• by Wayne Friedman , February 25, 2014

Cable operators and other TV providers may complain about high subscriber fees for sports networks, but one study says those executives actually place major value on those channels.

A study from Beta Research places ESPN, ESPN2 and NFL Network as the three most valuable cable networks, where cable operators estimated a perceived value of those channels to their systems.

ESPN was estimated at 77 cents per subscriber per month; ESPN 2, 44 cents; and NFL Network, 40 cents.

After this trio of networks, Disney Channel comes next at 36 cents, followed by Fox News and USA Network, both at 31 cents. CNN, Discovery Channel and TNT are next at 30 cents. Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite was at 28 cents; A&E Network, 27 cents; and TBS, 25 cents.

Looking at the “importance of cable networks in terms of subscriber retention and acquisition,” the top networks were ESPN, The Weather Channel, Disney Channel, Discovery Channel, NFL Network, CNN, USA Network, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, Fox News Channel, ESPN2 and TNT.

The research came from a national telephone survey among 88 cable operators -- marketing directors, general managers, and programming directors -- from August to November 2013.

Among the cable systems surveyed, 84% had 10,000 or more subscribers, fifty percent had 100,000 or more subscribers, and 44% had 200,000 or more subscribers.

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