Harris Poll EquiTrend: A+E Boasts Two "Brand of the Year" Networks

PBS KIDS Sprout, HBO, CBS, and the Weather Channel are also 2012 Brand of the Year honorees

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Jul 26, 2012, 07:06 ET

NEW YORK, July 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans consume a stunning array of television which impacts their view of themselves, the world, and the marketplace. The annual Harris Poll EquiTrend® study measures the American public's preferences for some of the most lauded media brands. In addition to competitive analysis about powerful networks in the industry, Harris Poll EquiTrend shows TV executives where their brands are excelling or falling short in the eyes in of consumers.

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Harris Poll EquiTrend awards a Brand of the Year honor in the following TV categories: Kids TV Programming, Broadcast Network, Pay Cable Network, Topical Interest TV Programming, TV News Programming, and Variety TV Programming.

Viewers Want Variety TV from A&E

A&E Television Network regains its top ranked spot to become the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Variety TV Programming Brand of the Year. This top score was driven by strong viewing intention. USA Television Network, which took the top spot from A&E in 2009 and has held it since, fell into fourth place. AMC Television Network's strong Quality score helped it maintain the number two position for the second year in a row. FX Television Network moved up from the fifth spot to the third with strong Viewing Consideration score.

While the overall Variety TV Programming category experienced a lower brand equity average in 2012, several brands received higher Recommendation scores this year than they did in 2011; this includes third ranked FX Television Network and sixth ranked Syfy Television Network. Additionally, while receiving a lower Familiarity score, tenth ranked Discovery's HD Theater (now known as the Velocity Network) received top scores for this category in terms of Brand Momentum, a new metric for the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend study that takes a look at a brand's future using such attributes as Brand Energy, Ubiquity, Future, and Popularity.

History Channel Unseats Discovery Channel for First Time in Eight Years

Since 2005, History Channel has been the runner-up to Discovery Channel. However, after eight years, History Channel secures the top spot and is the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Topical Interest TV Programming Brand of the Year, due, in large part, to its top Quality score.

On the positive side for Discovery Communications, LLC, five of the eleven brands to rank above the category average are their networks. This list includes Discovery Channel, Planet Green, Animal Planet, Military Channel, and TLC Television Network, which rank in second, fifth, eight, tenth, and eleventh places, respectively.

The remaining above average slots in the category are filled by equal numbers of A+E Networks, Scripps Network, and National Geographic Television brands.

PBS KIDS Sprout and Disney Channel Compete for Kids TV Programming Brand of the Year

PBS KIDS Sprout earns its second consecutive honor as the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Kids TV Programming Brand of the Year. Disney Channel, which was top-ranked for the six years before Sprout supplanted it in 2011, falls to third as Boomerang Television Network, with its specialization in re-broadcasts of cartoons and other animated shows from the Time Warner archives, breaks into the top three for the first time and secures the second place position. PBS Kids ranks in fourth place while a different Disney network— Disney Junior—takes the sixth slot. The Hub, which was launched by Discovery Communications, LLC as a replacement for Discovery Kids and targets both children and parents, earns fifth place.

HBO is the Pay Cable Network Brand of the Year

Continuing its streak for the eighth year in a row, HBO is the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Pay Cable Network Brand of the Year, driven by top scores across all brand dimensions. For 2012, Showtime Television regains its second ranked spot, which was taken by Starz back in 2009. Increases in Familiarity for Showtime and drops in other scores from Starz drove the change.

CBS Earns TV Network Brand of the Year Honor

Among broadcast networks, American viewers name CBS Television Network the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend TV Network Brand of the Year. CBS is followed by PBS, ABC Television Network, and NBC Television Network. While PBS received a higher Quality score, viewers indicate that they are more likely to watch CBS, ABC and NBC.

The Weather Channel Withstands the Test of Time

For the eighth consecutive year, the Weather Channel is the Harris Poll EquiTrend TV News Programming Brand of the Year. Not only does the Weather Channel have the highest overall Familiarity, but it also enjoys top Quality and Viewing Consideration scores. Interestingly, no network news program ranks above the category average, perhaps reinforcing the findings of a February 2012 Harris Poll which showed that only 15% of Americans have a lot of trust that cable TV news will provide them the news fairly and accurately.

About Harris Poll EquiTrend®

Harris Poll EquiTrend is a leading Brand Equity Tracking study conducted by Harris Interactive that measures and compares brand health for more than 1,500 brands. The study was conducted online from January 31 through February 20, 2012 and analyzes the responses of over 38,500 consumers on key measures of brand health – including how well the public knows a brand, how positively they think of the brand and their consideration to do business with or donate to a brand. Each brand is rated 1,000 times among respondents who are familiar with the brand. Harris Interactive has conducted its EquiTrend study regularly since 1989, and can offer yearly trended data from 2005. The Equity Score, a key take-away from EquiTrend, has been validated against financial performance by Georgetown University.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public polls.

The Harris Poll EquiTrend study results disclosed in this release may not be used for advertising, marketing or promotional purposes without the prior written consent of Harris Interactive.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

For a complete listing of all the brands covered in the study, contact Corporate Communications at 212-539-9600 or [email protected].

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading market research firms, leveraging research, technology and business acumen to transform relevant insights into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers proprietary solutions in the areas of market and customer insight, corporate brand and reputation strategy, and marketing, advertising, public relations and communications research. Harris possesses expertise in a wide range of industries including health care, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Additionally, Harris has a portfolio of multi-client offerings that complement our custom solutions while maximizing our client's research investment. Serving clients in more than 215 countries and territories through our North American and European offices, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients –stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

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SOURCE Harris Interactive