Season tally: Broadcast 488, cable 12

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That’s the final number crunch by the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) for the recently completed 2007-2008 television season. Using Nielsen data for both broadcast and cable/satellite networks, TVB calculated that broadcast networks had 488 of the season’s top 500 programs in Household ratings, to a dozen for cable/satellite nets. The latter did slightly better in the 18-49 demo, with 16 in the top 500 to broadcast networks’ 484.


“These findings demonstrate once again the enormous appeal of broadcast programs. Broadcasters continue to connect with the American audience in ways that no other medium can duplicate,” declared TVB President Chris Rohrs.

Sports programming was where cable/satellite nets generally scored best. The season’s top cable/satellite show was ESPN’s “NFL Regular Season” game, which was #93 for HH and #59 in the 18-49 demo. Seven of the 12 cable/satellite shows that made the HH top 500 were sports-related, as were 11 of the 16 that made the top 500 list 18-49.

Rather than showing the entire 500 for each demo, the lists from TVB show the top 100, then the rankings of the remaining cable/satellite shows that made the top 500.

Households 

Adults 18-49

Adults 25-54