Update: as many of you know Nielsen reviewed these estimates per request so I pulled down the numbers while they were under review. Nielsen has now validated its findings so I’m putting them back up.
Here’s ESPN’s statement on the November estimates:
“This most recent snapshot from Nielsen is a historic anomaly for the industry and inconsistent with much more moderated trends observed by other respected third party analysts. It also does not measure DMVPDs and other new distributors and we hope to work with Nielsen to capture this growing market in future reports.”
Original post:
Declines almost everywhere for the measured cable sports networks in Nielsen’s November cable coverage estimates. The outliers were beIN Sport’s Spanish language channel and NFL Network which were up 196K and 1K versus the October estimates respectively.
Cable coverage as a whole — which includes satellite and TV services provided by telcos like AT&T U-Verse and Verizon FiOS but does not include streaming services like Sling TV of Sony’s Vue — was down 650,000 homes from the October estimates to 98.388 million homes.
Two tables are included below: the first is just the cable sports networks measured in Nielsen’s national panel, the second is all networks measured in the national panel. They’re sorted alphabetically but with the new table format you can easily sort by the number of homes instead or search for specific networks.
Nielsen cable (includes satellite & telco services) coverage estimates for the measured cable sports networks for November 2016:
| Network name | Nov 2016 Estimated # of Homes (000) | Coverage % | Oct 2016 Estimated # of Homes (000) | Change Since Oct (000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEIN SPORT | 23,542 | 20% | 23,806 | -264 |
| BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 18,358 | 16% | 18,162 | 196 |
| ESPN | 88,956 | 75% | 89,577 | -621 |
| ESPN2 | 88,878 | 75% | 89,485 | -607 |
| ESPNU | 70,525 | 60% | 71,200 | -675 |
| FOX DEPORTES | 21,906 | 19% | 22,157 | -251 |
| FS1 | 85,616 | 72% | 85,971 | -355 |
| FS2 | 50,808 | 43% | 51,399 | -591 |
| GOLF CHANNEL | 75,378 | 64% | 75,978 | -600 |
| MLB NETWORK | 66,254 | 56% | 66,769 | -515 |
| NBA-TV | 53,072 | 45% | 53,805 | -733 |
| NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 83,817 | 71% | 84,522 | -705 |
| NFL NETWORK | 71,660 | 61% | 71,659 | 1 |
| UNIVISION DEPORTES | 47,397 | 40% | 47,682 | -285 |
| Total Cable | 98,388 | 83% | 99,038 | -650 |
All data ©Nielsen (data provided by a variety of TV network sources and not directly from Nielsen)
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Nielsen November 2016 coverage estimates for all measured cable channels in the national panel:
| Network name | November 2016 Estimated # of Homes (000) | Coverage % |
|---|---|---|
| A&E NETWORK | 91,398 | 77% |
| ADULT SWIM | 91,897 | 78% |
| AMC | 91,451 | 77% |
| AMERICAN HEROES CHANNEL (Formerly MILITARY CHANNEL) | 56,226 | 47% |
| ANIMAL PLANET | 90,333 | 76% |
| BABY FIRST TV | 54,128 | 46% |
| BBC-AMERICA | 77,467 | 65% |
| BEIN SPORT | 23,542 | 20% |
| BEIN SPORT ESPANOL | 18,358 | 16% |
| BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TV | 85,158 | 72% |
| BOOMERANG | 44,651 | 38% |
| BRAVO | 88,468 | 75% |
| CENTRIC | 51,691 | 44% |
| CHILLER | 37,394 | 32% |
| CLOO (Formerly SLEUTH) | 24,072 | 20% |
| CMT | 77,912 | 66% |
| CNBC | 89,714 | 76% |
| CNN (Formerly CABLE NEWS NETWORK) | 92,596 | 78% |
| CNN / HLN | 93,649 | 79% |
| COMEDY CENTRAL | 90,415 | 76% |
| COOKING CHANNEL (Formerly FINE LIVING) | 65,710 | 55% |
| DESTINATION AMERICA (Formerly PLANET GREEN) | 55,020 | 46% |
| DISCOVERY CHANNEL | 92,763 | 78% |
| DISCOVERY EN ESPANOL | 6,069 | 5% |
| DISCOVERY FAMILIA | 5,532 | 5% |
| DISCOVERY FAMILY CHANNEL (Formerly THE HUB) | 65,045 | 55% |
| DISCOVERY LIFE CHANNEL (Formerly DISCOVERY FIT & HEALTH) | 46,846 | 40% |
| DISNEY CHANNEL | 92,613 | 78% |
| DISNEY JUNIOR | 73,798 | 62% |
| DISNEY XD (Formerly TOON DISNEY) | 76,824 | 65% |
| DIY NETWORK | 60,748 | 51% |
| E! ENTERTAINMENT TV | 90,774 | 77% |
| EL REY | 44,945 | 38% |
| ESPN | 88,956 | 75% |
| ESPN2 | 88,878 | 75% |
| ESPNU | 70,525 | 60% |
| ESQUIRE NETWORK (Formerly STYLE) | 65,910 | 56% |
| FM (formerly NUVO TV) | 37,697 | 32% |
| FOOD NETWORK | 93,833 | 79% |
| FOX BUSINESS NETWORK | 85,126 | 72% |
| FOX DEPORTES | 21,906 | 19% |
| FOX NEWS CHANNEL | 90,963 | 77% |
| FOX SPORTS 1 (Formerly SPEED) | 85,616 | 72% |
| FOX SPORTS 2 (Formerly FUEL) | 50,808 | 43% |
| FREEFORM (Formerly ABC FAMILY) | 90,417 | 76% |
| FUSE | 65,878 | 56% |
| FX | 91,192 | 77% |
| FX MOVIE CHANNEL | 56,948 | 48% |
| FXX (Formerly FOX SOCCER CHANNEL) | 81,688 | 69% |
| FYI (Formerly BIOGRAPHY CHANNEL) | 67,368 | 57% |
| GALAVISION | 67,563 | 57% |
| GOLF CHANNEL | 75,378 | 64% |
| GREAT AMERICAN COUNTRY | 57,811 | 49% |
| GSN | 78,569 | 66% |
| HALLMARK CHANNEL | 89,614 | 76% |
| HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES (Formerly HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL) | 67,428 | 57% |
| HBO - THE WORKS | 35,296 | 30% |
| HBO PRIME | 34,732 | 29% |
| HEADLINE NEWS | 91,926 | 78% |
| HISTORY | 92,156 | 78% |
| HOME AND GARDEN TV | 92,064 | 78% |
| IFC TV (Formerly INDEPENDENT FILM CHANNEL) | 70,688 | 60% |
| INSP (Formerly THE INSPIRATIONAL NETWORK) | 82,312 | 70% |
| INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY (Formerly DISCOVERY TIMES) | 85,814 | 72% |
| LIFETIME MOVIE NETWORK | 77,948 | 66% |
| LIFETIME TELEVISION | 91,648 | 77% |
| LOGO | 49,751 | 42% |
| MAXPRIME | 20,642 | 17% |
| MLB NETWORK | 66,254 | 56% |
| MSNBC | 90,972 | 77% |
| MTV (Formerly MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION) | 89,148 | 75% |
| MTV2 | 77,217 | 65% |
| MTV CLASSIC (Formerly VH1 CLASSIC) | 54,543 | 46% |
| MULTIMAX | 20,963 | 18% |
| NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHNL | 90,768 | 77% |
| NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WILD | 57,642 | 49% |
| NBA-TV | 53,072 | 45% |
| NBC SPORTS NETWORK | 83,817 | 71% |
| NBC UNIVERSO (Formerly MUN2 CABLE) | 43,466 | 37% |
| NFL NETWORK | 71,660 | 61% |
| NICK JR (Formerly NOGGIN) | 72,732 | 61% |
| NICK-AT-NITE | 90,740 | 77% |
| NICKELODEON | 90,740 | 77% |
| NICKTOONS | 63,836 | 54% |
| OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK (Formerly Discovery Health) | 79,581 | 67% |
| OUTDOOR CHANNEL | 39,483 | 33% |
| OVATION NETWORK | 48,227 | 41% |
| OXYGEN MEDIA | 76,749 | 65% |
| POP (Formerly TV GUIDE NETWORK) | 76,078 | 64% |
| REELZCHANNEL | 66,802 | 56% |
| RFD-TV | 43,299 | 37% |
| SCIENCE (Formerly SCIENCE CHANNEL) | 71,003 | 60% |
| SHOWTIME | 29,426 | 25% |
| SHOWTIME PRIME | 29,193 | 25% |
| SMITHSONIAN | 37,746 | 32% |
| SPIKE TV | 85,436 | 72% |
| SPORTSMAN CHANNEL | 32,778 | 28% |
| SPROUT | 58,943 | 50% |
| STARZ | 31,866 | 27% |
| STARZ ENCORE (Formerly ENCORE) | 39,272 | 33% |
| STARZ ENCORE PRIMARY (Formerly ENCORE PRIMARY) | 37,110 | 31% |
| STARZ PRIMARY | 30,677 | 26% |
| SUNDANCE TV (Formerly SUNDANCE CHANNEL) | 60,170 | 51% |
| SYFY | 90,716 | 77% |
| TBS NETWORK | 92,690 | 78% |
| TEENNICK (Formerly THE N) | 70,118 | 59% |
| THE CARTOON NETWORK | 91,897 | 78% |
| THE WEATHER CHANNEL | 86,019 | 73% |
| TLC | 91,246 | 77% |
| TRAVEL CHANNEL | 86,237 | 73% |
| TRU TV (Formerly COURT TV) | 88,010 | 74% |
| TURNER NETWORK TELEVISION | 91,350 | 77% |
| TV LAND | 88,650 | 75% |
| TV LAND CLASSIC | 88,650 | 75% |
| TV ONE | 59,656 | 50% |
| UNIVISION DEPORTES | 47,397 | 40% |
| UP (Formerly GMC) | 70,419 | 59% |
| USA NETWORK | 92,557 | 78% |
| VELOCITY (Formerly HD THEATER) | 71,224 | 60% |
| VH1 | 88,819 | 75% |
| VICELAND | 73,843 | 62% |
| WE TV (Formerly Womens Entertainment) | 85,835 | 72% |
| WGN AMERICA (Formerly Superstation WGN) | 79,745 | 67% |
If you’re on a mobile phone these tables should be much easier to read if you tilt your phone to landscape mode.
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All data ©Nielsen (data provided by a variety of TV network sources and not directly from Nielsen)