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| Younger viewers | |
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| Younger viewers | |
not into it: Teen girls Females 12 to 17 are the only major demographic Aug 22, 2008 The Olympics have been red hot this year, posting increases over Athens 2004 in nearly every demographic. But there’s one group that’s actually tuning out of this Olympics, and that’s teenage girls. Girls 12-17 were the only major demo seeing decreased ratings versus 2004 through the first six days of these Games, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by Magna. Female teens averaged a 5.4 rating in that span, down 11 percent from a 6.1 for Athens. By comparison, total viewership in that period was up 14 percent, and viewership among women was up 9 percent. What’s more, 2008 marks the lowest-rated Olympics among teen girls since at least before 1992, the most recent data analyzed by Magna. It’s even worse than the 2000 Sydney Games, which set all-time low marks among virtually every other demographic. And Beijing’s 5.4 is barely half the 10.7 rating for teen girls in Barcelona in 1992. No other demographic has slipped quite so steeply. So why the decline among teen girls when the rest of the country can’t get enough of the Games? There are several reasons, and perhaps the biggest is that, leading up to the Olympics, only a small minority of teens labeled themselves excited about the Olympic Games. A Harris Interactive Youth Center of Excellence poll found that 30 percent of teenage girls were not at all interested in the Olympics. A mere 40 percent labeled themselves “at least interested,” compared to 57 percent of teenage boys. Clearly many girls had no intention of watching the Games at all. Late start times may also have hurt teen girls’ ratings. Among female teens, more than half in the HIYCE poll said that gymnastics was the sport they were most interested in watching. But gymnastics events often didn’t even begin airing until 11 p.m., which may have made teens impatient and more likely to look for something else on television or online. There has also been a lot of teen-friendly counterprogramming. ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” for example, still drew huge teen ratings opposite the Olympics. MTV’s “Making the Band” premiere and The N’s “Degrassi: The Next Generation” finale also aired opposite the Olympics. Finally, viewership generally among teenage girls on broadcast has been down the past year, and part of that is due to non-tube distractions. Teen girls are texting, going to summer movies like “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” and logging on to Facebook rather than spending time with their families watching TV. Plus, if they had a yen to watch something, teens are huge consumers of online video. It’s likely some girls are simply picking and choosing their highlights on NBCOlympics.com. *** Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending Aug. 17: Among teens 12-17, NBC led with a 4.8 rating and 18 share, followed by Univision at 1.0/4, ABC, CW and Fox at 0.7/3, CBS at 0.6/2, Telemundo at 0.3/1,Telefutura at 0.1/1 and Azteca at 0.0/0. Among kids 2-11, NBC was first with a 3.9/14, followed by Univision at 1.1/4, ABC at 0.6/2, CW and Fox at 0.5/2, CBS at 0.4/2, Telemundo at 0.3/1, Telefutura at 0.2/1 and Azteca at 0.1/0. The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Wednesday 11 a.m.); 2. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Wednesday 11:30 a.m.); 3. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Tuesday 11:30 a.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Wednesday 10:30 a.m.); 5. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Tuesday 11 a.m.) The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday 11:30 a.m.); 2. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday 11 a.m.); 3. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday noon);4. Disney’s “High School Musical 2” (Saturday 8 p.m.); 5. Disney’s “Hannah Montana” (Saturday 10 p.m.)
The top five shows among kids 9-14: 1. NBC’s “Summer Olympics” (Tuesday 8 p.m.); 2. NBC’s “Summer Olympics” (Saturday 8:30 p.m.); 3. NBC’s “Summer Olympics” (Monday 8 p.m.); 4. NBC’s “Summer Olympics” (Thursday 8 p.m.); 5. Disney’s “Hannah Montana” (Saturday 10 p.m.)
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