TV Viewers Are Getting Older

Last week, The Hollywood Reporter (THR) published an article focusing on “the grayest primetime audience” for the major broadcasters, those being ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and NBC.

According to the article “for decades TV shows (have) lived and died by their ratings among 18 to 49 year olds.” That demographic, for whatever reason, has always been the “sweet spot” for advertisers in the hopes of reaching “a wide swath of potential customers with money to spend but without the lifetime habits about how to spend it.”

It’s ALWAYS been my opinion that the major networks and advertisers have been extremely off-base where the 18 to 49 year old viewers are concerned when judging ratings, as it is the over-50 crowd that really makes the difference. And this particular article, to an extent, shows how important that over-50 crowd is; or at the very least what shows are watched by the oldest viewers.

With the proliferation of streaming services and the ever-growing cable-cutting measures that younger viewers continue to make, the major broadcasters will – in my opinion – have to start making some drastic changes over the course of the next 10 to 15 years – especially in light of the results of this article. It’s clear that only a small “part of a given show’s on-air audience falls into the once coveted demo.”

To break down what that article explained, the average age for the “five English-language broadcast networks” this year is 64.6 years of age. It isn’t much different for the cable networks either. Their average age is 56. Now, let that sink in…

For those still watching linear TV, which is described as “the traditional form of television…programmed and watched as scheduled through satellite or cable and is not streamed to a specific user on demand,” the average age is 64 ½ years of age. In 10 to 15 years time, that audience will be edging into their 80s. And there will be even more younger viewers who will only be watching streaming or on demand or, in some instances, watching nothing at all.

What are the major and cable networks going to do when their audience begins to pass away and is not replaced by the younger generations? They are going to have to come up with a transitional plan – or rather a pivot – to a new way of scheduling their shows, whether it’s comedic, reality or dramatic programming.

But, let’s get back to the results of THR article. “Blue Bloods (CBS) has the oldest median viewer of any primetime series, at 73 years old, as well as 11 other shows with median viewers ages over 70.”

The article continues to share that “CBS has the oldest primetime audience, with the median age of 67.8 years old.” ABC averages out to 65.6, NBC averages out to 64.9, FOX averages out to 58.1 – the youngest out of the five broadcasters – and “the formerly youth-chasing” CW (no longer The CW) averages out to a whopping 65.2.

As for the shows with the oldest median age of viewers this TV season (2023-2024) – other than Blue Bloods – are as follows:

ABC: Jeopardy! Masters – 71.6
FOX: Alert: Missing Persons Unit – 65.7
NBC: Magnum P.I. – 71
CW: The Spencer Sisters – 71.5

On the other end of the spectrum, here are the shows with the youngest median age of viewers this TV season (which is nearly 50 years of age or above that age):

ABC: NBA Primetime – 57.1
CBS: Big Brother – 58.7
FOX: Bob’s Burgers – 49.5
NBC: Sunday Night Football – 55.2
CW: All American – 53.8

Needless to say, TV viewers are getting older, and less and less younger viewers are watching linear TV. The major and cable networks will need to make changes – good, bad or otherwise – to keep pace. It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how each individual major network handles this issue.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images/vm