NBC Sports Network is in 79.3 million U.S. homes this month as the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs get set to begin, up just over 3 million homes from the same period last year. Some Stanley Cup games will also air on CNBC for the first time, with that network in 97.5 million homes in April. MLB Network is also in 67.9 million homes as the '12 MLB season begins, up from 55.6 million at the start of last season. The Weather Channel leads all cable nets with 100.1 million homes in April, taking the top spot back from Nickelodeon/Nick-At-Nite, which occupied the top spot the last two months. Listed below are the top 10 cable TV networks in terms of U.S. distribution for April, with comparisons to previous years. Also listed is data for networks with sports content.
| U.S. CABLE NETWORK DISTRIBUTION FOR APRIL |
| NETWORK | '06
(000) | '07
(000) | '08
(000) | '09
(000) | '10
(000) | '11
(000) | '12
(000) |
| Weather Channel | 90,193 | 92,821 | 96,301 | 99,196 | 100,040 | 100,978 | 100,134 |
Nickelodeon/
Nick-At-Nite | 90,111 | 92,708 | 96,202 | 98,746 | 99,807 | 100,595 | 100,034 |
| TBS | 90,067 | 92,499 | 97,081 | 99,358 | 100,387 | 101,163 | 100,028 |
| Discovery Channel | 90,923 | 93,246 | 96,733 | 98,978 | 99,927 | 100,879 | 99,750 |
| Food Network | 89,050 | 91,911 | 95,535 | 98,252 | 99,710 | 100,433 | 99,689 |
| USA Network | 90,382 | 92,787 | 96,232 | 98,541 | 99,435 | 100,365 | 99,414 |
| CNN | 90,474 | 93,029 | 96,247 | 98,540 | 99,459 | 100,444 | 99,237 |
Cartoon Network/
Adult Swim | 89,342 | 91,947 | 95,694 | 97,991 | 98,666 | 99,643 | 99,101 |
| TNT | 90,405 | 92,830 | 96,199 | 98,395 | 99,443 | 100,463 | 99,091 |
| Lifetime | 90,413 | 92,817 | 96,214 | 98,155 | 99,157 | 100,009 | 99,090 |
| ESPN | 90,617 | 93,052 | 96,318 | 98,262 | 99,341 | 100,122 | 99,086 |
| ESPN2 | 90,043 | 92,579 | 95,982 | 97,916 | 98,820 | 100,044 | 98,952 |
| Spike | 90,135 | 92,281 | 95,779 | 98,005 | 98,667 | 99,723 | 98,700 |
| FX | 88,611 | 91,067 | 94,480 | 95,519 | 96,289 | 99,457 | 98,091 |
| Golf Channel | 68,524 | 74,692 | 74,000 | 80,817 | 83,535 | 83,562 | 84,557 |
| Speed | 66,239 | 69,970 | 72,044 | 73,332 | 75,255 | 78,502 | 82,092 |
| NBC Sports Network | 63,956 | 71,749 | 72,516 | 75,298 | 63,793 | 76,056 | 79,308 |
| ESPNews | 48,495 | 56,435 | 63,374 | 68,081 | 72,668 | 73,953 | 74,323 |
| ESPNU | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 72,570 | 72,631 |
| MLB Network | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 55,559 | 67,868 |
| NFL Network | n/a | 41,450 | 42,192 | 41,741 | 56,467 | 56,853 | 59,104 |
| NBA TV | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 55,175 | 58,106 |
| Fox Soccer | n/a | n/a | n/a | 34,313 | 36,233 | 38,616 | 40,879 |
| Fuel TV | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 31,196 | 36,684 |
| ESPN Classic | 60,596 | 65,089 | 62,473 | 63,369 | 56,673 | 35,879 | 32,526 |
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NOTES: Figures not available for nets that do not subscribe to regular Nielsen ratings, including NHL Network, Universal Sports, Tennis Channel, Fox College Sports, Big Ten Network, Longhorn Network and CBS Sports Network.
