Docsville

Documentary Business

Peter Hamilton Consultants, Inc

US Networks: How Many Homes Reached? Which Ones Are Gaining Or Losing Distribution?

Leading audience researcher John Morse shared the most recent data and his takeaways on changes in the distribution footprints of 120 of the 500++ networks distributed in the US.

Many of the channels are dedicated to factual programs and others offer a mix of nonfiction and other genres.

  • The data is invaluable in helping you understand the scale – and growth trends – of the channels you are pitching.

The Nielsen report spotlights the raging debate about cord-cutting and the pervasive fear that the network television business will soon collapse like the newspaper industry.

  • In our next post, we will feature an analysis of cord-cutting from video platform expert Will Richmond, the publisher of VideoNuze.

US TVHH’s (000)

Network20142013+/-Category
WEATHER99,282100,093-0.8%News
CNN / HLN98,71499,788-1.1%News
FOOD98,64399,656-1.0%Lifestyle
TBS98,44899,669-1.2%Entertainment
USA98,12999,179-1.1%Entertainment
DISCOVERY98,10799,230-1.1%Factual/ Reality
ADULT SWIM98,04598,993-1.0%Entertainment
CARTOON98,04598,993-1.0%Kids
NICK-AT-NITE98,04099,373-1.3%Entertainment
NICKELODEON98,04099,373-1.3%Kids
CNN97,89399,081-1.2%News
A&E97,74198,885-1.2%Entert/ Reality
HISTORY97,63898,791-1.2%Factual/ Reality
LIFETIME97,57498,851-1.3%Entert/ Reality
HGTV97,42698,783-1.4%Lifestyle
DISNEY97,42398,604-1.2%Kids
TNN97,31498,759-1.5%Entertainment
AMC97,31198,957-1.7%Entertainment
COMEDY97,23698,476-1.3%Comedy
TLC97,13098,614-1.5%Reality
HEADLINE97,12898,804-1.7%News
SPIKE TV96,80497,974-1.2%Reality
ESPN96,76898,569-1.8%Sports
SYFY96,74198,073-1.4%Entert/ Reality
ESPN296,69598,534-1.9%Sports
FX96,64597,958-1.3%Entertainment
MTV96,63498,295-1.7%Reality
FOX NEWS96,48497,930-1.5%News
VH196,00197,404-1.4%Entert/ Reality
E!95,93897,283-1.4%Entertainment
MSNBC95,76895,4650.3%News
ABC FAMILY95,73297,100-1.4%Entertainment
ANIMAL PLANET95,72996,900-1.2%Factual/ Reality
TV LAND95,72496,799-1.1%Entertainment
CNBC95,37996,943-1.6%News
TRAVEL93,77694,738-1.0%Factual/ Reality
BRAVO93,61294,820-1.3%Reality
TRU TV90,80692,141-1.4%Reality
BET90,76191,663-1.0%Entert/ Reality
CMT90,63791,803-1.3%Music/ Entert
FOX SPORTS 187,68481,0808.1%Sports
HALLMARK86,30887,130-0.9%Entertainment
WE TV84,99181,6034.2%Reality
NAT GEO84,79784,7910.0%Factual/ Reality
ID84,28180,4124.8%Factual/ Reality
LIFETIME83,52384,558-1.2%Entertainment
OPRAH / OWN82,90580,2183.3%Entert/ Reality
GOLF81,48683,962-2.9%Sports
MTV280,94980,5360.5%Entertainment
DISNEY XD80,81080,4780.4%Kids
BBC-AMERICA79,61680,404-1.0%News/ Entert
GSN79,45075,5345.2%Entertainment
OXYGEN77,57479,093-1.9%Reality
NBC SPORTS77,46377,888-0.5%Sports
INSPIRATIONAL77,13872,9825.7%Lifestyle
FOX BUSINESS77,01569,30511.1%News
TV GUIDE76,99279,016-2.6%Entertainment
SCIENCE76,20076,630-0.6%Factual/ Reality
NICK JR75,95075,7890.2%Entertainment
ESPNU74,61374,0710.7%Sports
ESPNEWS74,23474,801-0.8%Sports
TEENNICK73,36872,5911.1%Entertainment
WGN AMERICA72,89675,293-3.2%Entertainment
FUSE72,67572,5320.2%Music
NFL NETWORK72,28469,6683.8%Sports
THE HUB71,47271,4240.1%Kids
ESQUIRE71,29076,343-6.6%Entert/ Reality
IFC71,26369,6752.3%Entertainment
FXX70,37642,32466.3%Entertainment
MLB NETWORK69,68170,377-1.0%Sports
H268,90468,966-0.1%Factual/ Reality
GALAVISION68,05466,6752.1%Entertainment
BIO / FYI67,64669,197-2.2%Factual
NICKTOONS67,58062,3338.4%Kids
REELZ67,31465,3143.1%Entertainment
UP (GMC)64,67759,8878.0%Entertainment
DISNEY JR63,493NAKids
GAC62,71062,7340.0%Entertainment
MILITARY62,15361,4691.1%Factual/ Docs
SOAPNET61,53166,452-7.4%Entertainment
VH1 CLASSIC60,96761,123-0.3%Music/ Entert
COOKING60,85660,0891.3%Lifestyle
NBA-TV59,94160,697-1.2%Sports
DESTINATION59,24559,806-0.9%Factual/ Reality
DIY57,82758,419-1.0%Lifestyle
TV ONE57,24557,1990.1%Entertainment
NAT GEO WILD57,13357,529-0.7%Factual
SUNDANCE56,792NALifestyle/ Reality
SPROUT56,74053,0377.0%Kids
VELOCITY56,46945,17025.0%Lifestyle/ Factual
HALLMARK MOVIE53,11048,9338.5%Entertainment
LOGO52,32651,0882.4%Lifestyle/ Factual
CENTRIC52,22950,8222.8%Entertainment
FX MOVIE50,33946,5838.1%Entertainment
AL JAZEERA AM.48,93658,071-15.7%News
DISC FIT & HEALTH47,79248,881-2.2%Lifestyle
OVATION42,55051,532-17.4%Music/ Arts
ENCORE42,43241,1793.0%Entertainment
ENCORE PRIMARY41,28840,1142.9%Entertainment
CHILLER41,06943,021-4.5%Entertainment
MUN2 CABLE40,19038,5254.3%Entert/ Reality
RFD-TV40,10541,498-3.4%Lifestyle
OUTDOOR38,62738,726-0.3%Lifestyle
TR3S36,36634,7064.8%Music
FOX SPORTS 236,21737,649-3.8%Sports
NUVO TV32,65331,6693.1%Entert/ Reality
SPORTSMAN32,06031,4382.0%Sports
UNIVISION SPORTS31,645NASports
G431,41861,896-49.2%Entertainment
STARZ29,32827,9075.1%Entertainment
ESPN CLASSIC29,06331,504-7.7%Sports
STARZ PRIMARY28,59027,1545.3%Entertainment
CLOO28,57234,195-16.4%Entertainment
SHOWTIME28,10026,2207.2%Entertainment
SHOWTIME PRIME27,93026,0407.3%Entertainment
FOX DEPORTES21,33620,2885.2%Sports
MULTIMAX21,15019,2499.9%Entertainment
MAXPRIME20,80519,0649.1%Entertainment
DISCOVERY EN ESP7,1397,509-4.9%Factual/ Reality
DISCOVERY FAMILIA5,736NAFactual/ Reality
TOTAL US115,800 114,2001.4%

 Source: National Nielsen People Meter

Key Findings (comparing Jan 2013 vs Jan 2014)

Down Side

  • MORE than 50% lost 500K or more HHs
  • 42% lost more than 1 million HHs

Up Side

  • 30% gained more than 1 million HHs (Sports, Traditional Entertainment, Kids & Lifestyle Channels)
  • Premium Cable and Live programming appear to be growing strong as there are relatively few substitutes, especially for live programs

Nielsen now projects total wired cable at 67,693,000 homes, down 187,000 in the past year.  Other measurement services have estimated larger decreases in wired cable.

  • Sat. dish services total 37,016,000, up 822,000 from a year ago (+2.3%).
  • Total Cable/Dish services have 104,198,000 homes, up 788,000 (+0.8%).
  • The average cable network lost 78,000 homes, having more to do with sample adjustments than real losses.
  • The average network nationally measured now reaches 69,948,000 homes.  This number has decreased because newer, smaller networks have been included in the average.

There were 8 nets with increases of over 4 million homes in the past year:

  • FXX (formerly Fox Soccer): +28.1 million homes
    (This is the new Fox “general entertainment” network aimed at Adults 18-34.  It features movies 6PM-12Midnight and mostly off-network series during the rest of the schedule.)
  • Velocity (formerly HD Theater): +11.3
  • Fox Business Network: +7.1
  • Fox Sports 1 (formerly Speed): +6.6
  • Nick Toons: +5.2
  • UP (formerly GMC): +4.8
  • Hallmark Movie Channel: +4.2
  • INSP: +4.2 . . . total homes reached is now 77.1 million, up 5.7% past year.

There were 6 networks with decreases of over 4 million homes in the past year:

  • G4: -30.5
  • Al Jazeera America: -9.1
  • OVATION: -9.0 (TWC reinstatement is coming; should register with Nielsen next month)
  • CLOO: -5.6
  • ESQUIRE (formerly Style): -5.1
  • SOAPNET: -4.9

Recent networks that have been launched or re-launched and have begun/continued Nielsen measurement in the past year (with homes reached in millions):

  • Discovery Familia: 5.7 million homes
    (Note: Hispanic and Kids’ networks tend to have very high ratings even soon after launch . . . enough to monetize the Nielsen investment with relatively low distributions.)
  • Disney Junior: 63.5
  • Esquire (formerly Style): 71.3
  • Fox Deportes: 21.3
  • Fox Sports 1 (formerly Speed): 87.7
  • Fox Sports 2 (formerly Fuel): 36.2
  • FXX (formerly Fox Soccer Channel): 70.4
  • Sundance Channel: 56.8
  • Univision Deportes: 31.6
  • Velocity (formerly HD Theater): 56.5

———————————–

Speaking Engagements

How Audience Research Can Make or Break Your Pitch
Realscreen Masterclass
Sunday, January 26, 2014 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM, Georgetown East

Brad DancerMaster Class Leader, SVP, Programming, Planning and Research
National Geographic Channel
Brent StinskiMaster Class Leader, Founder and CEO Media Predict
Peter HamiltonModerator

Asian Side of the Doc
Chengdu, China, March 18-21, 2014
Panel: Crowd-funding Platforms in Asia
Panel: 3D / IMAX/ BIG SCREENS for Docs

MIPDoc
Cannes, April 5-6, 2014
Panel: How to Get the Funds: Co-pro’s and Foundations
Interview: Louis Vaudeville, CC&C Paris: The Apocalypse Franchise

AND, don’t miss Hot Docs in the Big TO
April 24 – May 4, 2014