Despite the relative success of newer, younger-skewing programs like ABC’s “The Bachelor,” Fox’s “The Simple Life” and NBC’s “Average Joe,” the median age of television networks is up across all networks except NBC, which has held steady from 2002.
  The median age of the ABC viewer was up two years, to 45.3, in the fourth quarter of 2003 compare to the same period in 2002. CBS rose 1.6, to 53.1, while Fox rose 0.5, to 36.1. UPN rose 1.2, to 34, and the WB rose 2.0 to 32.6 years, according to a report from Magna Global USA.
   What’s most distressing is why this aging affect is occurring. 
   It’s not that viewers are in fact getting older but that, as widely reported through this season, younger viewers are fleeing the broadcast networks in droves, leaving in their wake the remaining audience of older adults.
   Just why younger people are moving away from broadcast faster than their older counterparts is unclear, but their departure is worrisome to advertisers. 
   “The age increase is more likely due to losing younger viewers than gaining middle-aged to older viewers,” says John Rash, director of broadcast negotiations for Campbell Mithun.
   “As the younger end opts for gaming, the internet, DVDs, and other media distractions, the networks’ average age increases, but not because they’re gaining a significant amount of adults 25-54.”
   As a result, networks find themselves with an audience with a higher median age than a year ago.
   The WB is at its oldest median age ever, up almost 10 years since 1995. ABC’s current median age nearly matches that of the network at the end of 2000, when four episodes of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” a week drove the network’s median age up 11 percent to 46.1.
   Nearly every network dropped in median age between 2001 and 2002, but increased again the following year. Only NBC maintained its median age of 45.8 from 2002.
   The change in median age has not been consistent over the years, pointing again to the idea that it reflects a change in the total audience rather than the ongoing aging of viewers.
   Fourth-quarter ratings among 18-49s were down across all networks between 2002 and 2003 except for Fox, which went up by a 0.1 rating point. 
   Similar losses have affected the networks among 25-54s as well. Only Fox and CBS showed any gains among 25-54s, with 0.3 and 0.1 increases respectively.
   That ability to retain or drive away viewers in any given demographic is dictated by programming, as evidenced in the rise in age when ABC introduced multiple nights of “Millionaire.”
   Similarly, the loss of two of WB’s youngest-skewing shows, “Sabrina” and “Dawson’s Creek,” has contributed to the network getting older.
   Only Fox, UPN and WB have programs with a median age under 30, tied with five each. The youngest show is new comedy “Run of the House” on WB with a median age of 25.5.
   On the older end of the spectrum, CBS commands 18 of the 28 programs with a median age over 50. NBC has seven and ABC has three. One-quarter of the over-50 shows are newsmagazines, including ABC’s “20/20” and “Primetime Monday,” NBC’s “Dateline” on Sunday and Friday, and CBS’s “60 Minutes” franchise and “48 Hours Investigates.” The oldest show is “60 Minutes II” with a median age of 59.7.
  CBS, which is at its oldest at 53.1, has an advantage of consistently drawing the greatest total network audience. As a result, losses in any one demographic tend to have less affect on the network’s overall delivery. For other networks, continuing to appeal to an array of viewers will prove critical in remaining competitive.
   “The networks need to make sure they can maintain their current viewers before they obtain new ones or ones who have defected,” say Rash.
   “By the very definition of being broadcasters, they need to appeal to a broad section of American demographics.”