On the heels of its first million-viewer audience** and 15th anniversary, Discovery Channel continues to celebrate – now revelling in the winning results of The 2009 TV Trends and Quality Survey (TVQ). According to the recent national survey of audience attitudes, Discovery Channel is the top-ranked channel – among both specialty and conventional services – for viewer satisfaction for the third year in a row. Discovery Channel has consistently claimed top marks in viewer satisfaction since the survey’s inception.
According to the 2009 survey results, Discovery Channel retains its lead in viewer satisfaction for the third straight year among both specialty and conventional channels, with 40.3% of respondents claiming to be “Very Satisfied” with the service.
Not surprising, Discovery Channel received overwhelming accolades in the “Best Science and Nature Programs” category, growing five percentage points over last year to claim 70.5% per cent in this category – ten times its second place rival, PBS, which only garnered 7.3 per cent! Since 2007, Discovery Channel has held top billing for “Best Documentaries,” claiming 22% in 2009, with History Television and A&E trailing at 19% and 17%, respectively.
In 2009, Discovery Channel maintained its #1 position, at 27%, of all specialty channels among survey respondents willing to pay $0.50 per month for the service, virtually tied with Canadian conventional networks CTV, CBC and Global, and well ahead of the major American conventional networks (15.4% to 19.3%).
“For 15 years, Discovery Channel has led the way in factual entertainment with a winning combination of original Canadian productions and the best-of-the-best documentaries from around the world,” said Paul Lewis, President and General Manager, Discovery Channel. “These TVQ results confirm that we continue to hit the right mark and engage our audience with exceptional programming that inspires, entertains and informs.”
The 2009 survey produced good news for the digital specialty channels as well, with both Discovery Civilization Channel (34.3%) and Animal Planet (17%) among the Top 10 channels for consumer satisfaction. Respondents were asked to weigh in on which channels offered the best High Definition programming. Coming second only to TSN, Discovery HD was ranked the top non-sports HDTV service by Canadian viewers at 22.9%, doubling its percentage points since 2008.***
Commissioned by Canadian Media Research Inc. (CMRI), the TV Trends and Quality (TVQ) Survey is a national survey of Canadians’ attitudes toward television. The primary purpose of the TVQ Survey is to test consumer awareness of and satisfaction with conventional networks and specialty channels (both analog and digital) via cable TV, DTH or over-the-air. The 2009 survey is the eighth annual survey of this type and since the methodology has remained consistent, this year’s results can be trended with findings from earlier surveys. TVQ Survey was conducted in October and November among a sample of some 1,542 Anglophone and Francophone respondents aged 18-plus. The above-referenced results reflect the opinions of the 1,011 English-language respondents. The statistical margin of error in this survey is +/- 2.6%, 19 times out of 20.
