The Biography Channel, Lifetime Movie Network and Noggin were among the
digi-nets scoring in various breakouts of the 'Digital Cable Subscriber Study'
released Monday by Beta Research Corp.
Lifetime Television's spinoff network was the 'most liked' among those cable
subscribers (27 percent) whose systems carry various digital networks, as well
as among those who had viewed the network in the previous seven days (40
percent), according to Beta.
Discovery Science Channel (17 percent) was the runner-up to LMN among these
subscribers' favorites based on unaided recall, followed by ESPN Classic and Fox
Sports World (tied at 16 percent) and ESPNews (15 percent).
As for those networks viewed in the past seven days, LMN was followed by
ESPNews (34 percent), Biography and FSW (tied at 30 percent) and Fox Movie
Channel (28 percent).
Noggin, meanwhile, had the highest average perceived dollar value among 39
emerging/digital networks measured, at $1.47 per month for viewers of the
network, according to Beta.
Noggin -- a joint venture of Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop -- was followed
in the perceived-value category by FSW ($1.29), BBC America ($1.26), Toon Disney
($1.24) and LMN and TechTV (tied at $1.22), according to Beta.
A&E Television Networks senior vice president of affiliate sales David
Zagin was quick to react to the latest Beta qualitative research. He pointed out
that Biography ranked first in six Beta breakouts (including total men, adults
18 through 49 and heavy Internet users), as well as among the top two in four
others (such as among women and households with children).
History Channel International finished in the top 10 in three categories,
including average perceived value ($1.17), Zagin added.
Beta's latest survey was based on 905 telephone interviews conducted this
past July with digital-cable subscribers from eight systems affiliated with
AT&T Broadband, Cox Communications Inc. and Time Warner Cable.
Digital basic or emerging analog networks were defined as having fewer than
15 million subscribers (excluding direct-broadcast satellite).
In another finding, Beta reported that digital cable's on-screen cable guide
(32 percent), high-quality picture (30 percent) and high-quality sound (28
percent) are its main strengths vis-à-vis DBS.
Digital cable and DBS were rated about equal in terms of having a large
number of channels in general, as well as of movie channels and sports channels
in particular.
