Week 52 of the 2002/03 Season (9/15-9/21/03)

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Week 52 of the 2002/03 Season (9/15-9/21/03)

Primetime:

Cable delivered a 51.6 share this week, out-shinning the seven nets by a remarkable 8.2 share points among households. In addition, Cable managed to outperform the seven nets by 5.2 million homes and 4.9 HH rating points this week in spite of many Broadcast networks starting to premiere their new programs. Cable continues to be viewers’ top choice for programming as Cable's share increased 3.1 points from year ago while Broadcasts’ share eroded. In fact, six out of the total seven Broadcast networks experienced share losses this week with CBS being the lone gainer – 8%.

In Third Quarter to date, Cable is outperforming Broadcast’s seven nets by a remarkable 17.8 share points. Cable is delivering 32.5 million homes; 30 household rating points; and a 54.9 household share. Compared to year ago, Cable is up 2.3 share points while Broadcast is down 1.7 points.

For the official 02/03 Broadcast Season, Cable captured half of the primetime TV viewing - delivering its highest share to date on a season basis, a 49.7. For the second broadcast season in a row, Cable outperformed the Broadcast seven nets by a healthy 4.7 HH share points. Compared to year ago, Cable's share grew almost two share points whereas Broadcasts declined about two points. Even with all of the new reality programming, Broadcast couldn't hold on to its audience as viewership fell 633,000 homes from year ago. Broadcast's erosion this season was driven mainly by NBC who share was down 11%.

Download Primetime Spreadsheet

Total Day:

For the 2002/2003 season, ad-supported cable outperformed broadcast in HH viewership, ratings and share. The differences were 5.0 million, 4.7 points and 14.2 points, respectively. Cable rose to 18.1 million homes, up 1.4 million homes from last year. Cable’s ratings jumped 1.1 points to 16.9 and its share also rose to finish at 51.3, an increase of 1.9 points from last year. The broadcast networks continued to experience ratings decreases from last year. Ratings were down 0.2 points to end at 12.2 and share was down 1.5 points to 37.1.

Ad Supported Cable delivered 18.3 million homes in the 52nd week of the 02/03 Season, representing an increase of 1.6 million viewers from last year on a Total Day basis. Cable’s household ratings increased 1.1 points from a year ago to 16.8 and the share increased by 1.8 points to end at 51.4. Cable’s share was once again greater than that of the Broadcast Networks (4 Net.), with the difference being a solid 13.6 points. The broadcast networks were up in impressions and ratings but had a decline in share.

Cable, to date, in the third quarter, has a strong lead over the broadcast networks. It ended with a 53.7 share, 19.8 points above Broadcast’s level. Ratings were up 0.8 points to finish at 17.0, and share increased 1.4 points from last year. The Broadcast Networks have experienced a slight increase in viewership, while ratings and share have declined.

Download Total Day Spreadsheet

Source: Nielsen Galaxy.

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