for broadcast, as well as the general decline of the NBA’s ratings. Year to year, the playoff games on cable are averaging a rating 18 percent lower than they did in 2000.
In contrast, the networks with edgier sports, like the "WWF" and NASCAR, are enjoying double- and triple-digit percentage gains versus a year ago. TNN is up 50 percent in primetime household rating, 83 percent among adults 18-49 and 59 percent among adults 25-54. FX has increased its primetime rating 33 percent in households, 121 percent among adults 18-49 and 119 percent among adults 25-54.
Of course, there was more to watch on the cable than just athletics last month.
Lifetime’s original movie "Sex, Lies, and Obsession" was the highest-rated non-athletic program during May, ranking in fifteenth place among households with a viewership of 2.7 million homes. Tied in 17th place, two more Lifetime original movies, "Family of Strangers" and "Degree of Guilt, part II," were the next highest-rated non-sports programs.
Lifetime, in fact, enjoyed year-to-year ratings growth in all three categories, with a 6 percent increase in primetime household rating, a 10 percent increase in primetime adult 18-49 rating, and a 14 percent increase in primetime adult 25-54 rating.
MTV’s "Hip-Hopera: Carmen" also ranked highly in the May ratings. The original movie placed 21st, with 2.2 million homes tuning in.
And the History Channel aired the most watched program in its history over Memorial Day weekend. The documentary about Pearl Harbor, "Tora, Tora, Tora: The Real History of Pearl Harbor" averaged nearly 1.9 million homes, good enough for 33rd place in households for the month.
For the record, 21 episodes of "Rugrats" made May’s top 105, as did 24 more of Nickelodeon’s cartoons. Nickelodeon was the top ranked total day network in households during May.
|
Top 10 Primetime Networks
Among Adults 18-49 |
||||||
|
# |
Net |
PT (000) |
PT % |
TD # |
TD (000) |
TD % |
|
1 |
TNT |
1206 |
-6 |
2 |
496 |
-3 |
|
2 |
TBS |
798 |
-14 |
3 |
484 |
-11 |
|
3 |
LIF |
729 |
10 |
1 |
521 |
16 |
|
4 |
ESPN |
723 |
-20 |
6 |
338 |
-2 |
|
5 |
USA |
723 |
-27 |
4 |
377 |
-8 |
|
6 |
DISC |
552 |
8 |
8 |
280 |
2 |
|
7 |
TLC |
496 |
15 |
7 |
295 |
38 |
|
8 |
TNN |
490 |
83 |
15 |
210 |
40 |
|
9 |
FX |
455 |
121 |
10 |
254 |
44 |
|
10 |
NICK |
401 |
-10 |
5 |
357 |
-8 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
||||||
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Top 10 Programs
Among Adults 18-49 |
|||||
# |
Date |
Program |
Net |
Day |
(000) |
|
1 |
4/30/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3974 |
|
2 |
4/30/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3683 |
|
3 |
5/21/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3546 |
|
4 |
5/21/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3304 |
|
5 |
5/7/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3296 |
|
6 |
5/14/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3221 |
|
7 |
5/14/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2999 |
|
8 |
5/21/01 |
NBA/Lakers/Spurs |
TNT |
Mon |
2985 |
|
9 |
5/7/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2982 |
|
10 |
5/5/01 |
NASCAR/Pontiac Excitement 400 |
FX |
Sat |
2717 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
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|
Top 10 Primetime Networks
Among Adults 25-54 |
||||||
|
# |
Net |
PT (000) |
PT % |
TD # |
TD (000) |
TD % |
|
1 |
TNT |
1198 |
-5 |
2 |
518 |
2 |
|
2 |
TBS |
804 |
-17 |
3 |
466 |
-12 |
|
3 |
USA |
802 |
-15 |
4 |
391 |
2 |
|
4 |
LIF |
789 |
14 |
1 |
545 |
17 |
|
5 |
ESPN |
678 |
-26 |
7 |
306 |
-4 |
|
6 |
DISC |
598 |
12 |
8 |
292 |
1 |
|
7 |
TLC |
495 |
9 |
9 |
269 |
27 |
|
8 |
TNN |
479 |
59 |
12 |
215 |
28 |
|
9 |
AEN |
474 |
-2 |
6 |
339 |
0 |
|
10 |
FX |
471 |
119 |
10 |
250 |
52 |
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Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
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|
Top 10 Programs
Among Adults 25-54 |
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# |
Date |
Program |
Net |
Day |
(000) |
|
1 |
4/30/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3335 |
|
2 |
4/30/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3074 |
|
3 |
5/7/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
3004 |
|
4 |
5/5/01 |
NASCAR/Pontiac Excitement 400 |
FX |
Sat |
2962 |
|
5 |
5/19/01 |
NASCAR/Winston Open |
FX |
Sat |
2826 |
|
6 |
5/21/01 |
NBA/Lakers/Spurs |
TNT |
Mon |
2772 |
|
7 |
5/21/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2758 |
|
8 |
5/21/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2737 |
|
9 |
5/14/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2729 |
|
10 |
5/7/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
2689 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
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|
Top 10 Basic Cable
Ad-Supported Networks |
||||||||||
|
PT |
Net |
May '01 PT Rtg |
May '01 PT (000) |
% Chg. '01 vs. '00 PT Rtg |
% Chg. '01 vs. '00 PT (000) |
Total Day Rank |
May ’01 TD Rtg |
May |
% Chg. '01 vs. '00 TD Rtg |
% Chg. '01 vs. '00 TD (000) |
|
1 |
TNT |
1.9 |
1537 |
-17 |
-14 |
4 |
0.9 |
716 |
-10 |
-8 |
|
2 |
LIF |
1.7 |
1410 |
6 |
18 |
2 |
1.2 |
935 |
9 |
15 |
|
3 |
USA |
1.6 |
1326 |
-24 |
-18 |
6 |
0.8 |
629 |
-11 |
-6 |
|
3 |
TOON |
1.6 |
1193 |
-6 |
12 |
3 |
1.1 |
767 |
10 |
18 |
|
5 |
TBS |
1.5 |
1251 |
-17 |
-12 |
4 |
0.9 |
770 |
-18 |
-9 |
|
5 |
NICK |
1.5 |
1186 |
-17 |
-14 |
1 |
1.3 |
1083 |
-13 |
-7 |
|
7 |
AEN |
1.1 |
910 |
-8 |
3 |
6 |
0.8 |
630 |
0 |
-2 |
|
7 |
ESPN |
1.1 |
876 |
-21 |
-17 |
8 |
0.5 |
441 |
-17 |
-1 |
|
9 |
DISC |
1.0 |
856 |
0 |
13 |
8 |
0.5 |
444 |
0 |
5 |
|
10 |
TNN |
0.9 |
746 |
50 |
50 |
14 |
0.4 |
330 |
33 |
27 |
|
10 |
HIST |
0.9 |
657 |
0 |
20 |
8 |
0.5 |
394 |
0 |
12 |
|
Source: Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
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|
Top 20
Basic Cable Ad-Supported |
|||||||
# |
Date |
Program |
Net |
Day |
Rtg | Shr |
(000) |
|
1 |
4/30/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
5.2 |
8.4 |
4224 |
|
2 |
4/30/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.7 |
7.0 |
3850 |
|
3 |
5/7/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.6 |
7.4 |
3727 |
|
3 |
5/14/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.6 |
7.5 |
3715 |
|
5 |
5/7/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.5 |
6.7 |
3691 |
|
6 |
5/21/01 |
NBA/Lakers/Spurs |
TNT |
Mon |
4.4 |
6.8 |
3638 |
|
6 |
5/21/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.4 |
7.0 |
3584 |
|
6 |
5/14/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.4 |
6.5 |
3561 |
|
9 |
5/21/01 |
WWF Entertainment |
TNN |
Mon |
4.0 |
5.8 |
3271 |
|
9 |
5/5/01 |
NASCAR/Pontiac Excitement 400 |
FX |
Sat |
4.0 |
7.6 |
2623 |
|
11 |
5/22/01 |
NBA/Bucks/76ers |
TNT |
Tue |
3.9 |
6.1 |
3179 |
|
12 |
5/19/01 |
NASCAR/Winston Open |
FX |
Sat |
3.7 |
9.0 |
2426 |
|
13 |
5/24/01 |
NBA/Bucks/Hornets |
TNT |
Thu |
3.5 |
6.0 |
2892 |
|
13 |
5/19/01 |
The Winston Rain Delay |
FX |
Sat |
3.5 |
6.5 |
2257 |
|
15 |
5/7/01 |
m/"Sex, Lies & Obsession" |
LIF |
Mon |
3.4 |
5.1 |
2701 |
|
16 |
5/19/01 |
NASCAR/Winston Open |
FX |
Sat |
3.2 |
6.6 |
2082 |
|
17 |
5/6/01 |
m/"Family Of Strangers" |
LIF |
Sun |
3.1 |
7.8 |
2483 |
|
17 |
5/27/01 |
m/"Degree Of Guilt, Pt.II" |
LIF |
Sun |
3.1 |
6.1 |
2476 |
|
19 |
5/8/01 |
NBA/Kings/Lakers |
TBS |
Tue |
3.0 |
6.8 |
2529 |
|
20 |
5/27/01 |
Law & Order Sun Special |
AEN |
Sun |
2.9 |
5.0 |
2315 |
| Source:
Turner Entertainment Research from Nielsen Media Research data
|
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June 1, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Elizabeth White is a staff writer for Media Life.
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