Cable News Is Almost Exclusively Watched by Old People
Just like dentures, Metamucil and fringed lampshades, cable news has a devout following in just one sector of society: the old one.
According to new data released by Nielsen, the number of people watching 24-hour cable news channels went up this year. From The New York Times:
For the 14th consecutive year, Fox News led in total viewers and in the 25-to-54-year-old demographic crucial to advertisers. The network’s average of 1.8 million viewers in prime time placed it second among all cable channels, the highest finish for a cable news channel ever.
But the most interesting bit about the data is the age demographics: the median age for CNN viewers is 61, and 63 for MSNBC, and 67 for Fox News. The young audience—one that’s coveted by advertisers—still remains out of reach for cable news, probably because the kids are just too busy for the news these days.
