While Discovery Channel maintained the top spot among the leading media and
television brands in the latest EquiTrend study, the network slipped in the
rankings among overall consumer brands.
Discovery placed first among media brands in overall quality for the seventh
consecutive year and ran its reign as the top TV network to 11 years, according
to the spring-2003 EquiTrend brand study by Harris Interactive Inc
Discovery descended from first last year among all brands to eighth this time
among the 1,152 consumer brands gauged.
The programmer trailed the Smithsonian Institution; Sears, Roebuck &
Co.'s Craftsman Tools; Binney & Smith's Crayola crayons and markers; Bose
Corp.'s stereo and speaker systems; Hershey Food Corp.'s Hershey's Kisses; Alcoa
Inc.'s Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil; and Mars Inc.'s M&M's chocolate
candies.
At No. 13, sister network The Learning Channel was the only other media brand
to find a spot among the top 15 consumer brands.
TLC finished second to Discovery among the top 25 media brands and top 25 TV
brands. Recently revamped Discovery Times Channel -- the joint venture between
Discovery and The New York Times -- scored well with EquiTrend
respondents, placing fifth among TV networks and sixth as a media brand.
The Discovery Networks U.S. stable was also represented by The Science
Channel, Animal Planet and Discovery Health Channel in both categories.
Discovery Kids ranked 20th among TV networks, while Mutual of
Omaha's Wild Kingdom, which now airs on Animal Planet, ranked
20th among media brands.
Among media brands, The History Channel was third, followed by National
Geographic magazine and National Geographic Channel. After Discovery Times,
The Weather Channel was seventh, ahead of PBS, Disney Channel and A&E
Network.
As for TV brands, History also claimed the third spot, with Nat Geo and
Discovery Times fourth and fifth, respectively. Rounding out the top 10: TWC,
PBS, Disney, A&E and PBS Kids.
Fox and NBC were the only broadcast networks to make the top-TV-networks and
media-brand rosters, according to the study.
Harris conducted its latest surveys between May 1-12 among nearly 44,000
consumers age 15 and up. About 2,900 respondents rated each brand, with each
person rating 100 randomly selected brands.
