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2002/2003 is a Championship Season for Ad-Supported Cable in All Measures

Cable Dominated Television Viewership in 2002/2003 by Significant Margins in Virtually All Dayparts

September 2, 2003

Ad-supported cable dominated TV viewership in the 2002/03 season, attracting almost half of the audience that tuned-in to the medium during primetime and outperforming the seven broadcast networks collectively in virtually all other dayparts. According to a Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau analysis of Nielsen data for the season’s four quarters, ad-supported cable had an average primetime U.S. household delivery of 31.2 million (+5.6 percent compared to the 2001/02 season), a rating of 29.3 (+4.6 percent), and a share of 49.3 (+3.6 percent)—surpassing ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX/WB/UPN/PAX combined by 2.4 million homes, 2.3 rating points and 3.9 share points.

Cable’s primetime growth came from virtually every gender/age demo, with 18-24 year-old viewers producing the largest percentage gain. The seven broadcast networks, on the other hand, experienced collective erosion among viewers age 35 and older. Cable’s dominance in 2002/2003 also extended to other weekday and weekend dayparts, with gains in U.S. household delivery recorded across-the-board. Weekend late late night and weekday early morning generated the largest percentage increases for cable; while broadcast declined in four out of eight dayparts.

Among the major firsts achieved by ad-supported cable during the 2002/2003 TV season:

This is the second consecutive year that ad-supported cable has surpassed the seven broadcast networks combined on a full season-long basis. For the 2001/2002 season, cable’s margin over broadcast was less than one share point.

“This past broadcast year, every important indicator on viewing swung to cable with escalating momentum,” said CAB President & CEO Sean Cunningham. “The summer was another dramatic leadership story for cable: a huge slate of original programming, the season’s undisputed breakout hits, the lion’s share of viewership, and terrific exposure for U.S. advertisers.”

“The commitment from the cable industry to continue to build on each of our ‘highest-ever’ measures is absolute. Cable’s breakout hits will continue to escalate; and cable’s superior advertising value and performance will continue to escalate.”

A. FULL SEASON PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP:

2002/03 vs. 2001/02
AD-SUPPORTED CABLE VIEWERSHIP VS. BROADCAST
Primetime=Mon thru Sat 8–11pm/Sun 7–11pm
U.S. HH DELIVERY (000) U.S. HH RATING U.S. HH SHARE
02/03 01/02 %Diff 02/03 01/02 %Diff 02/03 01/02 %Diff
Ad-Supported Cable 31,247 29,588 + 5.6% 29.3 28.0 + 4.6% 49.3 47.6 + 3.6%
ABC 6,059 5,999 + 1.0 5.7 5.7 NC 9.6 9.7 – 1.0
CBS 8,006 7,850 + 2.0 7.5 7.4 + 1.4 12.6 12.6 NC
NBC 7,521 8,345 – 9.9 7.0 7.9 –11.4 11.9 13.4 –11.2
FOX 5,814 5,499 + 5.7 5.4 5.2 + 3.8 9.1 8.7 + 4.6
UPN 2,512 2,361 + 6.4 2.4 2.2 + 9.1 3.9 3.7 + 5.4
WB 2,318 2,576 –10.0 2.2 2.4 – 8.3 3.6 4.0 –10.0
PAX 822 918 –10.5 0.8 0.9 –11.1 1.3 1.5 –13.3
4 Bdcst Nets* 25,477 26,089 – 2.3 23.9 24.7 – 3.4 40.2 41.8 – 3.8
Weighted Gross
7 Bdcst Nets** 28,847 29,592 – 2.5 27.0 28.0 – 3.6 45.4 47.3 – 4.0
Weighted Gross
* ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX
** ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, UPN, WB, PAX
Source: Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau analysis of Nielsen data, 9/23/02-8/24/03 vs. 9/24/01-8/25/02

B. FULL SEASON PRIMETIME DELIVERY

BY VIEWER AGE & GENDER:

2002/03 vs. 2001/02
AD-SUPPORTED CABLE 7 BROADCAST NETWORKS*
U.S. HH DELIVERY (000) U.S. HH DELIVERY (000)
02/03 01/02 %Diff 02/03 01/02 %Diff
Persons 12–17 2,813 2,685 + 4.8 3,137 2,967 + 5.7
Females 12–17 1,198 1,263 – 5.1 1,561 1,490 + 4.8
Males 12–17 1,615 1,422 +13.6 1,575 1,477 + 6.6
Persons 18–24 2,749 2,424 +13.4 3,434 3,247 + 5.8
Females 18–24 1,336 1,178 +13.4 2,001 1,820 + 9.9
Males 18–24 1,412 1,246 +13.3 1,433 1,430 + 0.2
Persons 25–34 5,301 5,257 + 0.8 6,900 6,890 + 0.1
Females 25–34 2,620 2,600 + 0.8 3,829 3,763 + 1.8
Males 25–34 2,681 2,657 + 0.9 3,073 3,128 – 1.8
Persons 35–49 10,080 9,976 + 1.0 12,425 13,234 – 6.1
Females 35–49 4,885 4,825 + 1.2 7,015 7,301 – 3.9
Males 35–49 5,195 5,151 + 0.9 5,410 5,935 – 8.8
Persons 50+ 16,525 15,778 + 4.7 18,125 18,943 – 4.3
Females 50+ 8,837 8,428 + 4.9 10,875 11,356 – 4.2
Males 50+ 7,688 7,350 + 4.6 7,250 7,586 – 4.4
* ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, UPN, WB, PAX

C. FULL SEASON DELIVERY BY DAYPART

FOR ALL U.S. HOUSEHOLDS:

2002/03 vs. 2001/02
AD-SUPPORTED CABLE 4 BROADCAST NETWORK AFFILIATES*
U.S. HH DELIVERY (000) U.S. HH DELIVERY (000)
02/03 01/02 %Diff 02/03 01/02 %Diff
Mon–Fri, 6am–9am 10,886 9,695 +12.3 12,789 12,260 + 4.3
Mon–Fri, 9am–4:30pm 15,341 14,080 + 9.0 11,258 11,312 – 0.5
Mon–Fri, 4:30pm–7:30pm 21,462 20,183 + 6.3 20,600 20,320 + 1.4
Mon-Fri, 8-11pm & Sun 7-11pm 31,247 29,588 + 5.6 27,145 27,408 – 1.0
Mon-Fri, 11pm–1am 20,307 18,887 + 7.5 15,272 15,760 – 3.1
Sat/Sun, 6am–1pm 17,665 16,114 + 9.6 7,159 6,986 + 2.5
Sat/Sun, 1pm–8pm 25,597 24,225 + 5.7 13,763 14,369 – 4.2
Sat/Sun, 1am–6am 10,666 9,343 +14.2 3,982 3,924 + 1.5
* Affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC & FOX
Source: Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau analysis of Nielsen data, 9/23/02–8/24/03 vs. 9/24/01–8/25/02

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Content © 2005 by Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau (www.onetvworld.org). Reprinted with Permission.