Networks (not just sports networks) continued to shed homes in Nielsen’s February cable coverage estimates.. Among sports networks FS2 was the only network to not suffer drops versus the December estimates. And for the first time in recent memory, ESPN actually increased its lead over FS1 in household coverage because FS1’s losses outpaced ESPN’s. Over the past year or so FS1 had managed to gain ground on ESPN simply by shedding fewer households than ESPN.
**DO THESE NUMBERS INCLUDE STREAMING SERVICES LIKE SlingTV, Vue and DirecTV Now?**
In the past that was a simple question to answer. The answer was “no.” Some people didn’t like it but it was simple! December was the last month that was the case though.
Starting with the January estimates (I didn’t post those on the website though I did tweet out some of those numbers last month) the answer changed to “Yes….kind of.”
I applaud Nielsen for plowing ahead though I don’t know that I’d have gone ahead and started when I only had 6 (January estimates) or 21 (February estimates) households that I could sample. By comparison the national TV panel has around 40,000 homes in it with around 100,000 participants. OK, I do know that I absolutely would not have gone ahead and started when I only had 21 homes. But one great thing about being a de facto monopoly is not having to sweat little stuff like this!
**Nielsen plans to grow the alternate MPVD services (streaming services like SlingTV, Vue, DirecTV Now) participation rapidly over the next 6 months.**
Two tables below: first the February estimates for the cable sports networks (stick to sports!) and those sports networks’ change versus the December estimates. The second table is the coverage estimates for all nationally measured cable networks.
Nielsen cable (includes satellite & telco services) coverage estimates for the nationally measured cable sports networks for December 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 | Dec 2016 Estimate (000) | Feb 2017 Estimate (000) | Change Since Dec (000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| BEIN SPORT | 23,317 | 22,744 | (573) |
| BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 18,267 | 18,209 | (58) |
| ESPN | 88,401 | 87,859 | (542) |
| ESPN2 | 88,283 | 87,731 | (552) |
| ESPNU | 69,815 | 69,207 | (608) |
| FOX DEPORTES | 21,795 | 21,359 | (436) |
| FS1 | 85,358 | 84,724 | (634) |
| FS2 | 50,334 | 50,569 | 235 |
| GOLF CHANNEL | 77,638 | 76,399 | (1,239) |
| MLB NETWORK | 65,503 | 64,413 | (1,090) |
| NBA-TV | 52,654 | 51,728 | (926) |
| NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 83,197 | 82,483 | (714) |
| NFL NETWORK | 71,612 | 71,252 | (360) |
| UNIVISION DEPORTES | 47,154 | 46,719 | (435) |
| Total Cable | 98,103 | 97,341 | (762) |
| Nielsen cable coverage estimates via friends at networks and not directly from Nielsen via @SportsTVRatings |
| Network name | Feb 2017 Estimated # of Homes (000) | Coverage % |
|---|---|---|
| A&E NETWORK | 90,478 | 76% |
| ADULT SWIM | 91,069 | 77% |
| AMC | 90,767 | 77% |
| AMERICAN HEROES CHANNEL (Formerly MILITARY CHANNEL) | 54,559 | 46% |
| ANIMAL PLANET | 89,406 | 76% |
| BABY FIRST TV | 53,878 | 46% |
| BBC-AMERICA | 80,044 | 68% |
| BEIN SPORT | 22,744 | 19% |
| BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 18,209 | 15% |
| BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV | 84,415 | 71% |
| BOOMERANG | 42,929 | 36% |
| BRAVO | 87,620 | 74% |
| CENTRIC | 50,910 | 43% |
| CHILLER | 36,298 | 31% |
| CLOO (Formerly SLEUTH) | 0% | |
| CMT | 76,025 | 64% |
| CNBC | 88,527 | 75% |
| CNN (Formerly CABLE NEWS NETWORK) | 91,794 | 78% |
| CNN / HLN | 92,855 | 78% |
| COMEDY CENTRAL | 89,857 | 76% |
| COOKING CHANNEL (Formerly FINE LIVING) | 64,598 | 55% |
| DESTINATION AMERICA (Formerly PLANET GREEN) | 53,388 | 45% |
| DISCOVERY CHANNEL | 91,829 | 78% |
| DISCOVERY EN ESPANOL | 6,386 | 5% |
| DISCOVERY FAMILIA | 5,702 | 5% |
| DISCOVERY FAMILY CHANNEL (Formerly THE HUB) | 62,873 | 53% |
| DISCOVERY LIFE CHANNEL (Formerly DISCOVERY FIT & HEALTH) | 47,011 | 40% |
| DISNEY CHANNEL | 91,611 | 77% |
| DISNEY JUNIOR | 72,761 | 61% |
| DISNEY XD (Formerly TOON DISNEY) | 75,401 | 64% |
| DIY NETWORK | 58,799 | 50% |
| E! ENTERTAINMENT TV | 89,887 | 76% |
| EL REY | 44,925 | 38% |
| ESPN | 87,859 | 74% |
| ESPN2 | 87,731 | 74% |
| ESPNU | 69,207 | 58% |
| ESQUIRE NETWORK (Formerly STYLE) | 45,219 | 38% |
| FM (formerly NUVO TV) | 38,920 | 33% |
| FOOD NETWORK | 93,062 | 79% |
| FOX BUSINESS NETWORK | 84,266 | 71% |
| FOX DEPORTES | 21,359 | 18% |
| FOX NEWS CHANNEL | 89,924 | 76% |
| FOX SPORTS 1 | 84,724 | 72% |
| FOX SPORTS 2 | 50,569 | 43% |
| FREEFORM (Formerly ABC FAMILY) | 89,525 | 76% |
| FUSE | 64,773 | 55% |
| FX | 90,389 | 76% |
| FX MOVIE CHANNEL | 56,345 | 48% |
| FXX (Formerly FOX SOCCER CHANNEL) | 84,910 | 72% |
| FYI (Formerly BIOGRAPHY CHANNEL) | 64,659 | 55% |
| GALAVISION | 67,215 | 57% |
| GOLF CHANNEL | 76,399 | 65% |
| GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY | 56,807 | 48% |
| GSN | 76,493 | 65% |
| HALLMARK CHANNEL | 88,885 | 75% |
| HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES (Formerly HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL) | 66,829 | 56% |
| HBO - THE WORKS | 34,369 | 29% |
| HBO PRIME | 33,856 | 29% |
| HEADLINE NEWS | 91,056 | 77% |
| HISTORY | 91,107 | 77% |
| HOME AND GARDEN TV | 91,169 | 77% |
| IFC TV (Formerly INDEPENDENT FILM CHANNEL) | 72,017 | 61% |
| INSP (Formerly THE INSPIRATIONAL NETWORK) | 81,662 | 69% |
| INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY (Formerly DISCOVERY TIMES) | 85,113 | 72% |
| LIFETIME MOVIE NETWORK | 76,423 | 65% |
| LIFETIME TELEVISION | 90,544 | 76% |
| LOGO | 48,646 | 41% |
| MAXPRIME | 20,466 | 17% |
| MLB NETWORK | 64,413 | 54% |
| MSNBC | 89,764 | 76% |
| MTV (Formerly MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION) | 88,137 | 74% |
| MTV2 | 75,962 | 64% |
| MTV CLASSIC (Formerly VH1 CLASSIC) | 53,009 | 45% |
| MULTIMAX | 20,745 | 18% |
| NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (Formerly NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHNL) | 89,865 | 76% |
| NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WILD | 56,189 | 47% |
| NBA-TV | 51,728 | 44% |
| NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 82,483 | 70% |
| NBC UNIVERSO (Formerly MUN2 CABLE) | 42,748 | 36% |
| NFL NETWORK | 71,252 | 60% |
| NICK JR (Formerly NOGGIN) | 72,113 | 61% |
| NICK-AT-NITE | 89,663 | 76% |
| NICKELODEON | 89,663 | 76% |
| NICKTOONS | 62,792 | 53% |
| OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK (Formerly Discovery Health) | 78,420 | 66% |
| OUTDOOR CHANNEL | 38,683 | 33% |
| OVATION NETWORK | 47,602 | 40% |
| OXYGEN MEDIA | 75,651 | 64% |
| POP (Formerly TV GUIDE NETWORK) | 73,776 | 62% |
| REELZCHANNEL | 65,453 | 55% |
| RFD-TV | 43,635 | 37% |
| SCIENCE (Formerly SCIENCE CHANNEL) | 69,024 | 58% |
| SHOWTIME | 29,014 | 25% |
| SHOWTIME PRIME | 28,771 | 24% |
| SMITHSONIAN | 37,275 | 31% |
| SPIKE TV | 84,040 | 71% |
| SPORTSMAN CHANNEL | 31,557 | 27% |
| SPROUT | 58,629 | 50% |
| STARZ | 30,831 | 26% |
| STARZ ENCORE (Formerly ENCORE) | 38,195 | 32% |
| STARZ ENCORE PRIMARY (Formerly ENCORE PRIMARY) | 36,046 | 30% |
| STARZ PRIMARY | 29,635 | 25% |
| SUNDANCE TV (Formerly SUNDANCE CHANNEL) | 65,916 | 56% |
| SYFY | 89,854 | 76% |
| TBS NETWORK | 91,995 | 78% |
| TEENNICK (Formerly THE N) | 69,069 | 58% |
| THE CARTOON NETWORK | 91,069 | 77% |
| THE TENNIS CHANNEL | 44,361 | 37% |
| THE WEATHER CHANNEL | 84,683 | 72% |
| TLC | 90,215 | 76% |
| TRAVEL CHANNEL | 84,862 | 72% |
| TRU TV (Formerly COURT TV) | 87,204 | 74% |
| TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION | 90,586 | 77% |
| TV LAND | 87,901 | 74% |
| TV LAND CLASSIC | 87,901 | 74% |
| TV ONE | 59,641 | 50% |
| UNIVISION DEPORTES | 46,719 | 39% |
| UP (Formerly GMC) | 69,733 | 59% |
| USA NETWORK | 91,726 | 77% |
| VELOCITY (Formerly HD THEATER) | 71,273 | 60% |
| VH1 | 88,085 | 74% |
| VICELAND | 72,798 | 61% |
| WE TV (Formerly Womens Entertainment) | 86,605 | 73% |
| WGN AMERICA (Formerly Superstation WGN) | 79,135 | 67% |
| Z LIVING | 20,529 | 17% |
All data ©Nielsen (data provided by a variety of TV network sources and not directly from Nielsen)
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