Lifetime Leads Cable Networks in Viewer Retention
NEW YORK (Variety) -- Lifetime is crowing about a Nielsen survey that reveals the average viewer of the women's cable network keeps her thumb away from the remote control for 28.3 consecutive minutes. That's third behind CBS (29.7 minutes) and Lifetime Movie Network (28.9 minutes) in the Nielsen study covering April and May. Tim Brooks, senior VP of research for Lifetime Entertainment Services, pointed out how far out in front of other general-entertainment cable networks Lifetime is. USA's average was only 19.2 minutes of con-secutive viewing, TNT's was 18.3 minutes, TBS' 17.7, FX's 17.6 and TNN's 17.5. But Jack Wakshlag, head of research for the Turner networks, which include TBS and TNT, countered that cable's ability to deliver a more varied audience is more important to advertisers than staying power. Lifetime may have an advantage over some networks, according to Initiative Media VP of research Stacey Lynn Koerner, because it runs movies every night in primetime. Viewers tend to get more caught up in movies than in shorter-form programming like sitcoms or reality shows. It also doesn't hurt, Brooks added, that women tend to be more patient with the TV remotes than men, who treat the clicker like a video game, surfing the dial at every commercial break. Three out of four viewers to the average Lifetime program are women, a higher percentage than any other network. In fourth place behind Lifetime among reluctant dial surfers is Soap Net (28.3 minutes), followed by NBC (27.2 minutes).
NEW YORK (Variety) -- Lifetime is crowing about a Nielsen survey that reveals the average viewer of the women's cable network keeps her thumb away from the remote control for 28.3 consecutive minutes. That's third behind CBS (29.7 minutes) and Lifetime Movie Network (28.9 minutes) in the Nielsen study covering April and May. Tim Brooks, senior VP of research for Lifetime Entertainment Services, pointed out how far out in front of other general-entertainment cable networks Lifetime is. USA's average was only 19.2 minutes of con-secutive viewing, TNT's was 18.3 minutes, TBS' 17.7, FX's 17.6 and TNN's 17.5. But Jack Wakshlag, head of research for the Turner networks, which include TBS and TNT, countered that cable's ability to deliver a more varied audience is more important to advertisers than staying power. Lifetime may have an advantage over some networks, according to Initiative Media VP of research Stacey Lynn Koerner, because it runs movies every night in primetime. Viewers tend to get more caught up in movies than in shorter-form programming like sitcoms or reality shows. It also doesn't hurt, Brooks added, that women tend to be more patient with the TV remotes than men, who treat the clicker like a video game, surfing the dial at every commercial break. Three out of four viewers to the average Lifetime program are women, a higher percentage than any other network. In fourth place behind Lifetime among reluctant dial surfers is Soap Net (28.3 minutes), followed by NBC (27.2 minutes).