Nielsen finds audiences are aging

55-plus age bracket is fastest-growing demo

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

The adults 18-49 demographic remains the gold standard among advertisers -- yet TV auds keep getting greyer.

According to Nielsen's 2008-09 national universe estimates, the 55-plus age bracket is by far the fastest-growing TV audience demo -- accelerating at twice the rate of the overall TV audience.

The ratings company estimates that 71.4 million TV viewers are over age 55, up 2.7% from last year. In comparison, total viewers over the age of 2 number 290 million, up 1.3% from last year.

The 55-plus group also far outpaces younger demos. The number of adults 18-34 watching TV next year will increase 1.5% to 68.2 million. And the 18-49 demo will see only a 0.7% increase (to 119.1 million). Teens 12-17 (40.8 million) will grow by 1.2%.

The growing population of older auds could mean a greater disconnect between total viewers figures and young adult numbers. In other words, shows targeted at aging boomer folk may post boffo total audience ratings but limp in the demos that advertisers care about.

CBS research chief David Poltrack noted that the industry is still adjusting to the notion that such a large and vital portion of the population is moving out of target range and into the 55-64 demo.

They "control an extraordinary percentage of wealth and assets of country and have the most discretionary income," he said. "They're big consumers, and they're going off the radar screen."

Poltrack said he believed advertisers are recognizing the shift, however. He noted that new measurement methodologies coming out of TV set-top boxes -- which are less age-based, and more dependent on measuring product consumption and other factors -- could alter media marketing and planning decisions.

While the ranks of boomers and older folk are expanding, they also watch a lot more TV than those younger whippersnappers. In a separate Nielsen report, the company found that viewers 65-plus watched 177 hours and 50 minutes worth of traditional TV this past May. Viewers 55-64 watched the second-most regular TV, 159 hours and 59 minutes.

Adults 18-24 watched just 103 hours and 27 minutes, while the 25-34 group watched 118 hours and 59 minutes.

"In most other industries, if a business found an audience segment that huge and underserved, and decided to target them, they'd be lauded as forward-thinking," one network exec said of the older demo. "But until advertisers put a real value on that audience, things won't change that much."

In other demographic news, Hispanic, Asian American and African-American households continue to outpace the overall growth of TV homes.

For the 2008-09 TV season, Nielsen estimates 114.5 million TV households, up 1.5% from last year. Asian-American TV homes have increased 4.4%, to 4.7 million, while Hispanic households are up 4.3%, to 12.7 million. African-American TV households have ticked up 2.2%, to 14 million.