TOP 25 TV NETWORKS
After a tough three years, the top networks show strong growth, up 11% as a group from a year ago
By John M. Higgins -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/30/2003 7:00:00 PM
The recession may not be over for all Americans, but it's largely over for TV networks. That's the conclusion of BROADCASTING & CABLE'S annual ranking of the top 25 television networks. After three years in which the sour economy sliced revenues for at least some of the big players, all but one of the largest networks posted gains. (Pay cable Starz!, which fell from the list, was hurt not by the recession but by a clash with its largest customer, Comcast.)
| How They Fared by the Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| RANK | NETWORK | REV. ($MILLION) | CHNG.** (%) |
| * Estimated 2003 ** From B&C's 2002 estimates NR = Not ranked; not on the list last year Source: BROADCASTING & CABLE research; industry and company reports |
|||
| 1 | NBC | 4,461 | +8.6 |
| 2 | CBS | 4,050 | +10.3 |
| 3 | QVC | 3,800 | +5.9 |
| 4 | ABC | 3,190 | +10.4 |
| 5 | ESPN | 2,869 | +35.2 |
| 6 | FOX | 2,244 | +6.9 |
| 7 | HBO | 2,200 | +7.2 |
| 8 | HSN | 1,760 | +9.1 |
| 9 | TNT | 1,312 | +8.3 |
| 10 | NICK | 1,150 | +6.0 |
| 11 | SHOWTIME | 1,080 | +4.3 |
| 12 | USA | 1,015 | +2.6 |
| 13 | MTV | 975 | +15.1 |
| 14 | CNN | 876 | +6.4 |
| 15 | TBS | 871 | +9.0 |
| 16 | LIFETIME | 820 | +3.8 |
| 17 | DISCOVERY | 705 | +17.5 |
| 18 | THE WB | 660 | +11.5 |
| 19 | SHOPNBC | 620 | +5.3 |
| 20 | DISNEY | 610 | +10.5 |
| 21 | FOX NEWS | 600 | +9.1 |
| 22 | A&E | 589 | +19.0 |
| 23 | CINEMAX | 580 | +18.4 |
| 24 | UNIVISION | 568 | +7.4 |
| 25 | TLC | 550 | NR |
The top 25 nets combined generated $38.2 billion in revenues, up 11% from their 2002 sales. Broadcast-network sales increased 9%; cable nets increased revenues 12%.
NBC is again the largest network, expected to generate $4.5 billion in sales by the time the year closes. CBS is second, bypassing shopping network QVC, whose domestic sales growth slowed markedly this year.
As in prior years, the rankings are based on estimated 2003 revenue, net of advertising commissions. They isolate individual networks, not network groups, and ignore broadcasters' TV-station groups and major production or syndication arms.
The fastest-growing network was ESPN, up 35%. One source of its growth has been a guaranteed 20% escalator in its license-fee contracts with cable operators. But the network is also enjoying stronger NFL ratings and the snapback of sports advertising, the first category to suffer when the recession started hitting.
Slower-growing networks include recession-challenged shopping channels QVC and ShopNBC ratings-challenged entertainment nets Lifetime and USA.
Two networks fell off the list. One is CNBC, which TLC and Univision passed by even though the financial network reversed its advertising decline. And Starz!'s estimated revenue is expected to plunge about 25%, from $579 million to around $429 million. The network lost one of its biggest sources of revenue when Comcast acquired AT&T Broadband and scrapped the insider deal Starz! had cut with AT&T's predecessor, Tele-Communications Inc.
The listing starts with estimates compiled from industry executives; Wall Street analysts Morgan Stanley's Richard Bilotti, Bear Stearns's Ray Katz and Merrill Lynch's Jessica Reif Cohen; Kagan Media; and company reports. Many networks offered guidance or simply coughed up their own budgets. But we won't say who cooperated and who didn't.
The viewership figure shown on the listing that follows is the average number of prime time viewers, persons age 2 and older.
1 NBC
2003 revenue: $4.46 billion
Owner: General Electric
Top executive: Robert Wright, chairman and CEO
Programming: General entertainment
Type: Broadcast
TV homes reached: 108.0M
Viewership: 12.2M
Hot property:Law & Order
2 CBS
2003 revenue: $4.05 billion
Owner: Viacom
Top executive: Leslie Moonves, president/CEO
Programming: General entertainment
Type: Broadcast
TV homes reached: 108.0M
Viewership: 12.9M
Hot property:Joan of Arcadia
3 QVC
2003 revenue: $3.80 billion
Owner: Liberty Media
Top executive: Douglas S. Briggs, president/CEO
Programming: Electronic retailing
Type: Cable
TV homes reached: 85.9M
Viewership: Not applicable
Hot property:Joan Rivers' Classic Collection
4 ABC
2003 revenue: $3.19 billion
Owner: The Walt Disney Co.
Top executive: Alex Wallau, president
Programming: General entertainment
Type: Broadcast
TV homes reached: 10.8M
Viewership: 9.8M
Hot property:Hope and Faith
5 ESPN
2003 revenue: $2.87 billion
Owner: Disney and The Hearst Corp.
Top executive: George Bodenheimer, president
Programming: Sports
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 88.2M
Viewership: 2.0M
Hot property:NFL Sunday Night Football
6 Fox
2003 revenue: $2.24 billion
Owner: News Corp.
Top executive: Sandy Grushow, chairman, Fox Television Entertainment Group
Programming: General entertainment
Type: Broadcast
TV homes reached: 106.0M
Viewership: 9.7M
Hot property:Arrested Development
7 HBO
2003 revenue: $2.20 billion
Owner: Time Warner Entertainment
Top executive: Chris Albrecht, chairman/CEO
Programming: General entertainment
Type: Pay cable
TV homes reached: 27.0M
Viewership: Not available
Hot property:Six Feet Under
8 HSN
2003 revenue: $1.76 billion
Owner: Interactive Corp.
Top executive: Mark Bozek, chairman/CEO
Programming: Retail shopping
Type: Cable
TV homes reached: 89.9M
Viewership: Not available
Hot property: Wolfgang Puck's Bistro Collection
9 TNT
2003 revenue: $1.30 billion
Owner: Time Warner
Top executive: Steve Koonin, EVP/COO, TBS/TNT
Programming: Dramatic entertainment
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 88.1M
Viewership: 1.8M
Hot property:NASCAR
10 NICKELODEON
2003 revenue: $1.15 billion
Owner: Viacom
Top executive: Herb Scannell, president
Programming: Children-oriented, daytime; adults 18-49, prime time
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 87.8M
Viewership: 2.0M
Hot property:The Fairly Odd Parents
11 SHOWTIME
2003 revenue: $1.08 billion
Owner: Viacom
Top executive: Matthew Blank, chairman/CEO
Programming: Movies, series, sports
Type: Premium television
TV homes reached: 22.0M
Viewership: Not available
Hot property:Dead Like Me
12 USA
2003 revenue: $1.01 billion
Owner: Vivendi Universal Entertainment
Top executive: Doug Herzog, president
Programming: General entertainment
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 88.2M
Viewership: 1.9M
Hot Property:Monk
13 MTV
2003 revenue: $975 million
Owner: Viacom
Top executive: Van Toffler, president
Programming: Music-oriented
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 86.8M
Viewership: 925,000
Hot property:Punk'd
14 CNN
2003 revenue: $876 million
Owner: Time Warner
Top executive: James Walton, president, CNN News Group
Programming: National and international news
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 88.1M
Viewership: 1.2M
Hot property:Larry King Live
15 TBS
2003 revenue: $871 million
Owner: Time Warner
Top executive: Steve Koonin, EVP/COO, TBS/TNT
Programming: General entertainment
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 87.9M
Viewership: 1.6M
Hot property:Seinfeld
16 LIFETIME
2003 revenue: $820 million
Owner: Disney and Hearst
Top executive: Carole Black, president/CEO
Programming: Women-oriented general entertainment
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 87.5M
Viewership: 2.0M
Hot property:Wildcard
17 DISCOVERY
2003 revenue: $705 million
Owner: Discovery Comm.
Top executive: William Campbell, president, Discovery Networks
Programming: Science-oriented entertainment
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 88.3M
Viewership: 1.1M
Hot property:American Chopper
18 THE WB
2003 revenue: $660 million
Owner: Time Warner and Tribune
Top executive: Jed Petrick, president/COO, The WB
Programming: Prime time general entertainment
Type: Broadcast
TV homes reached: 95.1M
Viewership: 1.1M
Hot property:One Tree Hill
19 SHOPNBC
2003 revenue: $620 million
Owner: ValueVision and NBC
Top executive: Gene McCaffery, president/CEO
Programming: Home shopping
Type: Basic cable
TV homes reached: 55.3M
Viewership: Not available
20 DISNEY
2003 revenue: $610 million
Owner: Walt Disney Co.
Top executive: Anne Sweeney, president, Disney Channel Worldwide
Programming: Kids and family entertainment
Type: Cable
TV homes reached: 83.6M
Viewership: 2.2M
Hot property:Lilo & Stitch
21 FOX NEWS
2003 revenue: $600 million
Owner: Fox Entertainment
Top executive: Roger Ailes, chairman/CEO
Programming: National and international news
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 84.8M
Viewership: 1.6M
Hot property:The O'Reilly Factor
22 A&E
2003 revenue: $589 million
Owner: Hearst Corp., ABC, NBC
Top executive: Abbe Raven, EVP/GM
Programming: Drama, original movies, documentaries
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 87.8M
Viewership: 928,000
Hot property:Cold Case Files
23 CINEMAX
2003 revenue: $580 million
Owner: Time Warner
Top executive: Chris Albrecht, chairman/CEO
Programming: Movies
Type: Pay cable
TV homes reached: 12.0M
Viewership: Not available
Hot property:Catch Me If You Can
24 UNIVISION
2003 revenue: $568 million
Owner: Univision Comm.
Top executive: Ray Rodriguez, president/COO
Programming: Spanish-language entertainment
Type: Broadcast
TV homes reached: 79.1M
Viewership: 3.1M
Hot property:Sabado Gigante
25 TLC
2003 revenue: $550 million
Owner: Discovery Comm.
Top executive: Roger Marmet, SVP/GM
Programming: Business news
Type: Ad-supported cable
TV homes reached: 86.8M
Viewership: 1.4M
Hot property:Trading Spaces
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