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Wired Cable Growth in DMAs

May 2004 vs. May 2003 Subscriber Growth

In spite of TVB's claim that ADS is cutting into wired cable's delivery for local advertisers - wired cable continues to experience solid subscriber growth in the majority of local markets and is the best solution for reaching top consumer prospects at the DMA and sub-DMA level.

Despite ADS penetration reaching 18.9% of US homes (May 2004), local wired cable systems continue to grow. The chart below clearly depicts year-over-year gains in the top-10 DMAs according to Nielsen, ranging from +0.7% (Detroit) to +7.9% (Chicago). As the Top 10 markets all experienced gains, wired cable exhibited subscriber growth in the Top 25, Top 50, Top 75, Top 100, and Total 210 markets versus year ago. In fact in total, wired cable is up almost 1.9 million subscribers from last year bringing the current total to almost 74 million.

Remember, local cable is the only place to follow the migration of viewers from broadcast television venues. ADS cannot deliver advertising messages and adding more broadcast will only compound the inherent over-delivery of less desirable broadcast-only (rabbit-ear antennae) homes.

WIRED CABLE SUBSCRIBER GROWTH BY DMA
MAY 2004 V. MAY 2003
(DMA RANK ACCORDING TO MAY 04 TV HHS)

DMA Cable HH UE (+/-) Change % Change
DMA DMA Rank May-04 Subscribers Subscribers
NEW YORK 1 6,044,930 206,020 3.5%
LOS ANGELES 2 3,287,150 80,150 2.5%
CHICAGO 3 2,441,280 177,720 7.9%
PHILADELPHIA 4 2,407,990 73,620 3.2%
SAN FRANCISCO-OAK-SAN JOSE 5 1,878,990 26,930 1.5%
BOSTON (MANCHESTER) 6 2,062,800 45,840 2.3%
DALLAS-FT. WORTH 7 1,077,670 54,550 5.3%
WASHINGTON, DC(HAGRSTWN) 8 1,634,040 97,050 6.3%
ATLANTA 9 1,407,250 50,100 3.7%
DETROIT 10 1,357,020 8,890 0.7%
Top 10 Markets 23,599,120 820,870 3.6%
Top 25 Markets 37,330,360 1,186,740 3.3%
Top 50 Markets 50,495,300 1,426,670 2.9%
Top 75 Markets 58,716,530 1,622,470 2.8%
Top 100 Markets 63,983,300 1,694,150 2.7%
Total 210 Markets 73,782,520 1,885,270 2.6%
Source: CAB analysis of Nielsen's Focus.

Source: CAB analysis of Nielsen's Focus

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