Week 33 of the 2003/04 Season (5/3-5/9/04)

Primetime:

Viewers tuned in droves to NBC's "Friends finale" as Rachael decided to stay in New York with Ross. The finale boosted NBC’s viewership up 29% and aided in offsetting the other six net losses experienced this week vs. year ago. As May sweeps are upon us and networks continue to air their best programming, Cable still manages to capture half of TV viewing with share level at 47.9 in its 33rd week – up slightly from year ago.

Cable is performing well in Second Quarter 2004 as Cable's share is outpacing Broadcast’s 7-net share by an impressive 6.4 points. Compared to year ago, Cable’s viewership has grown 655,000 households whereas Broadcast’s has continued to decline as six out of the seven nets lost viewers to date.

As the Official 03-04 season starts to wind down – Cable continues to capture half of total TV viewing. In fact, Cable is outperforming Broadcast’s share level by more than two share points, whereas last season Broadcast had a higher share level than cable. Cable's niche programming continues to capture the hearts of viewers with rating gains across all of its audience measurements from year ago –delivering 1.9 million more homes; +1.3 HH rating points; and +2.3 HH share points.

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Total Day:

Ad Supported Cable delivered 17.8 million homes in the 33rd week of the 03/04 Season, representing an increase of 418,000 viewers from last year on a Total Day basis. Cable’s household ratings increased by 0.1 points from last year to end at 16.4 and the share increased by 1.0 point to end at 51.6. Cable’s share was once again greater than that of the Broadcast Networks (4 Net.), with the difference being a solid 13.7 points. The broadcast networks had decreases in all audience measures.

Cable, to date, in the second quarter, has a strong lead over the broadcast networks. It ended with a 53.3 share, 16.9 points above Broadcast’s level. Ratings were down 0.3 points to finish at 17.3, and share decreased 0.1 points from last year. The Broadcast Networks have experienced an increase in delivery and share, and have suffered a decrease in ratings. Please note that same period last year was an irregular one due to war coverage of America invading Iraq.

For this season, cable rose to 19.0 million homes, up 902,000 homes from last year. Cable’s ratings increased by 0.6 points to end at 17.5 and its share rose to 51.6, an increase of 1.3 points from last year. The broadcast networks experienced an increase in impressions, a decrease in ratings and share declined by 0.5 points to end at 38.1.

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Source: Nielsen Galaxy.