• August 21, 2002

Continuing a streak of weekly 50+ primetime shares that has been unbroken since the end of May, ad-supported cable recorded a 53.4 primetime share of viewing in Week #47 of the 2001/2002 TV season. According to a Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau analysis of Nielsen data for August 12–18, cable’s primetime share was up 3.4 points (+6.8%) compared to the same weekly reporting period a year ago. In other primetime viewership measures for the week, ad-supported cable had an average U.S. household delivery of 31 million homes (+9.7% versus last year); and a rating of 29.4 (+6.1%). Collectively in Week #47, the seven broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, UPN, WB, PAX) fell short of cable’s primetime audience levels by 8.9 million homes, 8.4 rating points and 15.2 share points.