May 18-22, 2009

[SteveFrame]

I don't think from what I have read that the ad revenue is based exclusively on the 18 to 49. The 18 to 49 is the most important but the other demos are looked at and figure in.

If they were only and exclusively based on the 18 to 49 then networks like ABC and NBC wouldn't care about the 18 to 34 demo which they cater too as well.

So I agree from everything I have read the 18 to 49 is the most important but ad dollars are not based only on it.

And then you also have to take into account companies who choose to cater to an older audience. It was stated at one time that Viagra looks for shows that skew to an older audience even though they admit they do have younger men who use their product.

Condom advertisers prefer channels like MTV that have a younger audience.

There are a lot of factors that go into it, but overall the 18 to 49 is the go to demo.

[Carolyn1980]

It depends on the daypart. In primetime, and latenight, it's all viewers 18-49. Even the CW renews shows with higher 18-49 demos, even if their 18-34 demo is lower than a show they cancel.

In the morning (Today show, GMA, etc), and for evening news, it's all viewers 25-54. For daytime, it's women 18-49, and while it used to be 2-11 for Saturday mornings, it also includes 25-54 for the Saturday news shows (and Sunday news shows, as well).

It also varies by cable network. The cable news channels look at 25-54, but networks like MTV look at 18-34, and even younger.

And truthfully, NO advertiser is "looking" for a show that has lots of older viewers.....because, frankly, they don't have to look. ALL shows on the networks have high concentrations of 50+ viewers. In fact, the median age for the networks in primetime is close to 50 (over 50 for two or three nets), which means, on avergae, more than half the viewers of all their primetime shows are 50+. The 18-49 viewers are more desirable because they aren't as easy to find.

[MarkH]

Really? Most of the adult men are 50+?

Darn, I wish we could get those numbers.

So, what you're saying is that the current residuals percentages are UNDERESTIMATES of the older audience! CBS really, really has an advertiser problem, then. Unless they're successfully selling ads on the basis of their older audience. I have to admit, looking just at the Y&R ads, they do seem to be selling a fair inventory of "older" ads. I imagine these pay less...but I wonder.

[CSF]

For the most part, CBS has been skewing the older audience for the past 20 years. Remember the 90s, when they were referred to as the "geriatric network?"

Do they still post the 25-54 demos for daytime? I remember CBS always did fairly well in those for daytime. I would like to see what those are today.

[Jess]

I don't think advertising revenue is based exclusively on 18-49. There has been a great deal of debate whether television -- at all levels not just daytime -- puts too much emphasis on that demographic.

Mark, that is a very interesting table. The residual for Y&R is larger than the total viewership for almost every other show on daytime (Bold is the exception). If male voters are distributed in the same percentages as women across age groups, it only makes that a greater number.

You know if you look at the "key demographic", it makes up only one out of three viewers at each of the soaps. I don't know if those factors make any difference, but it is interesting. I also wonder what percentage of older viewers (60 or older) watch out of habit as much as anything else.

It would be interesting to see on average how long soap viewers had been watching their soaps and how that varied across age groups. I doubt Nielson's asks that type question. The young viewers is pretty slim.

[SteveFrame]

I'm not sure if Toups still gets the over 50 rating or not. I know he used too but quit posting it. If he still gets it I know I would love to see it.

I have not seen it in about 2 years and at that time Y&R was still in the 5.s I think. I'm sure it is down now since their other demos are also lower now than they were then.

[MarkH]

Toups, if you read this, and have 50+, maybe ONE TIME, just for info, you could post the 50+?? I think it would clarify the numbers nicely.

[CSF]

Toups, if you have the 25-54 demos, can you post those as well too. pretty please

[MarkH]

Because a picture helps me to understand numerical concepts, I graphed the table above. As Carolyn1980 yesterday noted, this is still an underestimate of older (50+) viewers, since I don't know what % of the men are also older. Thus, this really shows only the % of the audience that is older WOMEN. The actual older audience is greater than that, if 50+ men could be tabulated and included.

[tgilbrea69]

Has anyone noticed that a prominent story-line that is playing out on ATWT during the past week has already happened, like 3 months ago, the same thing?!? And we all know how it will end. Does anything about this soap make sense any more. An ex husband has the flu - so he HAS to move in with with his ex wife. Is this common behavior somewhere in the universe that I have never visited??? Someone comes out of a coma and instead of letting their family know they are alive and conscious they move to a communal farm near and airstrip in a small town. It is insane!!! No actually if it were insane, it might be entertaining. This is just pathetic and boring.

[ATWT_GL_fan]

It isn't pathetic she didn't want to go back because of what Carly did, Carly betrayed her by seeing Craig the person who ran her off the road and put her in a coma, I get why Rosanna did that you must not.

[Eric83]

I was looking for through the Ratings Archive and I found some ratings from the Women 50+ demo.

It's from the week of August 9-13, 2004

Women 50+

1. Y&R 5.1

2. B&B 3.9

3. ATWT 3.5

4. GH 3.3

5. GL 3.0

6. AMC 2.9

7. DAYS 2.7

8. OLTL 2.4

9. PSNS 1.3

[MarkH]

Thanks. It would be great to get the M and F numbers from now, just for one week.

[SteveFrame]

I have never seen the M-F numbers broken down anywhere for the over 50 demo.

Not sure if they do that or not.

Or do you just mean the 50 over for one current week or just for a single day??????

[CSF]

It must have killed Frons, Guza and JFP that GH ranked so high in this demo.