- After a client outcry forced Nielsen Holdings (NLSN -0.5%) to withdraw numbers that pointed to dramatic declines in subscribers for cable networks, the company now says it's standing by those earlier numbers.
- The figures will head back to Nielsen's database on Monday. The news drew attention for marking ESPN's (DIS -0.9%) worst subscriber month ever, with a decline of 621,000 subs last month.
- “The month over month decline in coverage that most cable networks saw was driven primarily by an overall decline of approximately half a percentage point (0.55) in the Cable Plus universe, meaning fewer households are subscribing to pay TV via traditional cable MSOs, telcos or satellite providers,” Nielsen said.
- In a new statement, ESPN says: “This most recent snapshot from Nielsen is a historic anomaly for the industry and inconsistent with much more moderated trends observed by other respected third party analysts. It also does not measure DMVPDs and other new distributors and we hope to work with Nielsen to capture this growing market in future reports.”