Cable Viewership Expected To Grow 8.8%

Cable television viewership is expected to increase about 8.8 percent in the fourth quarter, as the industry continues to steal viewers from broadcast television, a cable trade group said.

Based on projections using growth rates from the past three years, basic cable television as a whole is expected to be watched at 34.5 percent of the homes with their TV sets on during prime time, said the Cable Advertising Bureau, using numbers from Nielsen Media Research. In the year-ago quarter, cable had a 31.7 share.

The fourth quarter’s figures are widely followed because that’s when the networks and many cable channels introduce new programming. It also includes the November sweeps, which local broadcast stations use to set advertising rates.

“The growth will continue to be consistent and steady,” said Jonathan Sims, vice president for research for the Cable Advertising Bureau in New York.

This comes after the prime-time market share for the three main broadcasters - General Electric Co.’s NBC, Westinghouse Electric Corp.’s CBS and Walt Disney Co.’s ABC - fell below 50 percent for the first-time ever in May. Since 1993-94, the broadcasters’ share has dropped about 14 percent.

Cable’s share, meantime, has grown about 44 percent, spurred by channels like Disney’s ESPN, Gaylord Entertainment Co.’s Nashville Network and the USA Network, jointly owned by Viacom Inc. and Seagram Co.

Still, many advertisers remain wary of cable because ratings for individual cable channels are low compared with those of the three biggest broadcasters and News Corp.’s Fox Network.