While broadcasters continue to lose viewers, that’s not their only problem. The viewers they do have are getting older, reports MediaLife.
The audience of the big four broadcasters is older than ever, with a median age of 53.9 years, the story says, citing data from Nielsen that was analyzed by Horizon Media.
That’s 0.6 years older than at this point in 2012, the story notes.
"Fox remains the youngest network with a median age of 49.6. That’s the closest it’s ever been to 50, and it’s up 2.4 years from last fall, the second-biggest jump for any network," the article reports. "Some of the gain is due to the higher median age for this year’s League Championship Series, which rose from 54.6 last year to 55 this year."
The oldest network is CBS, which has a median age of 58.2, up from 57.9 a year earlier. It also has six of the seven oldest-skewing shows on network TV, with "Blue Bloods" — starring 68-year-old Tom Selleck — scoring as the oldest with a median age of 62.8 years.
The largest age increase over last year was posted by NBC. "NBC is the second-youngest network with a median age of 50.6, up 2.7 from last year," the story reports. "That reflects in part the cancellation of ‘The Office,’ the network’s youngest-skewing show last year with a median age of 38.1."
One network saw its median age fall. ABC came in as the second-oldest network with a median of 54 years — down from 55.2 a year ago.
The oldest-skewing new show of the fall season was "Ironside," coming in with a median of 58.9. The drama reboot, which starred Blair Underwood (age 49), was canceled by NBC after three episodes.
And yet the networks (and every other media corporation) still keeps pursuing the younger demographics. I wonder if they have the slightest clue as to why so many existing shows are losing viewers, or why new ones aren’t attracting and keeping them?