2015 in cable TV: Not pretty

Gary Levin | USA TODAY

For cable TV, 2015 will be remembered as a watershed year, and not in a good way.

Seven of the top 10 basic-cable networks saw prime time audience declines, especially among younger viewers. And worries about "cord-cutting" are growing, even though losses in cable subscribers moderated this year, according to analyst Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson.

More at fault: Viewing on new platforms not yet measured by Nielsen, declining ratings for syndicated repeats of network series, and new competition from streaming services. FX research chief Julie Piepenkotter counted 409 original scripted series on broadcast, streaming, basic and premium TV providers this year, up from 211 in 2009. In that same time frame, the number of such series on basic cable alone nearly tripled to 181 from 66.

Some networks benefit, such as AMC, which claimed half of the top 10 cable series, including The Walking Dead and two spinoffs. The network bucked the ratings trend, growing 4% for the year, and was up 9% among young-adult viewers.

But others suffered, particularly channels owned by A&E Networks and Viacom. A&E, stung by the sharp drop for Duck Dynasty, was off 26%, while sibling History fell 19% and Lifetime was down 7%. At Viacom, MTV dropped 26%, Comedy Central was off 21%, Nick at Nite dropped 24%, Spike was down 15%, BET fell 14% and VH1 11%, though TV Land was off a modest 5%.

There were some bright spots. Thanks to a riveting presidential campaign and record-setting debates, Fox News Channel edged up 3%, and became the first news outlet to rank second for the year among all basic-cable channels. CNN jumped 39% in primetime, but still had less than half the audience of Fox News. (MSNBC fell 1%).

Discovery and HGTV both were up 11% for the year, Oprah Winfrey's OWN was up 12% and Food Network, Hallmark Channel, Investigation Discovery and WE tv were among those reporting more modest gains.

And USA is on track to remain the No. 1 entertainment network for the tenth consecutive year, but fell 16%, and has a very thin margin over TBS, which dipped a mere 1%.

Top 10 basic-cable networks

ESPN 2.12 -7% Fox News 1.84 3% USA 1.80 -16% TBS 1.79 -1% Disney 1.72 -10% TNT 1.71 -14% Discovery 1.55 11% HGTV 1.50 11% History 1.49 -19% AMC 1.38 4%

Viewership, in millions from 12/29/14 to 12/20/15, including 7-day DVR-delayed viewing. Source: Nielsen.

Top cable series

The Walking Dead (AMC) 19.5 Fear Walking Dead (AMC) 11.8 Game of Thrones (HBO) 9.5 Amer. Horror Story (FX) 6.7 Rizzoli & Isles (TNT) 6.6 Better Call Saul (AMC) 6.5 Into the Badlands (AMC) 6.5 Talking Dead (AMC) 6.1 Major Crimes (TNT) 5.9 Gold Rush (Discovery) 5.7

Viewership, in millions from 12/29/14 to 12/6/15, including 7-day DVR-delayed viewing. Source: Nielsen.