first specialty

popularity contest

More viewers explored The Discovery Channel than the other new specialty services during the first week of January, according to the first set of A.C. Nielsen numbers ranking the new channels.

For the week of Jan. 2-8, specialty services garnered 17.8% of the 2+ English-speaking television audience over 24-hour measuring periods.

Discovery ranked first of the new English-language Canadian services with a 1% share of the audience, followed by Bravo! and New Country Network at 0.6% each, Showcase at 0.5%, Life Network at 0.4% and Women’s Television Network at 0.3%.

Reseau de l’Information had a Nielsen rating of 1.8 for the same period in the francophone market, more than tripling its original audience objective of 0.5. In the French-speaking market, specialty service viewers accounted for 16% of the viewing audience.

Of the established Canadian specialty services, Discovery ranked third behind The Sports Network with a 2.7% share and ytv with 2.4%.

However, the u.s.-originated Arts & Entertainment network scored the highest percentage of all the specialties, accounting for 3.7% of the measured audience in Canada. tsn and ytv followed in second and third place respectively. The Learning Channel and The Nashville Network tied for fourth at 1.1%. Discovery tied with Newsworld for fifth.

The pay-tv audience accounted for 4.2% of the total viewing audience.

While all the new services were eager for the first set of Nielsen numbers, conclusions about the viability of any service can’t be drawn until a series of ratings establish a pattern, says Todd Goldsbie, sales director for Life.

‘The whole layout might turn upside down in week two.’

The long-term effects of the negative-option marketing of the specialties has yet to be determined, but a survey conducted for an Edmonton-based consulting firm shows one-third of cable subscribers plan to reject the new specialty package when the trial run ends.

The survey, conducted by TeleResearch for Northwest Research and Consulting, asked a sampling of 400 Edmonton cable subscribers if they planned to keep the new channels. One in three said no, and another third hadn’t made up their minds.