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As Summer 2003 Ends, Ad-Supported Cable Achieves its Highest-Ever Primetime Viewership for the Period
Cable Outpaced the Seven Broadcast Networks by an Average of More than 10 Million Homes and 17 Share Points
August 26, 2003
Primetime viewership of ad-supported cable was hotter than ever this summer, with all-time highs recorded in all audience measures for the three-month period beginning in late May through the end of August. According to a Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau analysis of Nielsen data for May 26August 24, ad-supported cable had an average weekly primetime U.S. household delivery of 31.9 million homes (+4.3 percent versus the same period last year); a rating of 29.9 (+3.1 percent); and a share of 54.8 (+2.6 percent).
Collectively, the seven national broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, WB, UPN, PAX) lost primetime viewership this summer, declining .2 percent in delivery, 1.3 percent in rating, and 1.9 percent in share.
For the three-month period, ad-supported cable topped the broadcast networks in primetime by a weekly average of 10.3 million homes, 9.7 rating points, and 17.7 share points. In addition, cable posted a 50+ share in each of the 13 weekly reporting periods this summer.
For the month of August (8/1-8/24), ad-supported cable averaged a 32.2 million delivery, 30.3 rating and 55.7 share in primetime; compared to a collective 20.8 million delivery, 19.5 rating and 35.9 share for the seven broadcast network.
SUMMER SEASON |
PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP: 2003 vs. 2002 |
AD-SUPPORTED CABLE VIEWERSHIP VS. BROADCAST |
Primetime=Mon thru Sat 811pm/Sun 711pm |
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U.S. HH DELIVERY (000) |
U.S. HH RATING |
U.S. HH SHARE |
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2003 |
2002 |
%Diff |
2003 |
2002 |
%Diff |
2003 |
2002 |
%Diff |
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Ad-Supported |
31,871 |
30,564 |
+ 4.3% |
29.9 |
29.0 |
+ 3.1% |
54.8 |
53.4 |
+ 2.6% |
Cable |
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ABC |
4,376 |
4,243 |
+ 3.1 |
4.1 |
4.0 |
+ 2.5 |
7.6 |
7.4 |
+ 2.7 |
CBS |
5,940 |
6,039 |
1.6 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
1.8 |
10.2 |
10.6 |
3.8 |
NBC |
5,691 |
5,858 |
2.9 |
5.3 |
5.6 |
5.4 |
9.8 |
10.3 |
4.9 |
FOX |
4,081 |
3,942 |
+ 3.5 |
3.8 |
3.7 |
+ 2.7 |
7.1 |
7.0 |
+ 1.4 |
UPN |
1,847 |
1,701 |
+ 8.6 |
1.7 |
1.6 |
+ 6.3 |
3.1 |
2.9 |
+ 6.9 |
WB |
2,094 |
1,935 |
+ 8.2 |
2.0 |
1.8 |
+11.1 |
3.5 |
3.3 |
+ 6.1 |
PAX |
682 |
853 |
20.0 |
0.6 |
0.8 |
25.0 |
1.2 |
1.5 |
20.0 |
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4 Bdcst Nets* |
18,820 |
18,854 |
0.2 |
17.6 |
17.9 |
1.3 |
32.4 |
33.0 |
1.8 |
Weighted Gross |
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7 Bdcst Nets** |
21,560 |
21,595 |
0.2 |
20.2 |
20.5 |
1.3 |
37.1 |
37.8 |
1.9 |
Weighted Gross |
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* ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX |
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** ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, UPN, WB, PAX |
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Source: Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau analysis of Nielsen data, 5/26/03-8/24/03 vs. 5/27/02-8/25/02 |
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