IHS: Movie Consumption Grows on U.S. Basic Cable

EL SEGUNDO: The quantity of movie content on U.S. basic cable reached a three-year high in 2013, accounting for nearly 15 percent of all air time, according to a new report from IHS Technology.

A total of 89,623 hours of movie content was shown on U.S. basic cable last year. This was an increase of 1,180 hours from the 2011 figures. Fewer movies were broadcast in 2013 than in previous years, but this means that films were being rerun more than ever before. This year, the total airtime is projected to be even higher, with an increase in both movie hours and airtime share.

Comedy was the top genre in both 2012 and 2013, beating out drama, which had the largest number of hours in 2011. The most-played movie in 2013 was the 1993 release Mrs. Doubtfire, which played 66 times across five networks. Indie movies accounted for 78 percent of post-2000 airtime in 2013. Big-budget films from the major studios take longer to become widely available, which doesn't apply to the majority of indies.

For the third consecutive year, Fox was the most prolific producer of movies airing on basic cable in the U.S., accounting for nearly 6.5 percent of all movie airtime in 2013. Warner Bros. was second. Fox and Warner are the top two producers of movies on basic cable by a large margin, and are likely to remain ahead since they can put their content on owned dedicated movie networks such as Fox Movie Channel and Turner Classic Movies.

Among the basic cable networks, AMC remained the top outlet for action, even with its increasing amount of original TV shows.

“Cable networks are seeing the benefit of airing movies that get better non-primetime ratings than some TV shows during the same time slots,” said Erik Brannon, senior analyst for television media at IHS. “Drawing in viewers during non-prime-time hours is proving valuable, especially during the summer months when more people are at home during the day.”