| medialifemagazine.com Younger viewers
The recent Republican and Democratic national conventions logged surprisingly strong ratings among viewers 12-17, drawing higher averages than the CW’s top show in the demo, reflecting the high interest in this election in an age group that is often dismissed as having little interest in current events. The four-day Democratic National Convention averaged a 3.0 rating among 12-17s, according to Nielsen data, while the three-day Republican gathering averaged a 2.6. That includes coverage across 10 broadcast and cable networks. Obama’s acceptance speech averaged a 4.5 rating, or nearly double the 2.3 that “Girl” pulled in its debut last week among 12-17s. McCain’s acceptance speech averaged a 3.4, equaling the highest-rated show among teens on broadcast last week, a rerun of Fox’s “Family Guy.” Nielsen does not have demographic breakdowns for the 2004 convention, so it’s impossible to say if the teen numbers are up. But those following the campaign say they’ve seen evidence of higher interest this year in the age group. “I do think more young people are interested in the 2008 race, because it's a lot more interesting. It's different,” says Julie Mason, a political reporter for The Houston Chronicle who also serves as an expert for Seventeen.com’s election blog, Electionista. “In 2004 it was a race between two old white guys. What young person can really identify with that? Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and now Sarah Palin have really raised the level of interest in the race overall this year, and that includes people too young to vote.” Teens undoubtedly feel closer to these candidates for other reasons, too. Obama and McCain have had presences on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook for months, and teens are a huge part of the audience for YouTube, where both candidates have their own channels. That’s undoubtedly fed the idea that politics is actually sort of cool. Sites for Seventeen and CosmoGirl! have launched sections dedicated to the election. Celebrity magazines, a favorite among teens, frequently feature the candidates. Mason says she also credits some of the increased interest to teens noticing that their favorite celebrities have become involved in the election. “In 2004 I saw a lot of young people at rallies, standing with their parents and looking like they had been physically dragged there,” she says. “This year there seems to be more kids showing up for events, together in groups and with their parents, and just anecdotally they seem much more interested and involved.” *** Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending Sept. 7: Among teens 12-17, Fox led with a 1.6 rating and 6 share, followed by NBC and CW at 1.4/5, Univision at 1.3/5, ABC 0.6/2, CBS at 0.5/2, Telemundo at 0.2/1,Telefutura at 0.1/0 and Azteca at 0.0/0. Among kids 2-11, NBC was first with a 1.4/6, followed by Fox at 0.9/4, NBC at 0.8/4, CW at 0.6/2, ABC at 0.5/2, CBS at 0.4/2, Telemundo and Telefutura at 0.2/1, and Azteca at 0.0/0. The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday noon); 2. Nickelodeon’s “Go Diego Go” (Tuesday 12:30 p.m.); 3. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday 11 a.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “The Backyardigans” (Tuesday 1 p.m.); 5. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday 11:30 a.m.) The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. Disney’s “Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (Monday 8:30 p.m.); 2. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday 9:30 a.m.); 3. Disney’s “Hannah Montana” (Monday 9 p.m.); 4. Disney’s “Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (Monday 8 p.m.); 5. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday 11:30 a.m.)
The top five shows among kids 9-14: 1. Disney’s “Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (Monday 8:30 p.m.); 2. Disney’s “Hannah Montana” (Monday 9 p.m.); 3. Disney’s “Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (Monday 8 p.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Saturday noon); 5. Disney’s “Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (Friday 11 p.m.)
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