July 24, 2008

By the Numbers: 2008 Top Ops Edition

A sometimes irreverent but highly relevant look at digits of interest to cable operators and others.

[This is an expanded version of the story that appears in the print Top Ops issue.]

+4.1%: Q1 ’08 advertising growth for cable (vs. Q1 ’07).

+0.8%: Q1 ’08 advertising growth for network television.

-5.2%: Q1 ’08 advertising decline for newspapers. During the same period consumer magazine ad growth rose 0.2%, while network radio was up 12%. Advertising across all media was up just 0.6%. (TNS media intelligence cited by MediaPost, 6/16/08)

16%: Percentage of people living in the U.S. who participate in sports and exercise activities on an average day; people in the Pacific region were the most likely to exercise.

80%: Percentage who watch television on an average day. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

1,704: Number of hours individuals 12 and older will spend this year watching TV.

1,502: The number of hours watched in 2000. (U.S. Census Bureau, 6/3/08)

50%: Number of all available kids 6-11 (49 U.S. share) and tweens 9-14 (47 share) who watched the debut of Camp Rock on Disney Channel, Friday, June 20, 8 p.m.

66%: Number of all available girls 6-11 (66 share) and tween girls (64 share) who watched it. (Disney news release, 6/24/08)

9.8%: Percentage rise in U.S. health-care costs in 2008.

9.6%: The rise expected in 2009. (PricewaterhouseCoopers study reported in BusinessWeek, June 30 edition)

$2.8 million: The average cost for one episode of a cable television drama.

$2.3 million: The average cost for a single episode of AMC’s Mad Men, which won a Golden Globe this year for best drama. (Mad Men creator Matt Weiner in The NY Times Magazine, 6/22/08)

83%: Percentage of 30K respondents in a January survey who were aware of the digital transition; the figure rose to 90% in April. (NAB news release, 6/17/08)

61%: Respondents to a different survey who had no idea the transition was coming. These respondents live in the 21 million American households receiving over-the-air television. (Association of Public Television Stations news release, 1/31/08)

110 million: The number of U.S. households owning a TV in 2006.

76 million: The number with sets in 1980. (U.S. Census Bureau, 6/3/08)

71%: Percentage of U.S.-based Internet surfers who watched an average of 82 videos in April. (comScore Video Metrix, 6/17/08)

96%: Percentage of adults 18-49 with a college degree and annual income of $75K+ who listen to radio during the course of a week. (Arbitron, 6/16/08)

12%: Percentage of Americans who think the economy is in good shape. This is the lowest level of consumer confidence since May 1980, when the jobless rate was 7.5% and inflation was 14.4%. The jobless rate today is 5.5%; inflation is 4.2%. (The Washington Post, 6/18/08)

12%: Growth in unique visitors (8.4 million) for NBC’s website (from Nov. ’07 to Dec. ’07). NBC’s jump was linked to NBC Direct, which streams NBC shows for free.

-35%: Traffic reduction at ABC’s website during the same period; CBS and Fox lost 20%. (Details, 4/08)

950: The number of pilots United intends to furlough by year-end 2009, in line with plans to cut domestic capacity by 15%; the No. 2 airline employs 6,500 pilots. (UAL Corp, 6/23/08)

14%: The average airfare price increase in the past year. (Bureau of Labor Statistics as quoted in The Wall St Journal, 6/24/08)

30%: The mark-up small, independent cable operator-members of ACA estimate they pay for programming over the price the biggest MSOs pay. The cost ultimately is borne by the 7 million households ACA serves.

2.1%: SNL Kagan’s projected annual growth for total multichannel subscriptions, reaching 108.5 million in 2012. Although market penetrations are reaching a ceiling, total multichannel households are expected to increase, with multichannel subs accounting for nearly 89% of TV households in the five-year outlook.

59%: Kagan’s estimate of cable’s multichannel market share in 2012; that share today is 64%.

98.2%: The percentage of U.S. households with a TV set in 2005; the figure is unchanged since 1999.
66%: The percentage of TV households with cable.
(U.S. Census Bureau, 6/3/08)

The following come from surveys done at our Cable360.net site:

60%: Those who said within 2 years, mobile TV will be as ubiquitous as cell phones and iPods.

45%: Those who said cable operators, DBS and the telcos are more likely to contribute to the Republican party in the general election for the presidency.  28% said both parties would get equal contributions and 27% said the Democrats would get more.

38%: Those who said digital phone would be the most likely of cable’s triple play to be dropped by recession-hit subscribers. 27% said digital cable would be dropped first, while 7% said high-speed access. 28% said no services would be dropped.

Back to 2008 Top Ops table of contents