According to a survey of cable operators conducted by Beta Research, Fox News Channel is the most valuable non-sports cable network.
Broadcasting & Cable’s Jon Lafayette has the details.
Not surprisingly, ESPN and ESPN2 top the list, valued at $1.16 and $0.71 respectively, but FNC was right up there at number three valued at $0.58 a sub, beating out cable leader USA Network, as well as Discovery Channel and Disney Channel.
There was also some good news for CNN, which averaged $0.48 per sub, and made the list at #13, cracking the top 15, but down 10 spots from FNC.
CNN last topped FNC in the Beta survey in 2007, since then, FNC has been the top news channel.
The survey is important because it takes the temperature of the cable operators, which are the ones that actually cut the billion dollar checks to the networks in the first place. While sports has long been known to be the most valuable programming on TV, the fact that FNC and CNN were valued so highly, alongside networks like USA, Disney and Discovery, speaks volumes about the power of their brands.