News channels attract wealthy viewers

Cable World, Jan 29, 2001

Among the audience characteristics some ad buyers look at when deciding where to place spots is how much money viewers have to spend.

According to an analysis of Nielsen Media Research data by TN Media, the basic cable network with the richest audience in primetime is Fox News, whose viewers older than 18 have a median household income of $62,800.

Other news networks are also being watched by a wealthy crowd. MSNBC's audience has a $59,700 income; Headline News' is $56,100; and CNN's is $53,400.

CNBC, which has a primetime median income of $54,000, not surprisingly has the richest audience all day long. Counting those stock junkies, CNBC's full-day media income is $63,900.

The list of other networks near the top in terms of household income are Bravo, ESPN, HGTV and E!

Among the networks with the least wealthy primetime viewers are BET, with a median family income of $29,200, TNN at $35,700, Game Show Network at $36,500 and Lifetime at $38,900.

The sample size for some networks was too small to pinpoint their audience income level.

Top Basic-Cable Median Household Income
Oct-Nov. 2000

                      Prime A18    Full Day A18    Full Day A18-49
Network                   ($000)          ($000)            ($000)

1. Fox News                 62.8            59.4                NA
2. Bravo                    62.2              NA                NA
3. MSNBC                    59.7            56.5              64.7
4. ESPN                     58.8            53.9              57.0
5. E!                       56.7            54.9              56.1
6. HGTV                     56.6            50.8              57.9
7. Headline News            56.1            53.4                NA
8. CNBC                     54.0            63.9                NA
9. VH-1                     54.0            48.8              48.8
10. History Channel         53.6            47.8              53.5
11. CNN                     53.4            50.8              63.7
12. CMT                     52.9              NA                NA
13. ESPN2                   52.8            51.4              53.5
14. Food Network            50.2            46.7                NA
15. Comedy Central          49.7            48.1              47.9
16. Court TV                48.6            43.5              45.7

SOURCE: TN Media analysis of Nielsen data