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viewing in fourth quarter
But cable saw a 10% gain, led by news networks
By Kevin Downey
It’s probably a bit premature for funeral odes, but there are indications that America’s favorite pastime is on the wane.
The number of households watching TV declined by 0.5 percent over the fourth quarter of 2001.
The percentage of households using television declined to 61.9 percent.
While the dip is slight, it is especially notable in light of the magnitude of the events of Sept. 11 and the news coverage that has followed.
Just why is unclear. It may simply be that many people were overwhelmed by the news and avoided it. But whatever the reason, it’s a trend that has hit virtually every major demographic group.
But while overall viewership fell, the decline was felt primarily in broadcast television.
Cable viewership actually rose, indicating that audiences are continuing to migrate from broadcast to cable.
The average rating for ad-supported cable rose nearly 10 percent, to 27.2.
"News drove that," says Lyle Schwartz, senior vice president and director of media research at The Media Edge, which conducted an analysis of fourth-quarter cable ratings from Nielsen Media Research.
"The cable news networks, if I had to estimate off the top of my head, are probably responsible for 60 to 70 percent of that increase."
That big a shift in viewing has created some notable changes in cable-viewing trends.
Although younger viewers have dominated the migration to cable TV for years, the biggest shifts in the fourth quarter occurred among older viewers.
"The older group hasn’t traditionally gone that way," says Schwartz. "But the events of Sept. 11 clearly showed that they are more interested in current events and staying on top of the news–and cable provides 24-hour access to that."
The rating for cable TV among adults 25-54 was up 10 percent to a 15, for example, while it increased just under 5 percent for people 12-17 to an 11.1; it increased 6 percent among adults 18-34 to a 12; and it went up roughly 7 percent among adults 18-49 to a 13.5.
Ratings also increased for pay cable TV, although from a much smaller base, by over 6 percent to a 3.5 rating.
Although the cable news networks accounted for a big portion of cable TV’s increase in the fourth quarter, the genre is still considerably smaller than more mainstream networks.
The adult 18-49 rating for the cable news genre, for example, increased by 27 percent to a 1.4 rating.
At the same time, the rating for the general interest genre, which includes networks like USA and TBS, increased by 5 percent to a 3.9 rating. The niche genre, which includes networks like Animal Planet and Food TV, increased by almost 9 percent to a 2.5 rating.
Both arts/history and music had declines, although those ratings are already much smaller and largely reflect viewing trends among top networks in the genre.
Of all the cable networks, A&E and MTV had two of the biggest adult 18-49 rating declines at 23 and 26 percent, respectively.
"It’s a reflection of each individual network’s programming," says Schwartz. "Viewers are fickle. They seek out programming that they can either be entertained by or that they have an affinity for."
Younger viewers in particular appeared to lose interest in the fourth quarter.
The percentage of people 12-17 using television fell by 2.1 percent, while the adult 18-34 group had a 0.3 percent decline, viewing among people 18-49 fell 0.5 percent, and it increased by 0.2 percent among adults 25-54.
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CABLE TV VIEWING 4th Quarter 2001 vs. 4th Quarter 2000 Household & Adult 18-49 Ratings by Genre Genres Ranked on 4th Quarter 2001, Adult 18-49 Rating |
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Households |
Adults 18-49 |
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| Genre |
4th Qtr 2001 |
4th Qtr 2000 |
% Chg |
4th Qtr 2001 |
4th Qtr 2000 |
% Change |
| General Interest |
6.7 |
6.4 |
4.7 |
3.9 |
3.7 |
5.4 |
| Niche |
4.9 |
4.1 |
19.5 |
2.5 |
2.3 |
8.7 |
| News |
3.7 |
2.6 |
42.3 |
1.4 |
1.1 |
27.3 |
| Arts/History |
1.8 |
1.9 |
-5.3 |
0.7 |
0.8 |
-12.5 |
| Music |
1.0 |
1.1 |
-9.1 |
0.6 |
0.8 |
-25.0 |
| Ad-Supported Cable |
27.2 |
24.8 |
9.7 |
13.5 |
12.6 |
7.1 |
| Households Using Television (HUTs) |
61.9 |
62.2 |
-0.5 |
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| Persons Using Television (PUTs) |
38.1 |
38.3 |
-0.5 |
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Source: The Media Edge, based on data
from Nielsen Media Research |
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January 10, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
-Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life.
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