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Week 49 of the 2003/04 Season (8/23/04-8/29/04)

Primetime:

During the last week of Summer Olympics 2004, Cable captured 53.5% of total TV viewing and outperformed Broadcast 7 nets by a remarkable 11.9 share points. Not only did Cable surpass the 50 share mark in twelve out of the thirteen weeks during this summer season, Cable achieved a milestone this summer in week 45 with its highest share to date – 59.9. Compared to last year, Cable's delivery grew 1.6 million homes and its rating jumped 1.0 points. Broadcast also experienced some considerable gains as HH delivery sky rocketed 6.0 million homes and HH rating jumped 5.3 points thanks solely to the Summer Olympics week coverage including closing ceremony. NBC was the big winner this week with delivery up more than 184% as rest of Broadcast nets experienced yearly losses.

Week after week Ad Supported Cable continues to command 57% of total TV viewing this Third Quarter 2004. Broadcast on the other hand continues to struggle with its reality programming as it only captures 37% of total TV viewing. Compared to year ago, Cable experiences healthy gains whereas Broadcast levels have fallen to record lows.

With season winding down – only three weeks to go, Cable continues to demand more than half of total TV viewing to date. In addition, Cable continues to outpace Broadcast week after week and on a season basis Broadcast continues to fall 7.2 share points behind Cable.

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Total Day:

Ad-Supported Cable delivered 19.5 million homes in the 49th week of the 03/04 Season, representing an increase of 1.4 million viewers from last year on a Total Day basis. Cable's household ratings were up by 1.0 point from last year to end at 18.0 and the share was up by 0.3 points to end at 54.5. Cable's share was once again greater than that of the Broadcast Networks (4 Net.), with the difference being a solid 18.2 points. The Broadcast networks saw an increase in all audience measures; a large majority of which can be attributed to the strong ratings of the Olympics.

Cable, to date, in the third quarter, has a very strong lead over the broadcast networks. It ended with a 56.2 share, 23.0 points above Broadcast’s level. Ratings increased by 1.1 to end at 18.2, and share increased 2.1 points from last year. The Broadcast Networks have experienced an increase in all audience measures.

For this season, cable rose to 19.1 million homes, up 1.0 million homes from last year. Cable's ratings increased by 0.8 points to end at 17.7 and its share rose to 52.9, an increase of 1.6 points from last year. The Broadcast networks experienced an increase in impressions, ratings decreased and share declined by 0.4 points to end at 36.7.

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Source: Nielsen Galaxy.