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thanks to Thursdays
'Survivor'-'CSI' duo skims monied set from NBC
By Kevin Downey
It is now not just fact but legend that CBS, the ever-gray network, moved against NBC and its powerful Thursday night lineup with "Survivor" and "CSI" and stole away a goodly number of the younger viewers advertisers so care about.
But it turns out CBS stole away more than the young bloods.
It got their wallets, too.
In going up against NBC's "Friends"-led lineup, CBS has been able to substantially increase the overall affluence of its audience.
CBS, which routinely leads in viewing households, is now the second-most-affluent network, a move up from No. 3 just last year.
The median income of the network’s adult 18-49 audience is now $58,100, an increase of 17 percent. The median income of the average U.S. household is $57,200, which increased 11 percent since 1999.
"There are many advertisers that specifically target upscale audiences," says Steve Sternberg, senior vice president and director of audience analysis at Magna Global USA, who authored an analysis of each network audience’s median income.
"Looking at median income gives you an easy way, with just one number, to look at a variety of demographics without having to look at all these little pieces of Nielsen data that are out there."
"Survivor" and "CSI" are part of a small group of CBS shows that have among the highest median incomes in primetime. The audiences for the two shows have household incomes in the $60-65,000 range, a group that also watches CBS Monday sitcoms, like "Everybody Loves Raymond."
The Magna research analysis found that the affluence of CBS’s audience increased the fastest of any network's. All of the networks' audiences have higher median incomes than they did two years ago.
Overall, ABC fell to No. 3 but is up around 10 percent; Fox is No. 4 and trails CBS by about $5,000, compared to less than $3,000 last year.
The WB and UPN have the lowest median incomes, but both posted low- to high-teen percentage increases.
UPN, which has a median income several thousand dollars less than the WB’s, had a 17 and 18 percent increase among adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, respectively.
Much of those increases comes from "Enterprise," the highly rated new series in the "Star Trek" franchise. The show’s audience has a median household income between $55-60,000, which is $5,000 more than UPN’s second-most-affluent show, "Buffy."
Still, NBC remains by far the most affluent network.
"NBC got more upscale when it started going away from a lot of the comedies that it had on and went toward more dramas," explains Sternberg.
"That increased their age a little bit, which is no big deal, but it also made them more upscale."
The two shows with the highest median income, in fact, are "The West Wing" and "Law & Order," two NBC dramas that air back-to-back on Wednesday. Both shows have median incomes of more than $70,000 and are the only two shows in that range.
The median income of NBC’s adult 18-49 audience, one of two demographic groups that most advertisers target, is $63,600. That’s an increase of 11 percent in the past two years. It’s 11 percent above the national average, and it’s more than 9 percent higher than CBS’s median income.
Among adults 25-54, NBC’s median income is $66,500, or 10 percent above average, and about 7 percent higher than CBS’s.
NBC also remains substantially younger than CBS, even with "Survivor" and "CSI." CBS's median age went from 52.4 to 51.2 but it is still the oldest network, while NBC's is 45.1 and heading down. ABC's is 46.6 and on the rise.
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MEDIAN
HOUSEHOLD INCOME |
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|
Adults 18-49 |
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|
Network |
2001 |
Index |
2000 |
1999 |
% Chg |
|
(vs. U.S. Avg.) |
2001 vs. |
||||
|
ABC |
57.5 |
101 |
55.2 |
52.5 |
10 |
|
CBS |
58.1 |
102 |
53.9 |
49.6 |
17 |
|
FOX |
52.9 |
92 |
51.0 |
48.1 |
10 |
|
NBC |
63.6 |
111 |
60.1 |
57.5 |
11 |
|
UPN |
44.8 |
78 |
38.8 |
38.2 |
17 |
|
WB |
50.0 |
87 |
42.1 |
43.5 |
15 |
|
U.S. Average |
57.2 |
55.0 |
51.6 |
11 |
|
|
Adults 25-54 |
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|
Network |
2001 |
Index |
2000 |
1999 |
% Chg |
|
(vs. U.S. Avg.) |
2001 vs. |
||||
|
ABC |
60.9 |
101 |
57.5 |
54.9 |
11 |
|
CBS |
62.2 |
103 |
56.8 |
51.9 |
20 |
|
FOX |
57.0 |
95 |
53.8 |
49.9 |
14 |
|
NBC |
66.5 |
110 |
64.3 |
59.9 |
11 |
|
UPN |
47.3 |
79 |
41.6 |
40.0 |
18 |
|
WB |
51.9 |
86 |
44.2 |
46.0 |
13 |
|
U.S. Average |
60.2 |
57.5 |
54.0 |
11 |
|
|
Source: Magna Global USA using data from Nielsen Media Research |
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MEDIAN
HOUSEHOLD INCOME RANGES |
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|
Median Income |
Show |
Net |
|
$70,000+ |
Law & Order |
NBC |
|
West Wing |
NBC |
|
|
$65,000- |
E.R. |
NBC |
|
Ed |
NBC |
|
|
Friends |
NBC |
|
|
Inside Schwartz |
NBC |
|
|
Just Shoot Me |
NBC |
|
|
NYPD Blue |
ABC |
|
|
Will & Grace |
NBC |
|
|
$60,000- |
24 |
Fox |
|
20/20 |
ABC |
|
|
60 Minutes |
CBS |
|
|
Alias |
ABC |
|
|
Ally McBeal |
Fox |
|
|
Becker |
CBS |
|
|
Boston Public |
Fox |
|
|
Crossing Jordan |
NBC |
|
|
CSI |
CBS |
|
|
Dateline Monday |
NBC |
|
|
Dateline Sunday |
NBC |
|
|
Dateline Tuesday |
NBC |
|
|
Education of Max Bickford |
CBS |
|
|
Everybody Loves Raymond |
CBS |
|
|
Frasier |
NBC |
|
|
JAG |
CBS |
|
|
King of Queens |
CBS |
|
|
Law & Order: SVU |
NBC |
|
|
Monday Night Football |
ABC |
|
|
Once & Again |
ABC |
|
|
Philly |
ABC |
|
|
Providence |
NBC |
|
|
Scrubs |
NBC |
|
|
Spin City |
ABC |
|
|
Survivor: Africa |
CBS |
|
|
The Practice |
ABC |
|
|
$55,000- |
60 Minutes II |
CBS |
|
CBS Sunday Movie |
CBS |
|
|
Dateline Friday |
NBC |
|
|
Dawson's Creek |
The WB |
|
|
Enterprise |
UPN |
|
|
Felicity |
The WB |
|
|
Gilmore Girls |
The WB |
|
|
Law & Order: Criminal Intent |
NBC |
|
|
Malcolm in the Middle |
Fox |
|
|
The District |
CBS |
|
|
The Guardian |
CBS |
|
|
Third Watch |
ABC |
|
|
Weakest Link |
NBC |
|
|
Yes, Dear |
CBS |
|
|
$50,000- |
48 Hours |
CBS |
|
ABC Saturday Movie |
ABC |
|
|
According to Jim |
ABC |
|
|
Angel |
The WB |
|
|
Buffy |
UPN |
|
|
Drew Carey |
ABC |
|
|
Ellen |
CBS |
|
|
Family Law |
CBS |
|
|
Flix Wednesday |
The WB |
|
|
King of the Hill |
Fox |
|
|
Millionaire Monday |
ABC |
|
|
Millionaire Thursday |
ABC |
|
|
My Wife & Kids |
ABC |
|
|
Smallville |
The WB |
|
|
That '70s Show |
Fox |
|
|
That's Life |
CBS |
|
|
UC Undercover |
NBC |
|
|
Undeclared |
Fox |
|
|
Whole Line Wednesday |
ABC |
|
|
Whose Line 8:30 |
ABC |
|
|
Wonderful World of Disney |
ABC |
|
|
$45,000- |
Dark Angel |
Fox |
|
Grounded for Life |
Fox |
|
|
Guinness Book of World Records |
Fox |
|
|
Nikki |
The WB |
|
|
Raising Dad |
The WB |
|
|
Reba |
The WB |
|
|
Ripley's Believe It or Not |
The WB |
|
|
Special Unit 2 |
UPN |
|
|
That '70s Show II |
Fox |
|
|
The Tick |
Fox |
|
|
Touched by an Angel |
CBS |
|
|
$40,000- |
Roswell |
UPN |
|
America's Most Wanted |
Fox |
|
|
Bernie Mac |
Fox |
|
|
Charmed |
The WB |
|
|
Cops |
Fox |
|
|
Cops 2 |
Fox |
|
|
Maybe It's Me |
The WB |
|
|
Off Centre |
The WB |
|
|
Popstars 2 |
The WB |
|
|
Sabrina |
The WB |
|
|
Titus |
Fox |
|
|
UPN Friday Movie |
UPN |
|
|
Less than |
Family Guy |
Fox |
|
Girlfriends |
UPN |
|
|
One on One |
UPN |
|
|
Steve Harvey |
The WB |
|
|
The Hughleys |
UPN |
|
|
The Parkers |
UPN |
|
|
WWF Smackdown |
UPN |
|
|
Source: Magna Global USA using data from Nielsen Media Research |
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January 7, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
-Kevin Downey is a staff writer for Media Life.
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