• February 11, 2002

For the first time ever, ad-supported cable will surpass the total day share of viewing of all commercial broadcast TV sources (networks, indies and syndication) combined by the fourth quarter of 2002, forecasts the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau. Ad-supported cable, says CAB, will have a 44.7 total day share in 4Q ’02 compared to broadcast’s 44.3. The fourth quarter total day share spread between broadcast and cable has decreased an average of 4.3 points annually since 1985, when broadcast’s share was 82.1 and cable’s 9.4. In 4Q ’01, all commercial broadcast TV recorded a 46.5 total day share versus 42.6 for ad-supported cable. “Given ad-supported cable’s extraordinary viewership growth over the past year, we fully expect these projections for 2002 to be realized, if not surpassed,” said CAB President & CEO Joe Ostrow.