TV Goes Gray Networks' audience skews much older than they'd have advertisers believe
Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Laila Ali, Dancing with the Stars
When the networks talk ratings, they focus on the audience aged 18 to 49, because that's who advertisers will pay the most for. But every year, more of the network viewers are moving out of that prized demographic.
An analysis of Nielsen ratings from the ad-buying firm MAGNA Global USA shows that during the 2006-07 TV season, half of the prime-time viewers of the five major broadcast networks were over the age of 48, up from 45 in the 2002-03 season. During those five years, the median age of the U.S. population in TV households remained steady at 37.
The Fox audience aged the most the past season, with a median age of 42, up from 39 the previous season; that's the price of having broad-appeal shows such as House and American Idol. (Two Idol appearances by octogenarian crooner Tony Bennett probably helped keep Grandma glued to the show this season.) In the 2002-03 season, the median audience for the Idol results show was 33. This past season it was 42.
ABC saw its median age jump from 46 to 48, in large part due to Dancing with the Stars, the oldest-skewing show on the network. Half of the viewers for the results show are 55 and over. Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives also saw their audiences get older.
CBS still has the oldest viewers, with a median age of 53 last season. After making progress in lowering its percentage of viewers aged 65 and up over the last few years, that number ticked back up again last season, which may explain why the network is attempting some new shows that might get buzz next fall: Buzz usually equals younger viewers. CBS has the oldest-skewing show in all of prime time with 60 Minutes — the median age of which is 60.
NBC's median age remained steady at 49, but a look at the numbers for individual shows tells you why the networks are getting older in general. NBC's youngest-skewing shows are its comedies: Scrubs (median age: 36), The Office (38), 30 Rock (40) and My Name Is Earl (43). The same goes for Fox and CBS. It could be that the networks are becoming more gray-haired because there are fewer sitcoms on their schedules.
In its first season, the median age for the CW's audience was 32, down from the combined average of the network's predecessors WB and UPN. Chalk up that decrease to the network's reality shows, which all have audiences with median ages of 29 or younger. CW can also boast that it has the youngest-skewing program of the five networks with One Tree Hill. Half that show's audience is under 26.
So where is the youngest audience in prime time? Up the cable dial at Nicktoons and Toon Disney, which both have a median age of 10, followed by the Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, with 11. And the oldest folks? They're at the Fox News Channel, with a median age of 65-plus.
