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Week 42 of the 2002/03 Season (7/7-7/13/03)

Primetime:

Cable once again hit the 50 share mark in Prime for the seventh consecutive week, delivering a 55.6 - its highest share level EVER. Cable outperformed the seven Broadcast nets by an astounding 11.2 million homes; 10.5 HH rating points; and 19.4 HH share points. Compared to year ago, cable's share level jumped up almost three share points while Broadcast's declined about two points. Broadcast's decline was driven mainly by Fox whose viewership fell 28% thanks greatly to the absence of MLB All Star games & "American Idol."

To date this season, Cable is out-performing Broadcast seven nets by 1.6 share points. Cable is delivering 31.1 million homes, garnering a 29.2 HH rating, and earning a 48.5 share. Compared to year ago, cable is experiencing healthy gains whereas Broadcast is down across all audience measures. The seven networks have lost 613,000 viewers to date and are experiencing significant rating and share losses compared to last year’s levels. NBC is the main driver of the share loss partly due to telecast’s of the Olympics last year.

Third Quarter is off to a great start as Cable is outperforming Broadcast’s seven nets by a remarkable 8.6 share points. To date, Cable is delivering 31.3 million homes; 29.3 household rating points; and a 55.5 household share. Compared to year ago, Cable is up 2.3 share points while Broadcast is down almost 2 points to a 46.9. Broadcast’s decline is being fueled by CBS’s and Fox’s losses. In fact, four out of the total seven nets have experienced some share declines to far.

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Total Day:

Ad Supported Cable delivered 18.1 million homes in the 42nd week of the 02/03 Season, representing an increase of 1.1 million viewers from last year on a Total Day basis. Cable’s household ratings increased 0.9 points from a year ago to 17.0 and the share increased by 1.4 points to end at 53.9. Cable’s share was once again greater than that of the Broadcast Networks (4 Net.), with the difference being a commanding 20.8 points. The broadcast networks were up in viewership, held steady in ratings, but suffered a decrease in share.

Cable, to date, in the third quarter, has a strong lead over the broadcast networks. It ended with a 54.4 share, 21.8 points above Broadcast’s level. Ratings were up 0.9 points to finish at 17.1, and share increased 1.0 point from last year. The Broadcast Networks have experienced a slight increase in viewership, ratings have held constant and share has decreased.

For this season, cable rose to 18.0 million homes, up 1.4 million homes from last year. Cable’s ratings increased by 1.1 points to end at 16.9 and its share rose to 50.8, an increase of 2.0 points from last year. The broadcast networks continued to experience declines from last year. It sustained losses across the board, as impressions fell by 23,000 homes, ratings declined by 0.1 to end at 12.6 and share decreased by 1.6 points to end at 37.8.

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Source: Nielsen Galaxy.