TV Viewers' Average Age Hits 50

Variety:

The broadcast networks have grown older than ever -- if they were a person, they wouldn't even be a part of TV's target demo anymore.

According to a study released by Magna Global's Steve Sternberg, the five broadcast nets' average live median age (in other words, not including delayed DVR viewing) was 50 last season. That's the oldest ever since Sternberg started analyzing median age more than a decade ago -- and the first time the nets' median age was outside of the vaunted 18-49 demo.

Fueling the graying of the networks: the rapid aging of ABC, NBC and Fox. The three nets continue to grow older, while CBS -- the oldest-skewing network -- has remained fairly steady.

"The median ages of the broadcast networks keep rising, as traditional television is no longer necessarily the first screen for the younger set," Sternberg wrote.

Read the whole story: Variety

Comments

[superrobot]

Coincidentally, so is the IQ.

[Witchitalineman]

I'm over 60 and want more news not entertainment. Why can't there be a 24 hour domestic and International station, if I had to buy to get it I would in a flash.

[ceasenake]

The kids are all watching (shudder) MTV.

[Ranta]

Except for sports, I live without any of the primes and I'm 60.
How about a network of all live programming? Too radical I guess?
Still, I don't understand why young people don't read newspapers anymore.

[Blutus]

Good. I'm over 50 and watch very little.

What drove me away is the commercials. Cable was going to stop that. Remember?

Let them go broke. It's the internet folks.

And when broadcast TV ends altogether there will be a tremendous effect
because fewer Americans will be able to even afford cable.

And guess what? It's all good!

Make companies walk up and down the street wearing sandwhich signs to advertise their
garbage.

As long as there are books in the library and classical music on the radio, who cares.

[Andman0121]

ahhhhhh this explains why Fox News was #1 in the ratings! It all makes sense now

[Cathexis]

Hey! I am 51 -- don't go assuming that all of us over a certain age are brain-damaged wingnuts! ;-)

I wouldn't watch FOX even if it was projected on Angelina Jolie's torso.

[swift goat pet for truth]

How embarassing.

I thought the headline read the TV Viewers Average IQ was 50.

[MikeDu]

Let's remember that the 'younger generation' has not turned away from TV for 'grander' pursuits. They're not exactly eschewing TV for the novels of Turgenev, they're more likely blasting cops with shotguns in Grand Theft Auto or off someplace binge drinking. I'll start envying youth when youth starts showing signs of being able to find its arse with both hands.

[Gracehoper]

Wow, I'm sure your generation was much more interested in Turgenev, right? Give me a break, you self-righteous baby boomers who think the sun rises and sets on your own arses.

[jukesgrrl]

Sorry, but I'd be willing to bet my last dollar, with any criterion that could demonstrate it (book sales, enrollment in Literature courses (or even BA programs), that MikeDu is correct. Reading/comprehension skills are crashing, attention spans are absurdly low, quality literature has no audience. And while your spelling, punctuation, and grammar are admirable, that's certainly not true of the average young American, even the university-educated. If you think most people in your age group would know to hyphenate the compound adjective "self-righteous," please think again. Sorry to insult your peers, but most of them don't know as much as you appear to know.

[NYed]

I'm 50 yrs old and I agree with you. Don't listen to Mike Du. I know a lot of these guys. Alot of my contemporaries have become the old guys whose major activity was screaming at kids to "keep off the lawn". These prematurely old turds are jealous of the young. They're bitter like Pennsylvanians, except that they're hanging on to their Viagra pills and their sports.. Ironically. these guys were all doing drugs in the 70's and have been lying about ever sense. (If they really weren't, they were home alone because they were too weird to have friends.)

[4real]

this explains Fox news success....the viewers are falling asleep as they are changing the channels and it so happens it stops on the Fox news channel.

[heal57]

The average age of Fox News views is about 84. How long can Fox sustain its ratings?????????????

[Jezdukowski]

Dying folks watching a dying medium... so it goes.

[shengirl]

and so they keep churning out moronic shows geared to teens and 20-somethings. Makes sense...