As TV audiences age, media companies are shifting their advertising strategies to focus on mass-market reach rather than demographics. With the median age of TV viewers now well into the 60s at many networks, media executives are downplaying the importance of age for advertisers. Notably, even MTV, once known for its youthful audience, now has a median viewer age of 51, according to Nielsen data. Networks like Fox, MSNBC, and CNN have median viewer ages in their 70s. This shift in viewer demographics has led to a new advertising pitch where age is considered less relevant, dubbed the 'Balance of Nature' effect. CNN, for instance, drew just 83,000 viewers aged 25-54 during the week of May 13-19 in its primetime slot, highlighting the challenge traditional media faces in attracting younger audiences. This trend has been reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Mainstream media is dead. The median MSNBC viewer is 70 years old. Source: WSJ / Nielsen https://t.co/iB8VQHzdu1
Fascinating. Half of the people watching Fox, MSNBC and CNN are in their 70s. No wonder this traditional media is slowly dying. Quite literally. https://t.co/qJNyVL79sA
With the median age of an MTV viewer at 51, ad-buyers have decided that maybe age ain't nothing but a number. More important is figuring out where your customers are and meeting them there. Fascinating story by @thesimonetti and @JBFlint. https://t.co/OzVTMmrtEq via @WSJ
🇺🇸TRADITIONAL MEDIA IS DYING FASTER THAN EXPECTED | X SPACES GET A LARGER AUDIENCE CNN, which claims to be “the most trusted name in news,” drew just 83,000 viewers aged 25-54 during the week of May 13-19 in its primetime 8-11 pm slot. According to Nielsen, it was CNN’s… https://t.co/au55Ve0p1s
“Even the once-youthful MTV’s median-age viewer is 51, according to Nielsen data.” https://t.co/4v36TxKjxa
As TV audiences get older, media executives are focusing more on the mass-market reach of TV, and playing down the importance of age for advertisers (Wall Street Journal) https://t.co/MSvyElqQDY https://t.co/UtZqk0Yw6f
Call it the "Balance of Nature" effect. With the median age of TV viewers well into the 60s at many networks, media companies’ new advertising pitch is that age doesn't matter. W @thesimonetti https://t.co/YvuSlyEvDq
TV Networks are selling reach vs demographics these days. Like me, they are trying to embrace getting older! W/@thesimonetti https://t.co/ozfzHMnuio via @WSJ