Find the median age for viewers of each broadcast network this season vs. last
Broadcast TV is for folks with more salt than pepper in their hair — especially during this oddball season, it seems. In a study of the median age of viewers for the broadcast networks thus far this season, TheWrap found that usually youth-skewing CW’s median-age viewer is 58.3 years old — a whopping six-and-a-half years older than last season. Meanwhile, ABC’s own median-age viewer nudged up a bit and Fox’s increased by nearly one year.
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Some of that can be explained away by a continuing shift to digital viewing by the younger Americans. That’s especially true of The CW’s audience, which tunes in for a heavily comic-book-inspired lineup that includes “The Flash,” “Riverdale,” “Supergirl” and “Batwoman.” Since its 2006 launch, the network has also boasted the youngest median viewer of all the broadcast networks.
Another factor is the overabundance of reruns in the first few months of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic’s production shutdowns. That trend also disproportionately impacted The CW, which barely ran any original primetime programming until last month. It is likely that a not-insignificant number of older Nielsen panelists tune in to their local news on The CW and just leave the TV on the network into primetime. When the millennials don’t offset that from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. (because of the encores), the median age inches up.
Also Read: 'The Equalizer' Kept More Viewers Than Any Post-Super Bowl Show Since 2013
The good news is that the network’s viewership is nudging younger again in recent weeks. Since The CW began to debut its original content, the network’s median-age viewer has fallen by about one-third.
Meanwhile, some networks have found some version of the Fountain of Youth this season. NBC’s median-age audience has ticked down a hair from last season, and CBS saw its median-age viewer decline by nearly two years.
It’s important to note two things:
1. We’re looking at Live + 7 Day data, so these median ages include those who watch programming via their DVRs — otherwise the ages would likely skew even older.
2. While our data sets for both seasons have the same start date, this season cuts off after the first week in February 2021 while we have — and are including — statistics through the entirety of Nielsen’s 2019-20 television season.
Also Read: NBC Joins Fox and ABC in Ditching Nielsen's Live + Same Day TV Ratings
Below are the current-season’s (Sept. 21, 2020 – Feb. 7, 2021) median-age viewer per broadcast network, ranked from youngest to oldest. As you can see, Fox is the youngest-skewing network — not The CW. NBC isn’t all that far off either.
Fox: 54.7 years old (+2% from last season’s 53.8 years old)
The CW: 58.3 (+13% from last season’s 51.8 years old)
NBC: 58.5 (-1% from last season’s 58.8 years old)
ABC: 59.0 (+1% from last season’s 58.6 years old)
CBS: 61.2 (-3% from last season’s 63 years old)
The traditional 2019-20 TV season, as set and measured by Nielsen, started on Sept. 23, 2019 and ended on May 20, 2020. That means COVID-19 impacted the end of the prior season in certain cases.
15 New Winter Shows Ranked by Premiere Viewers, From 'Debris' to 'The Equalizer' (Photos)
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NBC/Fox/CBSIs it cold in here, or is it just the "Cherries Wild" TV ratings? TheWrap has ranked the Big 4 broadcast networks' (CBS, NBC, Fox and ABC) new series by the viewership for their winter 2020-21 debut episodes.
We have 15 thus far, with more on the way. Check out TheWrap's gallery here.
Also Read: 2021-22 TV Season: Every Broadcast Show Canceled, Renewed and Ordered – So Far (Updating)
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FoxRank: 15 • Show: "Cherries Wild" • Net: Fox • Total Viewers: 1.111 million • This Pepsi-produced game show had a flat debut.
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ABC
Rank: 14 • Show: "The Hustler" • Net: ABC • Total Viewers: 1.993 million • Hustlin' skills will need to improve if this show wants to get away from the bottom of the Nielsen chart.
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Fox
Rank: 13 • Show: "The Great North" • Net: Fox • Total Viewers: 2.275 million • Way too far south on this list to be great.
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Fox
Rank: 12 • Show: "Name That Tune" • Net: Fox • Total Viewers: 3.036 million • It ain't the old days of TV ratings, but this'll do. (Especially for Fox.)
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ABC
Rank: 11 • Show: "Call Your Mother" • Net: ABC • Total Viewers: 3.227 million • A premiere audience that not only a mother could love.
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CBS
Rank: 10 • Show: "Clarice" • Net: CBS • Total Viewers: 3.960 million • "Silence of the Lambs" sequel series "Clarice" was not very silent in its debut, drawing 4 million viewers and topping its 10 p.m. time slot.
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NBC
Rank: 9 • Show: "Kenan" • Net: NBC • Total Viewers: 4.071 million • The lead-out for "Young Rock" didn't have quite as strong a debut as its lead-in, but "SNL" staple Kenan Thompson still drew a decent crowd.
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Fox
Rank: 8 • Show: "The Masked Dancer" • Net: Fox • Total Viewers: 4.123 million • Doing its parent series, "The Masked Singer," semi-proud with a strong-enough debut audience, which came on the heels of an NFL doubleheader.
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NBC
Rank: 7 • Show: "Debris" • Net: NBC • Total Viewers: 4.360 million • Not garbage.
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NBC
Rank: 6 • Show: "Mr. Mayor" • Net: NBC • Total Viewers: 4.917 million • Cheers to Ted Danson.
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NBC
Rank: 5 • Show: "Young Rock" • Net: NBC • Total Viewers: 5.034 million • "Young Rock" was NBC's most-watched sitcom debut since 2017. Congrats, Dwayne.
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Fox
Rank: 4 • Show: "Call Me Kat" • Net: Fox • Total Viewers: 5.372 million • Mayim Bialik's new sitcom lapped up a whole bunch of viewers -- for a comedy, especially for a Fox comedy -- but it also followed a good NFL game.
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ABC
Rank: 3 • Show: "The Chase" • Net: ABC • Total Viewers: 6.203 million • Just chasing "The Equalizer" (with a big asterisk) and "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" -- for now.
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ABC
Rank: 2 • Show: "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" • Net: ABC • Total Viewers: 7.831 million • NOT bankrupt.
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CBS
Rank: 1 • Show: "The Equalizer" • Net: CBS • Total Viewers: 20.4 million • Immediately following Super Bowl LV, "The Equalizer" bowed to what appears to be a whopper of an audience. But in context, the Queen Latifah drama drew the third-smallest audience ever for a show that had the Super Bowl as its lead-in.
“The Masked Dancer” doesn’t even make the Top 5, but “Young Rock” does
Is it cold in here, or is it just the "Cherries Wild" TV ratings? TheWrap has ranked the Big 4 broadcast networks' (CBS, NBC, Fox and ABC) new series by the viewership for their winter 2020-21 debut episodes.
We have 15 thus far, with more on the way. Check out TheWrap's gallery here.
Also Read: 2021-22 TV Season: Every Broadcast Show Canceled, Renewed and Ordered – So Far (Updating)
Tony Maglio
TV Editor • tony.maglio@thewrap.com • Twitter: @tonymaglio