2.0 Nielsen Ratings Atlanta Note

The following appeared in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. The citation is Haddad, Charles (1996-10-01). "Cartoon Network tops 30 million, Large subscribership helps sell advertising". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution p. C7.

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Cartoon Network tops 30 million, Large subscribership helps sell advertising

Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s Cartoon Network has crossed the 30 million subscriber mark, an important milestone for cable TV channels.

Advertisers don't seriously consider most cable channels until they garner 30 million subscribers, say industry experts. The more subscribers, the easier it is for channels to sell ads and charge higher rates for them.

Cartoon Network, which features cartoons 24 hours daily, has 30.1 million subscribers, according to the latest survey by A.C. Nielsen. That's nearly 15 times the number the channel had when it was launched on Oct. 1, 1992.

The channel is widely available in metro Atlanta, on systems including Time Warner, MediaOne and Rifkin.

While hitting critical mass, Cartoon Network is still small compared to most of Turner Broadcasting's other channels. CNN, TBS and TNT all have 60 million-plus subscribers.

And Cartoon Network is less than half the size of its older and bigger rival, Nickelodeon. Owned by Viacom, Nickelodeon has more than 64 million subscribers and is one of the most watched cable channels.

For the week of Sept. 16-22, Nickelodeon's viewership averaged 413,000 households. It ranked fourth among all channels.

In contrast, Cartoon Network was not among the top 10. But the channel's latest series, the new "Jonny Quest," has been doing especially well. It has been averaging a 2.0 Nielsen rating, considered good for cartoons.

"The fact that our ratings continue to grow along with our distribution is just as significant," said Betty Cohen, president of Cartoon Network Worldwide.

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