Network News Needs Hip Young Viewers Such As You
The 18-34 year old demographic is most frequently described as "coveted," so those of us lucky enough to be in it know that the things we do are important. Not just to ourselves, but to the media, advertisers, and the nation at large. We set the trends, not the olds! So it's a big deal when they discover that out of all the things our sweet demographic does—eat cereal, purchase pogo sticks ironically, have sexual relations in the new style—one thing we're definitely not doing is watching the evening news. In fact, the latest numbers show network news ratings among important people like me and you are falling straight off a cliff, into what may prove to be the final resting place of the 6:30 news broadcast.
In the last six months, cable news ratings have risen, but network news ratings in our key demographic have fallen. CBS is down 21%, ABC is down 14%, and NBC is off 10%. The conclusion? Those shows are on too early for youngsters!
One reason is that the traditional newscasts air too early in the evening, when a lot of younger people are still working or on their way home. Others are in school. Or they're eating dinner or picking up kids from after-school activities.They simply never got into the evening news habit. Their TV watching comes later in the evening.
Also, there's the internet. Nightly network news still puts up big numbers relative to other TV news shows, but their figures are on a downward slope that doesn't show any sign of reversing itself. Of course, every new form of media is put on a deathwatch when a strong challenger arises—they thought radio was dead when TV was invented. Instead, mediums usually adapt and settle into a more specific audience base.
So what can Katie C, Brian W, and Charles G do to connect with coveted viewers like us? Move the shows to midnight, crack lots of sarcastic jokes about stuff, and make enough appearances on the nightlife scene to be perceived as a credible object of sexual desire. Consider this free advice from the generation that will soon, scarily enough, be running things.
