ESPN Leads Beta Brand Survey

ESPN topped a Beta Research Corp. brand-image survey of advertising executives, with 93% of respondents ranking the sports network with a "4" or "5" rating on a five-point scale.

Beta said 30 advertising executives it surveyed in December ranked 13 basic-cable networks ahead of ABC, CBS and Fox on brand image. NBC was the top broadcast network in the survey, with 90% of respondents ranking the network with a 4 or 5.

On brand image, ESPN was followed by MTV: Music Television (84%), Lifetime Television (82%), Discovery Channel (80%) and Nickelodeon and CBS, each of which scored 78%.

Lifetime led Beta’s ranking for "having appealing audience demos," with 76% of respondents giving the women’s network a 4 or 5 rating. It was followed by ESPN (75%), Discovery (74%) and Home & Garden Television (71%).

The Beta survey ranked MTV as the best network for "creative marketing/promotion opportunities," with 71% of respondents giving it a 4 or 5 rating. MTV was followed by Comedy Central (67%), Discovery (63%), ESPN (62%) and Lifetime (56%).