It was a big concern among media buyers when the WB and UPN merged into the CW: Where would UPN’s African-American audience go once that network’s largely black lineup was squished into a two-hour block on the new network?
It turns out the CW is only picking up perhaps half the black audience who used to watch UPN and the WB. But contrary to earlier fears, the other half have not quit watching television.
They've simply scattered to other networks. New information from Nielsen Media Research shows that the number of African Americans watching the broadcast networks is virtually unchanged from last season.
Actually, it's even up a tad. The African-American audience on the broadcast networks in primetime this season is about 9.3 million households, on average, versus 9.2 million last season.
Overall, the WB-UPN merger resulted in the loss of perhaps a million young viewers. These are people who apparently simply quit watching television entirely. It was assumed that a good share of them were blacks because of the reduced number of black-skewing shows on the merged network.
But it appears the effect was rather to move them to other broadcast networks.
“By decreasing the amount of programming available, [the CW] is forcing people to go to other places to find their entertainment,” explains Linda Jefferson, senior vice president and director of integrated marketing strategies at Burrell Communications.
The CW’s primetime rating among African Americans for the season through Dec. 15 is a 3.2. That is just over half the 6.2 rating UPN had last season. It’s also well above the WB’s 1.4 but not enough to make up the difference.
CBS and NBC each have a 3.6 rating, with CBS slightly down and NBC up from a 2.8. ABC has a 3.5, down from a 4 rating, and Fox is about flat with a 3.1 rating.
What's interesting is that those black viewers have not migrated to cable. Cable's black ratings are unchanged from last year.
As part of the migration to the Big Four broadcast networks, some shows with multi-racial casts are seeing notable gains in black viewers.
CBS’s “CSI: Miami,” for instance, has a 7 rating so far this season among African Americans 18-49, up from a 6.2 last year, according to a Magna Global analysis of Nielsen ratings released this week.
NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” is also up, to a 6.3 from a 5.8 rating.
Other programs doing well in this demographic include NBC’s "Sunday Night Football," the third highest-rated show in this demographic, Fox’s “House,” and ABC reality show “Dancing with the Stars.”
Moreover, ratings among African Americans are starting to pick up for black-oriented programs on the CW, says Sam Armando, senior vice president and director of video research at Starcom.
The network goofed early this season by slotting its African-American programs on Sunday, where shows like “Everybody Hates Chris” slumped against tough competition. The CW now airs these programs on Monday, where they had long been a staple on UPN.
The average ratings this season for shows like “Girlfriends” reflect the troubles the CW was having on Sundays.
The 18-49 rating for “Girlfriends” among African Americans, for example, is a 7.7, compared to a 10.7 last year, when it was the top-rated program.
The CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” is currently the top-rated show among blacks, but its rating has dipped to a 7.8 from an 8.3.
“We’ve seen the ratings go up since [the CW] moved these shows to Monday,” says Armando. “If they stay at these higher levels for the rest of the year, you will see the CW end the year higher than where they started off.”
