If you want to skip the jibber jabber you can just scroll down to the tables. If you’re on a mobile phone, please tilt it sideways so you can read the tables.
Highlights:
After many, many months of declines, ESPN and everybody else was up in Nielsen’s September cable coverage estimates. But despite the up month for ESPN, FS1 made up considerable ground. In the August estimates FS1 trailed ESPN by 6.1 million homes but in the September estimates that gap was reduced to 3.9 million.
Many people are saying (on my Twitter feed) that “those numbers don’t mean much if nobody watches your network” but at least to the degree that the numbers are correct, the numbers do matter even in the absence of viewership since ESPN is paid around $7/mo/household and FS1 is paid around $1/mo/household. So especially annualized, a million (or a few million) additional households is real money by my standards.
Why Did The Numbers Change
For the five of you who’ll read this, I can’t give you all the answers you’re looking for as the Nielsen estimates have always been a bit of a black box to me, but I do have some info. For starters, I can tell you that they did not change because of OTT services like SlingTV and PS Vue being counted. They still aren’t counted. They also didn’t change because bars, hotels and airports suddenly counted in these numbers.
An increase of nearly 1.5% was applied across-the-board. Why? I’m not totally sure. I think it had something to do with updated census bureau data. Yep, ESPN was only up 1.2% so I’m guessing under the old methodology ESPN would have lost roughly a few hundred thousand households.
The HUGE spike for NFL Network was a result of both the 1.5% increase and the resolution of the network’s carriage dispute with Dish. I think the bigger-than-1.5% gains for FS1 also had something to do with Dish but I don’t keep my eyes on that stuff as much as I should.
On to the tables — sports nets first followed by all cable networks in alphabetical order.
Nielsen cable (includes satellite & telco services) coverage estimates for the measured cable sports networks for September 2016
If you’re on a mobile phone these tables should be much easier to read if you tilt your phone to landscape mode.
| Network name | Estimated # of Homes (000) | Coverage % | August 2016 Estimate (000) | Change Since Aug (000) |
| BEIN SPORT | 24,149 | 21% | 23,554 | 595 |
| BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 18,256 | 16% | 18,073 | 183 |
| ESPN | 89,856 | 77% | 88,781 | 1,075 |
| ESPN2 | 89,740 | 77% | 88,651 | 1,089 |
| ESPNU | 71,548 | 61% | 70,422 | 1,126 |
| FOX DEPORTES | 22,564 | 19% | 22,359 | 205 |
| FS1 | 85,931 | 74% | 82,702 | 3,229 |
| FS2 | 51,806 | 45% | 51,443 | 363 |
| GOLF CHANNEL | 76,231 | 65% | 75,096 | 1,135 |
| MLB NETWORK | 67,116 | 58% | 66,105 | 1,011 |
| NBA-TV | 54,367 | 47% | 53,746 | 621 |
| NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 84,520 | 73% | 82,941 | 1,579 |
| NFL NETWORK | 70,892 | 61% | 63,417 | 7,475 |
| UNIVISION DEPORTES | 47,887 | 41% | 47,181 | 706 |
| Total Cable | 99,250 | 85% | 97,796 | 1,454 |
All data ©Nielsen (data provided by a variety of TV network sources and not directly from Nielsen)
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Nielsen September 2016 coverage estimates for all measured cable channels in the national panel:
If you’re on a mobile phone these tables should be much easier to read if you tilt your phone to landscape mode.
| Network name | Estimated # of Homes (000) | Coverage % |
| A&E NETWORK | 92,210 | 78% |
| ADULT SWIM | 92,690 | 78% |
| AMC | 92,211 | 78% |
| AMERICAN HEROES CHANNEL (Formerly MILITARY CHANNEL) | 57,287 | 48% |
| ANIMAL PLANET | 90,976 | 77% |
| BABY FIRST TV | 54,145 | 46% |
| BBC-AMERICA | 77,808 | 66% |
| BEIN SPORT | 24,149 | 20% |
| BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 18,256 | 15% |
| BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV | 85,524 | 72% |
| BOOMERANG | 45,509 | 38% |
| BRAVO | 88,855 | 75% |
| CENTRIC | 52,286 | 44% |
| CHILLER | 38,146 | 32% |
| CLOO (Formerly SLEUTH) | 24,816 | 21% |
| CMT | 79,772 | 67% |
| CNBC | 90,222 | 76% |
| CNN (Formerly CABLE NEWS NETWORK) | 93,340 | 79% |
| CNN / HLN | 94,338 | 80% |
| COMEDY CENTRAL | 91,122 | 77% |
| COOKING CHANNEL (Formerly FINE LIVING) | 66,258 | 56% |
| DESTINATION AMERICA (Formerly PLANET GREEN) | 56,136 | 47% |
| DISCOVERY CHANNEL | 93,457 | 79% |
| DISCOVERY EN ESPANOL | 6,176 | 5% |
| DISCOVERY FAMILIA | 5,609 | 5% |
| DISCOVERY FAMILY CHANNEL (Formerly THE HUB) | 65,811 | 56% |
| DISCOVERY LIFE CHANNEL (Formerly DISCOVERY FIT & HEALTH) | 47,525 | 40% |
| DISNEY CHANNEL | 93,251 | 79% |
| DISNEY JUNIOR | 74,377 | 63% |
| DISNEY XD (Formerly TOON DISNEY) | 77,857 | 66% |
| DIY NETWORK | 61,619 | 52% |
| E! ENTERTAINMENT TV | 91,505 | 77% |
| EL REY | 45,297 | 38% |
| ESPN | 89,856 | 76% |
| ESPN2 | 89,740 | 76% |
| ESPNU | 71,548 | 60% |
| ESQUIRE NETWORK (Formerly STYLE) | 67,134 | 57% |
| FM (formerly NUVO TV) | 36,490 | 31% |
| FOOD NETWORK | 94,498 | 80% |
| FOX BUSINESS NETWORK | 85,504 | 72% |
| FOX DEPORTES | 22,564 | 19% |
| FOX NEWS CHANNEL | 91,692 | 77% |
| FOX SPORTS 1 (Formerly SPEED) | 85,931 | 73% |
| FOX SPORTS 2 (Formerly FUEL) | 51,806 | 44% |
| FREEFORM (Formerly ABC FAMILY) | 91,009 | 77% |
| FUSE | 67,011 | 57% |
| FX | 91,652 | 77% |
| FX MOVIE CHANNEL | 57,376 | 48% |
| FXX (Formerly FOX SOCCER CHANNEL) | 81,976 | 69% |
| FYI (Formerly BIOGRAPHY CHANNEL) | 68,082 | 58% |
| GALAVISION | 67,902 | 57% |
| GOLF CHANNEL | 76,231 | 64% |
| GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY | 58,965 | 50% |
| GSN | 78,854 | 67% |
| HALLMARK CHANNEL | 89,935 | 76% |
| HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES (Formerly HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL) | 67,633 | 57% |
| HBO – THE WORKS | 36,086 | 30% |
| HBO PRIME | 35,534 | 30% |
| HEADLINE NEWS | 92,427 | 78% |
| HISTORY | 92,873 | 78% |
| HOME AND GARDEN TV | 92,608 | 78% |
| IFC TV (Formerly INDEPENDENT FILM CHANNEL) | 71,033 | 60% |
| INSP (Formerly THE INSPIRATIONAL NETWORK) | 83,093 | 70% |
| INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY (Formerly DISCOVERY TIMES) | 86,326 | 73% |
| LIFETIME MOVIE NETWORK | 78,948 | 67% |
| LIFETIME TELEVISION | 92,305 | 78% |
| LOGO | 50,618 | 43% |
| MAXPRIME | 20,830 | 18% |
| MLB NETWORK | 67,116 | 57% |
| MSNBC | 91,490 | 77% |
| MTV (Formerly MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION) | 89,637 | 76% |
| MTV CLASSIC (Formerly VH1 CLASSIC) | 55,692 | 47% |
| MTV2 | 77,520 | 65% |
| MULTIMAX | 21,231 | 18% |
| NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHNL | 90,862 | 77% |
| NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WILD | 58,608 | 50% |
| NBA-TV | 54,367 | 46% |
| NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 84,520 | 71% |
| NBC UNIVERSO (Formerly MUN2 CABLE) | 44,671 | 38% |
| NFL NETWORK | 70,892 | 60% |
| NICK JR (Formerly NOGGIN) | 73,502 | 62% |
| NICK-AT-NITE | 91,392 | 77% |
| NICKELODEON | 91,392 | 77% |
| NICKTOONS | 64,891 | 55% |
| OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK (Formerly Discovery Health) | 80,397 | 68% |
| OUTDOOR CHANNEL | 39,219 | 33% |
| OVATION NETWORK | 47,660 | 40% |
| OXYGEN MEDIA | 77,575 | 66% |
| POP (Formerly TV GUIDE NETWORK) | 77,462 | 65% |
| REELZCHANNEL | 67,665 | 57% |
| RFD-TV | 43,638 | 37% |
| SCIENCE (Formerly SCIENCE CHANNEL) | 71,985 | 61% |
| SHOWTIME | 30,081 | 25% |
| SHOWTIME PRIME | 29,729 | 25% |
| SMITHSONIAN | 37,880 | 32% |
| SPIKE TV | 86,903 | 73% |
| SPORTSMAN CHANNEL | 32,800 | 28% |
| SPROUT | 59,439 | 50% |
| STARZ | 32,185 | 27% |
| STARZ ENCORE (Formerly ENCORE) | 39,992 | 34% |
| STARZ ENCORE PRIMARY (Formerly ENCORE PRIMARY) | 37,877 | 32% |
| STARZ PRIMARY | 30,981 | 26% |
| SUNDANCE TV (Formerly SUNDANCE CHANNEL) | 60,620 | 51% |
| SYFY | 91,333 | 77% |
| TBS NETWORK | 93,327 | 79% |
| TEENNICK (Formerly THE N) | 70,926 | 60% |
| THE CARTOON NETWORK | 92,690 | 78% |
| THE WEATHER CHANNEL | 86,683 | 73% |
| TLC | 91,797 | 78% |
| TRAVEL CHANNEL | 87,018 | 73% |
| TRU TV (Formerly COURT TV) | 88,730 | 75% |
| TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION | 92,024 | 78% |
| TV LAND | 89,258 | 75% |
| TV ONE | 59,878 | 51% |
| UNIVISION DEPORTES | 47,887 | 40% |
| UP (Formerly GMC) | 70,844 | 60% |
| USA NETWORK | 93,365 | 79% |
| VELOCITY (Formerly HD THEATER) | 70,742 | 60% |
| VH1 | 89,306 | 75% |
| VICELAND | 68,448 | 58% |
| WE TV (Formerly Womens Entertainment) | 86,314 | 73% |
| WGN AMERICA (Formerly Superstation WGN) | 72,525 | 61% |
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All data ©Nielsen (data provided by a variety of TV network sources and not directly from Nielsen)
Wonder why CBSSN is never in these lists, since I think they are in 55m homes, not great but a lot better than many listed here.
No need to wonder. CBSSN, Tennis, SEC Network, ESPN News, and several others are missing from above list because those networks don’t subscribe to Nielsen’s national ratings measurement service.