The cable/satellite program distribution model is mature and under increasing fire from ‘over the top’ delivery options.
Today: U.S. network distribution data for June 2011 versus June 2010:
- Who were the gainers and losers?
- And what does it mean?
U.S. TVHH’s (‘000)
2011 | 2010 | Change | Category | |
TBS | 101,138 | 100,608 | 0.5% | Entertainment |
CNN | 100,988 | 100,370 | 0.6% | News |
WEATHER | 100,986 | 100,054 | 0.9% | News |
DISCOVERY | 100,814 | 100,101 | 0.7% | Factual/Reality |
NICK-AT-NITE | 100,594 | 100,064 | 0.5% | Entertainment |
NICKELODEON | 100,594 | 100,064 | 0.5% | Kids |
FOOD | 100,533 | 99,934 | 0.6% | Lifestyle |
USA | 100,345 | 99,541 | 0.8% | Entertainment |
CNN | 100,311 | 99,640 | 0.7% | News |
TNN | 100,288 | 99,630 | 0.7% | Entertainment |
CNN HEADLINE NEWS | 100,217 | 99,579 | 0.6% | News |
A&E | 100,133 | 99,303 | 0.8% | Entertt / Reality |
ESPN | 100,052 | 99,612 | 0.4% | Sports |
LIFETIME | 99,988 | 99,336 | 0.7% | Entertt / Reality |
ESPN2 | 99,928 | 99,527 | 0.4% | Sports |
SPIKE TV | 99,818 | 98,816 | 1.0% | Reality |
DISNEY | 99,801 | 99,098 | 0.7% | Kids |
HOME & GARDEN | 99,757 | 99,105 | 0.7% | Lifestyle / Reality |
TLC | 99,677 | 99,041 | 0.6% | Reality |
ADULT SWIM | 99,654 | 98,836 | 0.8% | Entertainment |
CARTOON | 99,654 | 98,836 | 0.8% | Kids |
HISTORY | 99,647 | 98,741 | 0.9% | Reality / Factual |
MTV | 99,620 | 98,954 | 0.7% | Reality |
COMEDY | 99,379 | 98,537 | 0.9% | Comedy |
FX | 99,328 | 98,431 | 0.9% | Entertainment |
SYFY | 99,252 | 97,470 | 1.8% | Entertt / Reality |
VH1 | 99,168 | 98,431 | 0.7% | Entertt / Reality |
FOX NEWS | 99,043 | 98,393 | 0.7% | News |
ABC FAMILY | 98,847 | 98,381 | 0.5% | Entertainment |
E! ENTERTERTAINMENT | 98,527 | 97,540 | 1.0% | News / Entertt |
CNBC | 98,471 | 97,909 | 0.6% | News |
TV LAND | 97,718 | 97,713 | 0.0% | Entertainment |
ANIMAL PLANET | 97,378 | 96,851 | 0.5% | Factual / Reality |
AMC | 96,957 | 96,011 | 1.0% | Entertainment |
TRAVEL | 95,870 | 95,882 | 0.0% | Reality / Factual |
MSNBC | 95,611 | 94,201 | 1.5% | News |
BRAVO | 95,117 | 93,717 | 1.5% | Reality |
CMT | 92,546 | 91,154 | 1.5% | Music / Entertt |
TRU TV | 92,473 | 92,531 | -0.1% | Reality |
BLACK ENTERTT | 91,772 | 90,196 | 1.7% | Entertt / Reality |
HALLMARK | 87,588 | 89,700 | -2.4% | Entertainment |
GOLF | 83,759 | 83,469 | 0.3% | Sports |
LIFETIME MOVIE | 82,186 | 77,756 | 5.7% | Movies |
TV GUIDE | 81,744 | 80,380 | 1.7% | Entertainment |
MTV2 | 78,796 | 78,472 | 0.4% | Entertainment |
DISNEY XD | 78,661 | 77,122 | 2.0% | Kids |
SPEED | 78,476 | 75,713 | 3.6% | Reality / Entertt |
OWN: OPRAH | 77,733 | 75,923 | 2.4% | Reality / Entertt |
WETV | 77,301 | 76,651 | 0.8% | Reality |
OXYGEN | 77,035 | 76,418 | 0.8% | Reality |
ID: INVESTIGATION DISC | 76,561 | 58,713 | 30.4% | Factual / Reality |
VERSUS | 76,183 | 74,091 | 2.8% | Sports |
SOAPNET | 74,750 | 75,255 | -0.7% | Entertainment |
WGN | 74,501 | 72,533 | 2.7% | Entertainment |
ESPN NEWS | 74,156 | 73,101 | 1.4% | Sports |
GSN | 73,714 | 71,586 | 3.0% | Entertainment |
NICK JR | 73,670 | 73,279 | 0.5% | Entertainment |
ESPNU | 73,159 | 70,802 | 3.3% | Sports |
NAT GEO CHANNEL | 71,158 | 70,639 | 0.7% | Factual / Reality |
BBC-AMERICA | 68,287 | 67,528 | 1.1% | News / Entertainment |
SCIENCE | 68,141 | 66,617 | 2.3% | Factual / Reality |
STYLE | 67,341 | 64,678 | 4.1% | Lifestyle / Reality |
BIO | 64,732 | 59,524 | 8.7% | Factual |
HISTORY INTERNATL | 63,666 | 58,274 | 9.3% | Factual |
INDEP FILM | 62,154 | NA | Entertainment | |
GALAVISION | 61,677 | 57,276 | 7.7% | Entertainment |
GREAT AMER COUNTRY | 60,198 | 58,713 | 2.5% | Entertainment |
G4 | 59,897 | 69,514 | -13.8% | Entertainment |
CURRENT TV | 58,288 | NA | Entertainment | |
FOX BUSINESS | 57,981 | NA | News | |
REELZ | 57,778 | NA | Entertainment | |
VH1 CLASSIC | 57,705 | 56,982 | 1.3% | Music / Entertt |
MILITARY | 57,700 | 57,564 | 0.2% | Factual / Docs |
FUSE | 57,673 | 67,993 | -15.2% | Music |
COOKING | 57,667 | 57,328 | 0.6% | Lifestyle |
NFL | 56,846 | 56,316 | 0.9% | Sports |
PLANET GREEN | 56,347 | NA | Factual | |
MLB BASEBALL | 56,231 | 55,323 | 1.6% | Sports |
DIY | 54,065 | 53,734 | 0.6% | Lifestyle |
NAT GEO WILD | 53,557 | 35,805 | 49.6% | Factual |
TV ONE | 53,253 | 50,354 | 5.8% | Entertainment |
SPROUT | 49,793 | NA | Kids | |
DISCOVERY FIT & HEALTH | 48,723 | NA | Lifestyle | |
LOGO | 47,808 | 45,629 | 4.8% | Lifestyle / Factual |
GMC (formerly GOSPEL) | 46,361 | 47,376 | -2.1% | Entertainment |
CENTRIC | 45,794 | NA | Entertainment | |
OVATION | 43,211 | NA | Music / Arts | |
HALLMARK MOVIE | 41,630 | 34,707 | 19.9% | Entertainment |
CHILLER | 40,991 | NA | Entertainment | |
SUNDANCE | 40,000 | NA | Lifestyle / Reality | |
Premium / PayTV Leaders | Entertainment + Docs | |||
HBO | 30,176 | Entertainment | ||
SHOWTIME | 24,860 | |||
TOTAL U.S. TV Homes | 115,900 | |||
Takeaways
- Many channels are shedding subs
- Hallmark lost 112,000!
- Dark, cord-cutting forces at work include price resistance, Netflix, and the rejection of cable TV by young trend-setters
- Leading research firm SNL Kagan dramatically forecasts that 10% of U.S. homes (12.1 million) will cut the cord on their pay-TV subscriptions by the end of 2015
- For the fully-distributed channels at the top of the table, the only way to grow is to eat the enemy. That means out-programming them!
- History gained a remarkable 369,000 average prime time viewers 1Q11 versus 1Q10
- And MTV: 400,000!
- It is the Reality category that is leading the charge
- Reality series predominate amongst the Top shows on U.S. Cable, led by History’s Pawn Stars
- Fully-distributed channels like TNT and USA are ramping up their non-scripted development teams in search of a home-grown Pawn Stars or Jersey Shore
- Don’t miss A&E’s Don Robert’s expert presentation at Real Screen 2011. Check out ‘Lesson #8’
- Mature businesses everywhere rely on cost-cutting to sustain their margins, and in the cable TV business that’s good news for non-scripted producers
- Factual costs less than scripted
- The broadcast networks are dumping scripted series and hiring Reality specialists
- That means an expanded commissioning pipeline for non-scripted producers
- The bad news for non-scripted producers is that mature businesses everywhere rely on cost-cutting …
- Channels are forever trimming production budget line items
- And pushing the cost of development to producers
- A handful of mid-table Factual channels showed remarkable year-to-year subscriber gains. Swimming against the tide were:
- Nat Geo Wild (+50%)
- ID: Investigation Discovery (+30%)
- History International (+9%)
- Bio (+9%)
The Data
- Not all channels are reported
- And year-to-year comparisons are lacking for many networks.
—————————————
Singapore Workshop
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Trends & Opportunities in Unscripted Television
Presented by Media Development Authority, Singapore
Workshop leader: Peter Hamilton
Key Questions
- What’s driving the U.S. and international market for Factual Entertainment?
- And how can Singapore producers get some of this work?
Agenda
- What is the scale of the international, especially U.S., factual television industry?
- Who are the leading commissioning networks? And the minor players?
- How big is their audience?
- How much do they spend each year on new commissions?
- What are the categories of spending?
What Do Broadcasters Want?
- What is the demand for individual documentaries and limited series
- What are the filters?
- Docs: HBO, PBS, OWN, ESPN, PBS and others
- Lifestyle channels: Food, Cooking, Travel, Style
- Case Study: ‘The Rise and Rise of the #1 Hit Pawn Stars’
Art of Pitching
- How to develop a strong pitch
- Do’s and Don’ts
- Case studies
Access
- Who gets the work?
- Is the U.S. market open to international partners?
- What are the deal terms?
- And how can Singapore producers establish themselves as U.S. suppliers?
Q&A