Big Four Off in Prime Time for Week No. 28

NEW YORK: CBS broke even on total household, prime-time ratings for the week ending July 26, compared to a year ago. The Eye net came in flat for all households and down 9 percent for people 18 to 49. The remaining Big Four were down for the week, according to Wachovia’s weekly “Who’s Watching” report.

The ad market update: “Over the past week it appears buyers and sellers finally made progress in the upfront. Fox, NBC and The CW should finish selling by the end of the week, with ABC and CBS by next week. Prime-time CPMs appear to be generally in line with our view of down [about] 1 to 4 percent, except NBC. However, there appears to be more flexibility in other day parts. Within cable, we think networks will be willing to book as little as 45 percent this year versus 60 percent-plus last year.”;

“Who’s Watching” tracks the weekly and season-to-date, year-to-year change in average household viewing data for broadcast (live plus same day) and audience data for cable nets (live plus same day); STD is prime time unless otherwise noted, e.g. Food and HDTV

-- Disney (ABC): Prime-time average household rating was -7 percent for total HHs and -10 percent for P18-49. Season-to-date was -7 percent and -8 percent, respectively.

-- CBS (CBS): PT avg. HH rating was flat for total HHs and -9 percent for P18-49. STD avg. audience was +7 percent and +2 percent, respectively.

-- News Corp (Fox): PT avg. HH rating was -13 percent for total HHs and -9 percent for P18-49. STD avg. audience was -15 percent and -18 percent, respectively.

-- GE (NBC): PT avg. HH rating was -8 percent for total HHs and -18 percent for P18-49. STD avg. audience was -9 percent and -5 percent, respectively.

-- Viacom:
BET
PT avg. audience was +11 percent for P2+ and +24 percent for P25-54. STD avg. audience was +22 percent for P2+ and +26 percent for P25-54.
Comedy Central PT avg. audience was -12 percent for P2+ and +2 percent for P25-54. STD avg. audience was -1 percent and -2 percent, respectively.
MTV PT avg. audience was +4 percent for P2+ and +5 percent for P25-54. STD avg. audience was -21 percent and -12 percent, respectively.
VH1 PT avg. audience was +12 percent for P2+ and +10 percent for P25-54. STD avg. audience was -3 percent and -2 percent, respectively.
Nickelodeon PT avg. audience was +1 percent for P2+ and -4 percent for P2-11. STD avg. audience was +8 percent for both.

-- Discovery:
Discovery Channel PT avg. audience was -18 percent for P2+ and -14 percent for P25-54. STD avg. audience was also +5 percent for both.
TLC PT avg. audience was +28 percent for P2+ and +22 percent for P25-54. STD avg. audience was +14 percent and +7 percent, respectively.
Animal Planet PT avg. audience was +9 percent for P2+ and +30 percent for P25-54. STD avg. audience was +6 percent and +17 percent, respectively.

-- Scripps:
HGTV PT avg. audience was -1 percent for P2+ and -4 percent for P25-54. STD PT avg. audience was +2 percent and -2 percent, respectively. STD total day avg. audience was -2 percent for both.
Food Network PT avg. audience was +18 percent for P2+ and +11 percent for P25-54. STD PT avg. audience was +16 percent for P2+ and +15 percent for P25-54. STD total day avg. audience was +10 percent for P2+ and +7 percent for P25-54.

-- Disney:
ESPN
PT avg. audience was -25 percent for P2+ and -29 percent for P25-54. STD avg. audience was flat for both.
Disney Channel PT avg. audience was +9 percent for P2+ and +10 percent for P2-11. STD avg. audience was -4 percent for P2+ and -3 percent for P2-11.

-- News Corp.:
Fox News Channel PT avg. audience was +42 percent for P2+ and +64 percent for P25-54. STD avg. audience was +44 percent and +52 percent respectively.
F/X PT avg. audience was +24 percent for P2+ and +33 percent for P25-54. STD avg. audience was +4 percent for P2+ and +6 percent for P25-54.
National Geographic PT avg. audience was +5 percent for P2+ and +29 percent for P25-54. STD avg. audience was +11 percent and +10 percent, respectively.