02 October 2006

Old People are Gynophobes, Anyway

Is that the subtext of this post?

CBS spinning the disappointing ratings of Katie Couric, claiming that they may be losing the +54 for crowd, but who wants them anyway?

They don't come out and say that old folks won't accept Katie because they still hold old fashioned ideas about the press and expect their anchors to come across all 'voice of god' like, but that is an interpretation that is readily available.

Thing is, all those new 25-54 viewers who didn't watch the news before and tuned in out of curiosity, will most likely tune out over time.

Also, TV's obsession with 'the demo' of viewers 25-54 is based on outmoded assumptions. The assumption is that folks 55+ are set in their ways, and beyond selling them on various prescription medicines, are set in their brand loyalties, uninterested in the latest in tech innovations, and uninterested in entertainment outside of their home. But, now many Boomers are 55+ and they are always going on about their exceptionalism and relatively youthful vigor, these folks aren't the same sexagenarians that advertisers used to shun back in the 60s and 70s. They have money, they have disposable income, often they still have some small children at home, they still chase the latest fashions and technologies, and they still have all the keeping up with the joneses zeal that used to only be the provenance of those in their late twenties through early forties. In other words, they still are a lucrative market to sell crap to.

1 comment:

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Hell. I'm a gyno-phobe...every year when my annual 'pelvic exam' comes around.