Fox Kids wins Broadcast Ratings

Strong performances by shows like Digimon and Power Rangers have helped Fox Kids win an important victory over rivals ABC, Kids WB, and Nickelodeon. Saturday, February 10th, marked the second Saturday of the Neilsen Ratings February "sweeps".

For several weeks, unconfirmed rumors from Fox have hinted at a possible restructuring of the Fox Kids block, or even eliminating it entirely due to poor ratings and lack of advertiser interest.

With Kids aged 6-11, the 10:30 AM broadcast of Digimon edged out Kids WB's Pokémon. Digimon recieved a 5.0/17 share, while Pokémon recieved a 4.9/16 share. The 9:00 AM broadcast of Digimon also fared well, recieving a 4.7/18 share.

Fox Kids did almost as well with Kids 2-11, placing only fractions of a point behind Pokémon for both Digimon broadcasts.

What do these numbers mean?
(adapted from the Nielsen Media FAQ)

The 10:30AM Digimon broadcast (5.0/17) recieved a 5.0 rating, and a 17 share. The first number, the rating indicates how many television sets in the entire US were watching the show. 5.0 means around 5.0% of all televisions in the United States were tuned to Digimon during the broadcast. The second number, the share, indicates the number of televisions that were watching Digimon compared to the expected number of televisions that were turned on at the time. Thus, 17% of all viewers that were watching a channel at 10:30AM were watching Digimon.

What are the 'sweeps'?
(adapted from the Nielsen Media FAQ)

Throughout the year, Neilsen Media Research takes a sampling of every TV market in the United States. The most important are February, May, July, and November in which data from all TV markets are collected. Historically, television companies use this data to price advertising time, as well as quality and duration of TV shows.

Excerpted from the release:
FOX KIDS RANKS NO. 1 AMONG BROADCAST COMPETITION
FOR SECOND SATURDAY OF THE FEBRUARY SWEEP

‘’Digimon: Digital Monsters'' Digivolves Nickelodeon, Kids WB and ABC With Kids 6-11

Fox Kids ranked No. 1 among all broadcast competition for the second Saturday of the February Sweep, Feb. 10. Fox Kids posted a 3.5 rating/13 share with Kids 6-11 and a 2.8 rating/11 share with Kids 2-11, topping Kids WB and ABC with both key demos. Fox Kids also ranked No. 1 with Boys 6-11 (5.1/19), topping Kids WB 19 percent (5.1 vs. 4.3), ABC 104 percent (5.1 vs. 2.5) and tying Nickelodeon.
‘’Digimon: Digital Monsters'' (10:30 AM/ET) digivolved all time period competition with Kids 6-11 (5.0 rating/17 share), topping Nickelodeon ‘’Spongebob Squarepants'' by 9 percent (5.0 vs. 4.6). The series also topped Kids WB's ‘’Zeta Project'' by 32 percent with Kids 6-11 (5.0 vs. 3.8) and by 23 percent with Kids 2-11 (3.7 vs. 3.0) and out-performed ABC's ‘’Buzz Lightyear'' by 233 percent with Kids 6-11 (5.0 vs. 1.5) and by 95 percent with Kids 2-11 (3.7 vs. 1.9).

‘’Digimon: Digital Monsters'' (9:00 AM/ET) posted a 4.7 rating/18 share with Kids 6-11 and a 3.6 rating/14 share with Kids 2-11, topping Kids WB's ‘’Jackie Chan Adventures'' by 31 percent with Kids 6-11 (4.7 vs. 3.6) and by 24 percent with Kids 2-11 (3.6 vs. 2.9).

‘’NASCAR Racers'' (11:30 AM/ET) sped past its broadcast time period competition with Kids 6-11 (2.6 rating/10 share) and Kids 2-11 (2.5 rating/10 share). The series bested Kids WB's ‘’Batman Beyond'' by 4 percent with Kids 6-11 (2.6 vs. 2.5) and by 19 percent with Kids 2-11 (2.5 vs. 2.1). ‘’NASCAR Racers'' also topped ABC's ‘’Disney's Doug'' bt 117 percent with Kids 6-11 (2.6 vs. 1.2) and by 67 percent with Kids 2-11 (2.5 vs. 1.5).

The new series ‘’Power Rangers Time Force'' (8:00 AM/ET) blasted its Saturday morning broadcast time period competition with Kids 6-11 (2.3 rating/16 share). The series bested Kids WB's ‘’Max Steel'' by 64 percent with Kids 6-11 (2.3 vs. 1.4) and by 50 percent with Kids 2-11 (1.8 vs. 1.2). ‘’Power Rangers Time Force'' also topped ABC's ‘’Sabrina'' by 15 percent with Kids 6-11 (2.3 vs. 2.0) and by 20 percent with Kids 2-11 (1.8 vs. 1.5).

The network and cable rankings (8:00 AM-Noon) on Saturday, February 10.:

Network K6-11 K2-11

NICK 5.3/21 4.7/19
FOX 3.5/13 2.8/11
WB 3.3/13 2.7/11
ABC 3.0/12 2.7/11
CARTOON 1.4/5 1.8/7

SATURDAY MORNING BROADCAST KIDS PROGRAM RANKINGS (February 10)

KIDS 6-11 (8:00 AM - NOON)

1. Disney's One Sat Morning - 3 ABC 5.5/18
2. DIGIMON: DIGITAL MONSTERS (10:30 AM) FOX 5.0/17
3. Pokémon (10:00 AM) WB 4.9/16
4. DIGIMON: DIGITAL MONSTERS (9:00 AM) FOX 4.7/18
4. Disney's One Sat Morning - 2 ABC 4.7/18
6. X-Men WB 4.4/14
7. Disney's One Sat Morning - 4 ABC 4.3/14
8. Zeta Project WB 3.8/13
9. LOS LUCHADORES FOX 3.7/12
10. Jackie Chan's Adventures WB 3.6/14

SATURDAY MORNING BROADCAST KIDS PROGRAM RANKINGS (February 10)

KIDS 2-11 (8:00 AM - NOON)

1. Disney's One Sat Morning - 3 ABC 4.4/15
2. Pokémon (10:00 AM) WB 3.9/13
3. Disney's One Sat Morning 2 ABC 3.8/15
4. DIGIMON: DIGITAL MONSTERS (10:30 AM) FOX 3.7/13
4. Disney's One Sat Morning - 4 ABC 3.7/12
6. DIGIMON: DIGITAL MONSTERS (9:00 AM) FOX 3.6/14
6. X-Men WB 3.6/12
8. Little Bill CBS 3.4/12
9. Little Bear CBS 3.0/12
9. Zeta Project WB 3.0/10