More viewers don’t mean more money for cable nets

The rise in cable viewers has not been matched by a commensurate growth in revenue for cable networks, the Wall Street Journal indicated Wednesday. Citing estimates from media buyers and sellers, the newspaper projected that cable ads in the upfront market may be down more than 20 percent to about $3.8 billion from $4.6 billion last year. The WSJ noted that advertisers in virtually all major categories have cut their ad spending with cable networks, including movie studios, which, the newspaper noted, have traditionally been among the most lavish spenders on cable.