Laughs aside, TBS falters

Their marks may be slight, but National Geographic Channel and Discovery Health have arrived on the Nielsen Media Research scene, publishing their first monthly ratings.

In October, National Geographic posted a 0.2 average rating in prime time, on par with Headline News and CNBC. Discovery Health recorded a 0.1 rating, besting only MuchMusic USA and Great American Country.

Even with tiny Nielsens, a move to ratings earns praise from media buyers. When a network isn't rated, buyers have to rely on network estimates. Data can back up—or discount—what a network has been pitching. "You can only go on this way for so long before clients want to know what you're delivering," said Discovery Health GM Bob Reid.

Size isn't everything. "We're not afraid of being on a network with small numbers if there are people watching that we're trying to reach," said Starcomm Worldwide's Director of National TV Research Sam Armando.

Typically, cable networks wait for distribution to surpass 30 million homes before they publish ratings. Any sooner, some executives say, and the data is too volatile. But when numbers look good, some networks move faster, like SoapNet and Lifetime Movie Network.

Both Nat Geo and Discovery Health played it more conservatively, patiently tracking numbers since October 2001. Now Nat Geo is piped into about 36 million homes and will launch on Time Warner Cable in New York—likely on analog—by January. Discovery Health counts about 40 million subscribers.

For fully distributed networks, Nielsen ratings are an important programming and scheduling tool. They show what works and what causes viewers to flee. For smaller channels, though, one Nielsen meter can swing the ratings. "We have to be careful not to knee-jerk too quickly," said Nat Geo President and CEO Laureen Ong. "We use the numbers as a sanity check." Ratings should paint a more reliable story in six months to a year.

A few larger channels, like Oxygen and ESPN Classic, still don't publish Nielsen numbers, and that raises some eyebrows. When a network reaches more than 40% of cable subscribers, "the question creeps in, 'What are they hiding?'" said Starcomm's Armando. "Nat Geo and Discovery Health have removed that doubt."—A.R.