
CABLETELEVISION ADVERTISING BUREAU
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Primetime:
Cable delivered 33.6 million homes in its third week of 1Q04 – up a considerable 2.3 million homes from year ago. In addition Cable’s HH rating and HH share jumped up 1.7 points and 3.3 points, respectively, from last year. As Cable’s viewership continued to grow, Broadcasts’ erosion was fueled by CBS’s poor performance as the net share fell 3.1 points to end at 13.7. In fact, five out of the total seven nets experienced declines this week v. year ago. FOX experienced large gains, due in large part to the NFL NFC Conference Championship game between Carolina and Philadelphia.

As the new 03-04 season continues to unfold - Cable continues to capture half of total TV viewing. In fact, Cable is outperforming Broadcast’s share level slightly to date whereas last season there existed a four share point spread between the two mediums. Cable’s niche programming continues to capture the hearts of viewers with rating gains across all of its audience measurements from year ago –delivering 2.5 million more homes; +1.9 HH rating points; and +3.0 HH share points.
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Total Day:
Ad Supported Cable delivered 19.5 million homes in the 17th week of the 03/04 Season, representing an increase of 1.4 million viewers from last year on a Total Day basis. Cable’s household ratings increased by 1.0 points to end at 18.0 and the share increased by 2.3 points to end at 51.5. 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 had losses in all audience measures.
Cable, to date, in the first quarter, has a strong lead over the broadcast networks. It ended with a 51.8 share, 13.4 points above Broadcast’s level. Ratings were up 1.3 point to finish at 18.5, and share increased 2.4 points from last year. The Broadcast Networks have experienced a slight increase in viewership, while ratings and share have declined.
For this season, cable rose to 18.8 million homes, up 1.5 million homes from last year. Cable’s ratings increased by 1.2 points to end at 17.4 and its share rose to 50.9, an increase of 2.2 points from last year. The broadcast networks experienced an increase in impressions and ratings, while share declined by 0.7 points to end at 38.8.
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Source: Nielsen Galaxy.
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Content © 2004 by Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau (www.onetvworld.org). Reprinted with Permission.