The kids' broadcast season ended last weekend and Nickelodeon once again wore
the ratings crowns for the Saturday-morning and weekday-afternoon dayparts.
Viacom Inc.'s children's network led the way on Saturday mornings with a 4.9
average among kids two through 11 from Sept. 3, 2001, to May 18, 2002, according
to Nielsen Media Research data.
That performance -- which represented 2 percent growth from the 2000-01 TV
season -- marked the fifth consecutive year Nick ranked first on Saturday
mornings, network officials said.
The WB Television Network was second in 2001-02 with a 3.2 (up 7 percent from
a 3.0), while Cartoon Network was third with a 2.2 (ahead 16 percent from a
1.9).
CBS, ABC and Fox were knotted in fourth, all with a 1.9 among kids two
through 11. The former improved 6 percent from a 1.8, while ABC and Fox were
down 14 percent and 21 percent from a 2.2 and 2.4, respectively.
Disney Channel was next with a 1.8 (a 20 percent gain from a 1.5), ahead of
PBS with a 1.1 (off 27 percent from a 1.5) and ABC Family's 0.8 (a 33 percent
advance from a 0.6).
During weekday afternoons in the same period, Nick was first with a 2.9
average among the two-through-11 set, despite a 6 percent drop from a 3.1 in the
last TV season, according to Nielsen data.
Cartoon was the big gainer here, notching 50 percent amelioration from a 1.2
to a 1.8 average, good for a second-place tie with The WB, which was up 13
percent from a 1.6 in the 2000-01 TV campaign.
Disney and ABC Family ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, matching last
year's 1.0 and 0.4 averages among the demo.
