The decline in viewing on most cable networks continued in 2023. The decline is due to the prevalence of cable cuts related to premium content and the fact that audiences are abandoning cable TV for streaming platforms. Also, in 2023, any original scripted content will still air. On cable television it was affected by interruptions of the paintings of writers and actors. As a result, in 2023, for the first time in recent memory, no cable network painting maintained an average prime-time audience of more than two million viewers.
The audience erosion follows current trends. According to Nielsen, last year only Fox News averaged more than two million viewers. Ten years ago, when cord cutting and streaming video were both in its nascent stage, there had been six cable networks that averaged over two million primetime viewers; USA, ESPN, Disney Channel, History Channel, TNT and TBS. Furthermore, in 2023 there were only three cable networks that sustained an average audience above one million viewers, compared to five in 2022. By comparison, in 2013 there were 19 cable networks that averaged over one million viewers.
According to Variety, which published the ratings, in 2023, Fox News, despite a year-over-year average viewership drop of 20%, was, once again, the highest-rated cable network, with an average of 1. 9 million viewers. An eventful year for Fox News: In April, the network fired Tucker Carlson, the host of its prime-time primetime show. The resolution led to a reorganization of prime-time programming. In addition, during the year, Fox News settled two lawsuits with the manufacturer. Abby Grossman and Dominion Voting Systems.
CNN, another leading cable news network, reported a 20% year-over-year decline in viewership, averaging 591,000 viewers. Like Fox News, CNN also revamped its prime-time programming in the middle of the year. After a brief tenure, CNN President Chris Licht left the news channel. MSNBC is the only major news network that has increased its average prime-time audience by a modest 2%, to 1. 22 million viewers.
Some smaller cable news networks fared better in 2023. For example, Newsmax increased 22% to 225,000 and Nexstar’s NewsNation increased 72% to 109,000. The focus of NewsNation’s programming was the broadcast of the fourth Republican presidential debate in December, which drew 1. 59 million viewers. With 2024 set to be a vital election year, the viewership of cable news networks is expected to increase.
In the case of long-running cable entertainment networks, primetime viewership declines continued, with content consisting primarily of off-network programming, theatrical feature films, and, in some cases, live sports. TNT reported a 3% drop to 938,000, while sister network TBS fell 10% to 786,000. USA Network’s average primetime viewership reported a 7% decline, averaging 688,000 viewers. Hallmark Channel, which averaged more than one million primetime viewers, reported a 10% decline in 2023, with an average primetime audience of 929,000.
Other well-known, large-scale cable entertainment networks have noticed even steeper declines in viewership. For example, in 2023, Lifetime’s average audience dropped 25% to an average audience of 443,000 people. The average audience for A
Also, AMC, which has not found a suitable replacement for The Walking Dead, averaged 369,000 primetime viewers, a year-over-year falloff of 21%. Due to the work stoppage, there were no original episodes of the top-rated Yellowstone airing in 2023. As a result, the primetime audience for The Paramount Network fell by 30% to 346,000. (In 2022, Paramount Network ratings grew by 8%.) Original episodes of Yellowstone are scheduled to return in November. Freeform was one of the cable networks that, in the aftermath of their carriage dispute with Disney, was pulled by MVPD Charter in September. In 2023 Freeform reported a decline in primetime audience of 16%, averaging 254,000 viewers.
As for the other leading cable networks, ESPN’s viewership fell 9% to 1. 7 million viewership. HGTV’s average viewership fell 13% to less than a million viewership to 943,000. The History channel’s average fell 7% to 775,000 people. TLC’s viewership fell 23%. The Discovery Channel’s average fell 14% to 703,000. TV Food Network also reported a 14% drop in viewership, with an average of 675,000 viewers. Viewership for Bravo and the Investigation Discovery Network fell to a more modest 4%, averaging 571,000 viewers and 546,000 viewers, respectively.
As viewership and content shift to streaming, Variety also generates a significant decrease in the amount of viewership paying premium cable networks like HBO, Showtime, and Starz. All three saw year-over-year declines of 25% or more. Youth-oriented cable networks also continued their steep declines, adding Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network, all of which saw abundant declines through 2022. So, cable TV’s troubles in 2023 aren’t over. limited to regional sports networks.
Not every entertainment cable network however, suffered declines in viewing. The Reelzchannel continues to increase its audience defying trends. In 2023 the cable network averaged 337,000 viewers, a year-over-year increase of 34%. In 2022 the average audience of the Reelzchannel had more than doubled (+107%) compared to 2021.
While eMarketer forecasts ad dollars for connected TV to grow by 22% in 2024 reaching $30 billion, the loss in viewing to cable TV will result in a loss of ad revenue. Last year Scott Robson, a senior research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, had forecast ad revenue for cable television to drop by 4.9% in 2023 to an estimated $22.4 billion. The S&P report expects ad revenue to drop below $20 billion by 2027. The last time cable ad revenue was below $20 billion was in 2007.