• by Paul Gough , July 9, 2003

Fox Movie Channel, the Science Channel and two Lifetime-branded channels have come out on top among emerging and mid-size digital cable networks in a new study of consumer interest.

The Beta Research Cable Subscriber Study surveys 1,000 cable subscribers for their interest in and awareness of emerging networks (less than 35 million subscribers) and networks with up to 69 million subscribers. The study is bought by 60 cable networks and has been done since 1989, said Andy Klein, president of the cable television division of Beta Research.

"What we're trying to do is measure consumer demand and consumer interest in the newer networks," Klein said. It's useful to cable companies who are trying to figure out which networks would work the best on their digital tier. It can also be powerful in backing up a smaller, non-rated channel's claims when there's no ratings available to support them.

Mid-size networks like National Geographic Channel, Superstation WGN, Lifetime Movie Network, Discovery Health Channel and Hallmark Channel did well in 2003's overall survey of total adult cable subscribers. Lifetime Movie Network, FamilyNet and the Hallmark Channel also scored high in the rankings among women. Science Channel was tops among men and teenagers preferred MTV Hits and MTV Jams, both digital-tiered networks.

For the second year, Fox Movie Channel was number one among emerging networks. Other emerging networks to score high in interest among cable subscribers were the Science Channel, DIY: Do-It-Yourself Network, The Biography Channel and two offshoots of established brands, History International and Weatherscan Local.

Klein said that consumer demand is driven by a number of factors, including whether the parent network has a strong brand and is well known. "It also helps if the concept of the channel is clearly, strongly identified and easy to understand, focusing on a specific type of programming or a specific demographic group," he said.

Klein said that another factor that helps some channels is if they're not ad-supported, such as Fox Movie Channel and the Sundance Channel. A hard-and-fast rule is that non-ad-supported movie channels score higher than ad-supported channels.

The major cable channels, like Discovery and The History Channel, aren't scored in this survey by Beta Research. But that doesn't mean that they don't find it useful. Tim Brooks, senior vice president of research at the Lifetime networks, said the Beta study is a good way to track its emerging channels. Lifetime Movie Network ranked first in awareness, with an 86% rate this year compared to 80% last year. The channel ranked first in interest among all networks among women and tied for first with FamilyNet in ad-supported emerging networks.

Brooks said the performance of another branded channel, Lifetime Real Women, is also encouraging and growing. "It's about how you're doing your job out there in the field, as the network starts to spread," he said. "This tells you whether your popularity is real or sustained over time." For Lifetime's brands, the answer is yes.

"We've believed all along that the Lifetime name and the Lifetime brand could sustain other channels and other media," Brooks said.