How Old is Your Show?

Are you a young mind in an old body? Chances are, unless you are the aforementioned anomaly, I can tell you how old you are by the shows and channels your regularly watch. No, I’m really not clairvoyant, just someone who has read the new median age chart for television viewers. Some of the results are quite surprising, especially if you’re an avid viewer of cable news. Judging by the numbers, all of us CNN junkies should be packing our bags for the nursing home.
When it comes to prime time cable news, the 55+ age bracket is the largest group of watchers. In prime time, Headline News has a median age of 56 years, MSNBC 56.1, Fox News 61.2 years and CNN 65+. Those same cable news outlets switched it up a bit for daytime viewers; Headline News 51.2, Fox News 59.7, MSNBC 61.3, and CNN 63.2. And in late night it’s Headline News again in the lead with 50.9, followed by MSNBC with a 53.3, then CNN at 56.6, followed by Fox with a 57.1. This really isn’t great news for CNN, old viewers mean lower ad revenues. Maybe that, in part, explains all those commercials for Head On and audio Bibles? And whatever happened to Trim-a-Beard? But, as usual, I digress.
Sadly, my prime time favorite episodic television put me at a media age of 49.08. And there was one more bit of bad news for my ever aging ego. Since when is there a network called CW? The media age for all of it's programs is 31.4. I’m going to find this CW and start watching. I’m feeling younger already.

Basic Cable Median Ages (Prime, Day, Late Night)
October 2003 - May 2004
Source: MAGNA Global USA analysis of copyrighted Nielsen Media Research data.

6-11			40-44			50-54
Noggin	Day	5.6	TBS	Prime	40.0	Turner South	Prime	49.6
Nickelodeon	Day	7.6	ESPN2	Late	40.3	Outdoor Life	Prime	50.1
Toon Disney	Day	8.8	Oxygen	Day	40.5	Travel	Prime	50.2
Disney	Day	8.9	Learning	Prime	40.8	National Geo	Late	50.2
Cartoon	Day	9.4	Discovery	Prime	41.2	Food	Prime	50.3
Toon Disney	Prime	9.6	Disc. Health	Late	41.5	Lifetime	Prime	50.5
Cartoon	Prime	10.0	TV Guide	Prime	42.0	History	Day	50.5
Nickelodeon	Prime	11.2	WGN	Late	42.4	Biography	Day	50.7
Disney	Prime	11.3	CMT	Day	42.8	Headline	Late	50.9
12-17			Disc. Health	Prime	42.9	AMC	Late	51.1
Disney	Late	12.2	Speed	Late	43.1	National Geo	Prime	51.5
Noggin	Prime	14.4	Turner South	Late	43.2	Animal Planet	Day	51.6
Nick-At-Nite	Prime	14.7	Outdoor Life	Late	43.3	Biography	Prime	51.7
Toon Disney	Late	15.2	CMT	Late	43.5	Weather	Prime	51.7
Noggin	Late	15.3	ESPN	Prime	43.7	CNBC	Late	51.9
Cartoon	Late	15.9	Spike	Day	44.0	Court	Day	51.9
18-24			Soap	Prime	44.2	A&E	Late	52.0
Fuse	Late	19.5	45-49			Hallmark	Late	52.0
Fuse	Prime	19.6	Oxygen	Late	44.8	HGTV	Late	52.1
Fuse	Day	20.1	Soap	Late	44.8	Bravo	Day	52.1
MTV	Day	20.1	Oxygen	Prime	44.9	History	Prime	52.2
ABC Family	Day	20.7	Food	Late	44.9	National Geo	Day	52.2
MTV	Late	21.7	Animal Planet	Late	45.1	Food	Day	52.6
MTV	Prime	22.2	Bravo	Late	45.1	Court	Prime	52.8
BET	Day	22.3	Bravo	Prime	45.3	Game	Late	53.2
25-29			Discovery	Day	45.6	BBCA	Day	53.2
VH1	Day	26.1	Sci-Fi	Late	46.0	MSNBC	Late	53.3
BET	Prime	27.6	Lifetime	Day	46.2	AMC	Prime	53.4
Comedy	Late	28.4	TNT	Prime	46.3	TV Land	Prime	53.5
Comedy	Prime	28.8	Sci-Fi	Day	46.3	HGTV	Prime	53.7
VH1	Late	28.9	USA	Late	46.4	TV Land	Day	54.0
Comedy	Day	28.9	Sci-Fi	Prime	46.5	Weather	Day	54.0
30-34			Lifetime	Late	46.6	WGN	Day	54.3
TBS	Day	30.0	USA	Day	46.8	55-59
VH1	Prime	30.5	Travel	Day	46.9	HGTV	Day	55.1
Nickelodeon	Late	31.2	WE	Late	47.0	Turner South	Day	55.1
BET	Late	31.4	TNT	Day	47.1	Headline	Prime	56.0
Nick-At-Nite	Late	33.2	Travel	Late	47.4	AMC	Day	56.0
Disc Health	Day	33.5	Biography	Late	47.4	MSNBC	Prime	56.1
35-39			WE	Day	47.4	A&E	Prime	56.6
Spike	Late	35.3	ESPN2	Prime	47.5	CNN	Late	56.6
ESPN	Late	36.2	Speed	Prime	47.6	FOX News	Late	57.1
E!	Day	36.4	Weather	Late	47.6	CNBC	Prime	57.6
ESPN	Day	36.4	Lifetime Movies	Day	47.6	Headline	Day	58.2
ABC Family	Prime	36.6	Outdoor Life	Day	47.6	Game	Prime	58.6
Learning	Day	36.8	Animal Planet	Prime	47.7	CNBC	Day	58.8
TV Guide	Day	36.8	TV Land	Late	47.8	Game	Day	58.8
Spike	Prime	37.4	BBCA	Prime	48.1	60+
TV Guide	Late	37.4	Lifetime Movies	Late	48.1	FOX News	Day	59.7
ABC Family	Late	37.5	USA	Prime	48.2	Hallmark	Prime	60.1
E!	Late	37.7	Speed	Day	48.3	A&E	Day	60.4
Discovery	Late	38.0	History	Late	48.5	Hallmark	Day	60.7
FX	Late	38.0	Lifetime Movies	Prime	48.6	FOX News	Prime	61.2
TBS	Late	38.2	CMT	Prime	48.7	MSNBC	Day	61.3
FX	Day	38.7	Court	Late	48.7	CNN	Day	63.2
E!	Prime	39.1	WGN	Prime	48.8	CNN	Prime	65+
Learning	Late	39.1	WE	Prime	48.8
40-44			BBCA	Late	49.0
ESPN2	Day	39.6	Soap	Day	49.1
FX	Prime	39.9