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Cable Shows Hope To Continue Ratings Wins

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Cable companies are getting used to the big profits their tv shows are making. Broadcast television, by contrast, is finishing its’ worst year ever.

The traditional September-to-May broadcast season ended last week with a whimper. In the 18- to 49-year-old demographic highly favored by advertisers, ABC, CBS and NBC each recorded double-digit declines, while Fox showed a slight uptick of 2 percent over last year, according to Nielsen Media Research. During the same time frame, ad-supported cable channels showed a 9 percent audience gain.

The move towards cable dominance has been going on for years, so it comes as no surprise to most. Cable companies bet heavily on original programming and have been able to steal untold percentages of market share rather easily from the broadcast networks, who continue to stumble badly.

It’s not all bad news, of course, for broadcast television, but good news is becoming harder to find.