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Week 14 of the 2003/04 Season (12/22/03-12/28/03)

Primetime:

As children dashed to open presents, families gathered around and tuned in to cable programming during Christmas week as Cable recorded a 56.5 share – highest level this season and second highest ever. In addition, Cable’s ratings outpaced Broadcasts this week as Cable delivered 10.4 million more homes; 9.6 more HH rating points; and a whopping 17.8 more share points than broadcast. Compared to year ago, Cable experienced phenomenal gains as delivery grew more than 3.4 million homes; HH rating jumped up 2.7 points and HH share ascended 5.0 points. In contrast, Broadcast continued to erode thanks greatly to Fox’s and NBC’s weak performance this week.

This week marked the end of fourth quarter 2003 in which Cable outpaced Broadcast once again in all audience measurements. Additionally, Cable recorded a milestone this fourth quarter 2003 as delivery reached its highest level ever to date for any given quarter. Compared to year ago, Cable’s delivery grew 2.5 million homes; HH rating jumped up 1.9 points; and share climbed 2.9 points.

Cable delivered 34 million homes this month – December 2003 – reaching its highest level on a monthly basis. In addition, Cable outperformed the seven nets by 6.3 million homes; 5.9 HH rating points; and 9.8 HH share points. Cable’s ratings continue to grow year after year as delivery is up more than 2.6 million homes; 2.0 HH rating points; and 3.0 HH share points. In contrast, Broadcast’s viewership is down and continues to erode significantly year after year.

As the new 03-04 season continues to unfold - Cable captures half of total TV viewing. In fact, Cable is outperforming Broadcast’s share level slightly to date. In addition, Cable is experiencing significant gains across all of its audience measurements from year ago –delivering more than 2.5 million more homes; +1.9 HH rating points; and +3 HH share points.

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Total Day:

Ad Supported Cable delivered 20.7 million homes in the 14th week of the 03/04 Season, representing an increase of 2.2 million viewers from last year on a Total Day basis. Cable’s household ratings increased by 1.7 points to end at 19.1 and the share increased by 3.8 points to end at 56.6. Cable’s share was once again greater than that of the Broadcast Networks (4 Net.), with the difference being a solid 22.7 points. The broadcast networks had declines in all measurements.

For this season, cable rose to 18.6 million homes, up 1.5 million homes from last year. Cable’s ratings increased by 1.2 points to end at 17.2 and its share rose to 50.6, an increase of 2.1 points from last year. The broadcast networks experienced an increase in impressions and ratings, while share declined by 0.6 points to end at 38.9.

Cable, for the fourth quarter, had a strong lead over the broadcast networks. It ended with a 50.7 share, 11.8 points above Broadcast’s level. Ratings were up 1.1 point to finish at 17.2, and share increased 2.1 points from last year. The Broadcast Networks experienced a slight increase in viewership and ratings, while share declined.

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Source: Nielsen Galaxy.