Week 20 of the 2003/04 Season (2/2-2/8/04)

CABLETELEVISION ADVERTISING BUREAU
830 THIRD AVENUE, NEW YORK, NY 10022 (212) 508-1200

Week 20 of the 2003/04 Season (2/2-2/8/04)

Primetime:

In its 20th week of the 03/04 Broadcast Season, Cable tied Broadcasts performance at a 49 share level whereas last year there exited a four share point gap. In the first week of February Sweeps 2004, Cable delivered 589,000 more homes than the collective seven nets and outperformed Broadcast’s household rating by 0.6. Compared to year ago, Cable's share has grown 3.0 share points while Broadcast's has continued to decline. Broadcast’s erosion was mainly led by ABC who experienced a 24% share decline from year ago.

First Quarter 2004 is off to a great start with Cable outperforming broadcast. Last year Cable trailed Broadcast by four share points whereas this quarter cable is up a healthy two share points to date. Compared to year ago, Cable is up almost four share points to a 49.7 level.

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. Cable’s niche programming continues to capture the hearts of viewers with rating gains across all of its audience measurements from year ago –delivering 2.6 million more homes; +2.0 HH rating points; and +3.1 HH share points

Download Primetime Spreadsheet

Total Day:

Ad Supported Cable delivered 19.6 million homes in the 20th week of the 03/04 Season, representing an increase of 1.1 million viewers from last year on a Total Day basis. Cable’s household ratings increased by 0.8 points to end at 18.1 and the share increased by 1.0 points to end at 51.2. Cable’s share was once again greater than that of the Broadcast Networks (4 Net.), with the difference being a solid 12.7 points. The broadcast networks had gains in delivery and ratings, while share declined.

Cable, to date, in the first quarter, has a strong lead over the broadcast networks. It ended with a 51.8 share, 13.6 points above Broadcast’s level. Ratings were up 1.2 points to finish at 18.4, and share increased 2.2 points from last year. The Broadcast Networks have experienced an increase in delivery, but have seen declines in ratings and share.

For this season, cable rose to 19.0 million homes, up 1.5 million homes from last year. Cable’s ratings increased by 1.1 points to end at 17.5 and its share rose to 51.0, an increase of 2.1 points from last year. The broadcast networks experienced an increase in impressions and ratings, and share declined by 0.7 points to end at 38.7.

Download Total Day Spreadsheet

Source: Nielsen Galaxy.

# # #