In October, the C3 ratings used to buy and sell advertising time dropped by double digits, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson Research.
Primetime ratings were down 11%, with broadcast dropping 12% and cable sliding by 11%.
Nathanson notes that while the C3 ratings performance was an improvement from September, they remain “abysmal.”
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Among the broadcasters, Fox was up 21% largely because of the addition of Thursday Night Football to its primetime roster. CBS, which had the Thursday night NFL games a year ago, was down 38%.
On cable, AMC Networks showed a gain of 6% because The Walking Dead returned earlier than a year ago. Disney was also up with Freeform showing gains and ESPN flat.
MTV was one of the few cable networks to show a gain in the month, but parent company Viacom was down 16%.
The worst-performing cable networks all cater to younger audiences: Adult Swim, Nickelodeon and Cartoon.
“Given the challenged ratings trends we have seen, we remain cautious on the TV advertising market’s ability to grow dollars by offsetting these declines with higher CPM inflation,” Nathanson said in his report.
