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Peter Hamilton Consultants, Inc

Who’s Hot? Who’s Not! US Nonfiction Cable Networks, 3Q 2012 vs. 3Q 2011

Which U.S. Factual channels were among the biggest gainers and losers of prime time viewers year-to-year?

Among the winners:

  • Discovery’s ID charged on with its Crime-themed schedule that appeals to both Male and Female viewers.
  • Given up by many as headed for yet another re-branding, OWN’s steady management team has set expectations in the right place, and the gains are on the chart.
  • Bio made valuable headway.
  • Discovery Networks is an overall winner, with 5 channels in our top 10 gainers. They are ID, OWN, Animal Planet, Science and Velocity.

 

 

U.S. Factual Channels
Average Quarterly Prime Time Audience
3Q’12 versus 3Q’11
(‘000)

RatingViewers   
 3Q’123Q’123Q’11 +/-%
ID0.7        568       460   10823%
OWN: Oprah0.3        275       188     8746%
Bio0.3        219       157     6239%
VH10.6        545       484     6113%
Animal Planet0.5        477       429     4811%
H20.3        201       155     4630%
Nat Geo Wild0.2        142         98     4445%
Science0.3        225       189     3619%
Velocity0.2          88         56     3257%
Tru0.9        829       798     314%
Fuel0.1          33         11     22200%
Ovation0.1          59         39     2051%
DIY0.2          96         80     1620%
Military0.2        145       129     1612%
Golf0.1        117       104     1313%
TLC0.9        876       865     111%
Travel0.4        334       331       31%
WE0.3        221       220       10%
GAC0.1          46         47      (1)-2%
Logo0.1          39         40      (1)-3%
HGTV1.0        999    1,001      (2)0%
G40.2          97       100      (3)-3%
Outdoor0.1          39         42      (3)-7%
Nat Geo Channel0.5        380       384      (4)-1%
Food0.9        893       900      (7)-1%
Fuse0.1          31         39      (8)-21%
Fit & Health0.1          71         89    (18)-20%
Oxygen0.4        319       337    (18)-5%
E!0.6        540       566    (26)-5%
BET0.6        581       608    (27)-4%
Speed0.2        130       157    (27)-17%
Current0.1          31         63    (32)-51%
IFC0.1          85       121    (36)-30%
A&E1.2     1,200    1,242    (42)-3%
Style0.2        155       208    (53)-25%
Weather0.2        212       268    (56)-21%
History1.5     1,458    1,516    (58)-4%
Discovery0.8        819       886    (67)-8%
SYFY1.0        984    1,070    (86)-8%
Spike0.6        592       704  (112)-16%
MTV0.7        678    1,062  (384)-36%
Factual Nets   15,829  16,243  (414)-3%

Nielsen Media Research

Methodology

Our bucket of channels is not apples-to-apples:

  • It includes channels that are dedicated to non-scripted, for example Nat Geo and Discovery.
  • And others like A&E and MTV that include Scripted in the mix.
  • Smithsonian Channel and other netwoks that commission Factual are unrated.

Our quarterly, high-level snapshot is prepared with the assistance of John Morse, president of research firm Byron Media.

Quantity Not Quality

  • Most ad-supported channels sell media based on their target demos.
  • Nevertheless, our measure of the quarterly ‘average prime time’ audience is a useful tool for gauging relative scale of viewing and year-to-year trends.

HIGHLIGHTS

Losing average prime time viewers are (‘000 / %):

  • MTV (-384 / -36%).  Jersey Shore is washed up and Teen Mom is not an evergreen. Its a shock to see this powerhouse global brand fall into such hard times.  Remember: “I want my MTV!”?
  • Spike (-112 / -16%)
  • SyFy (-86 / -8%)
  • Discovery Channel (-67 / -8%). That’s an improvement on the loss for the previous quarter (-10%).
  • Surprisingly, History showed up among the ‘Not So Hot!’ channels (-58 / -4%). Is History peaking? Maybe its past time for the next Pawn Stars?
  • A&E also lost viewers as several franchise series aged out.
  • There’s barely a pulse at Current, the channel that Al Gore launched.

What?? The Factual Tide Fell!

  • Our Unscripted bucket dropped 3%. That’s the first time in decades of monitoring the unstoppable rise of nonfiction television.
  • Maybe its an anomaly?
  • Broadcast networks and traditional scripted cable channels like TNT are committing more and more slots to nonfiction, and these viewers don’t show up on our scan.

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