Broadcast's Youth Market Starts At 44
Fascinating piece by Brian Steinberg at Ad Age:
While advertisers get ready to plunk down billions on prime-time broadcast TV during this upfront -- and make no mistake, they will -- consider this statistic: The median age of viewers of regular prime-time fare is nearing 51 (Fox, the youngest, is 44). That's two years past the age widely considered to be the point of no return for the most-coveted advertiser demographic. All of which leads to a burning question: Why are advertisers expected to rush to pick up some $9 billion in inventory in a medium that seems to be passing by younger viewers?In a word, reach. No other media outlet is able to put a 30-second commercial in front of the "most" of any demographic an advertiser wants in one fell swoop. Sure, there may be fewer of those valuable consumers between the ages of 18 and 49 watching -- and fewer still, perhaps, of consumers between 12 and 24 -- but there are still more of them watching "American Idol," "30 Rock" or "Grey's Anatomy" than in most other places.
via Robert W.
Advertisers ought to take another look at who has the money to buy their products. Many kids in the upper end of that coveted 18-24 demographic have student loans that rival the national debt of some smaller nations.
It's nice to not really want anything expensive. Not watching TV makes you smarter, and richer. Library books are free, and have no ads at all.
MarkD at May 26, 2010 9:51 AM
"younger baby-boomers (between the ages of 45 and 54) consume the most video media, taking in an average of just over nine-and-a-half hours each day"
That really seems pathetic. Even if I wasn't wasting my time in front of the computer, I couldn't find that much on tv to interest me.
In any case, I can't remember one advertisement that influenced me to buy it's product. Not even the sexy Old Spice guy.
Pricklypear at May 26, 2010 3:58 PM
I've been watching Friday Night Lights (great series, btw) via Netflix, but seasons 4 & 5 aren't available on DVD currently so I had to switch to over-the-air NBC broadcasts. I don't watch much TV, and had forgotten how awful it is...not just 92% of the content, but the structure of the medium itself. Constant "crawls" promoting some other program or telling me about some news I either already new or didn't care about. NBC logo in the middle of the screen. Strings of 6 or 7 ads to skip over. The whole experience is just much less pleasant.
People claim the Internet induces short attention spans, but TV feels much worse.
David Foster at May 26, 2010 8:58 PM
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