COMMENTARY Finding Young Audiences for Legacy TV Networks: The Pull of Streaming Platforms

 By having more local-direct businesses using best practices media marketing, local businesses can capture those long sought-after, young families! Philip Jay LeNoble, Ph.D.

COMMENTARY

Finding Young Audiences for Legacy TV Networks: The Pull of Streaming Platforms

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, March 8, 2023

CBS is still making the case that programming size matters -- in linear TV and streaming.

But does this mean altering the types of programming genres -- to get younger viewers -- especially for streaming?

CBS currently has eight prime-time shows that get more than 10 million viewers each -- which is much more than any other network.

This list includes “NCIS” (11.7 million); “Ghosts” (11.6 million); “FBI” (11.4 million); “Blue Bloods” (11.3 million); “Young Sheldon” (10.8 million); “The Equalizer” (10.4 million); “Fire Country” (10.3 million); and “60 Minutes” (10.0 million).

Results come from Nielsen live program-plus-35 days of viewing on CBS Television Network, Paramount+ and CBS TVE (CBS.com/CBS app) and are available to watch on the Network and streamed live and on demand.

Considering the ongoing concerns over reach on the part of TV advertisers, you can understand why this still matters.

It's no surprise that these shows are down from years ago, with the median age still rising for those shows -- 60-plus years and older.

But all TV networks then talk up that when those same prime-time shows move to their streaming platforms, they get younger -- for example, in the 40- to-45-year-old range. 

Going forward, then, as streaming becomes more important in the distribution mix, one wonders what kind of programming will make up linear TV programming in future years.

For its part, NBCUniversal -- as well as other networks -- sees linear TV networks as a launch pad of sorts, one where advertisers can still use legacy prime time for more “brand” wide marketing. And when those shows move to streaming, they can be used by marketers for more younger, niche audience targeting.

A greater overall percentage of viewing of TV shows that start on legacy TV networks and then move to streaming will be for younger viewers.

So does the initial TV production of series change to something else -- shifting away from criminal procedural shows, medical  and emergency dramas?

Maybe all this won't be to target, say, younger Gen Z viewers. Maybe just those around 35 to 45 years old.

For CBS and other older-skewing TV networks, perhaps help is on the way. Maybe there is something these networks can count on as part of those ever bigger legacy TV-media companies.

Aren't CBS and MTV and VH1 all part of the same company? Go figure.