MEDIA LITERACY

Case Study

The United Segments of America: Niche Marketing in Cable

Individually, most cable television programs don’t generate very impressive audience numbers. A top network television program like NCIS on CBS delivers about eighteen million television viewers for an episode. A top cable television program like Jersey Shore on MTV delivers more than six million viewers; many cable hits draw closer to three or four million.

Yet taken together, cable television now attracts a larger total audience than the traditional television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and the CW). Moreover, a number of top advertisers such as General Motors are putting the majority of their television advertising budget into cable, not broadcast network television. The key to cable’s success is its ability to attract highly specific audiences, which may explain why some cable shows are gaining in popularity despite competition from the Internet and other media, while network shows continue to dip. Cable can still offer advertisers attractive demographics that may not be as focused on a particular network series or online program.

For example, Bravo, home of Real Housewives and Top Chef, bills itself as the best cable network to reach adult viewers ages 25 to 54 who have a household income greater than $150,000, hold top management positions, and have a graduate degree. Also, the Food Network is a top choice for reaching what it calls "upscale" women in this age bracket. These viewers are likely to be working women with a household income of $75,000 or more who have a Visa or MasterCard Gold card. Even news channels have niche audiences—Fox News Channel is known for being politically to the right of CNN and draws more male viewers, whereas CNN draws slightly more female viewers.

MTV offers itself to advertisers as the one channel that "owns the young adult demographic." MTV says that it is the "best way to connect" with the 12-to-34 age group, which at ninety-one million strong and growing represents 33 percent of the population and more than $250 billion in spending power. The median age of MTV’s viewers is 20.4.

Similarly, Black Entertainment Television (BET) markets itself as the best way to reach African Americans, who spend more than $500 billion on consumer products annually. BET’s main focus, especially in prime time, is the demographic of African Americans ages 18 to 34.

Where do you find the older demographics? Flip between the History Channel and the Weather Channel (median age 46) and A&E (median age 47). To reach children, advertisers can look to the Cartoon Network, where the audience is composed of 70 percent kids and teens. However, Nickelodeon is the king of this demographic, delivering more children under 12 than any other basic cable network. Its shows SpongeBob SquarePants and iCarly are the two leading children’s programs on cable. Overall, 62 percent of Nickelodeon’s audience is ages 2 to 11, 12 percent ages 12 to 17, and 26 percent adults 18 and above. Even more specifically, Nickelodeon claims to deliver more women ages 18 to 49 who have children under 12 years of age than any other basic cable network (apparently, the moms are watching with their children).

For women, Lifetime (with an audience of 76 percent women) is the top cable network, with Oxygen, SoapNet, and HGTV competing for the same audience. For men, ESPN (with an audience of 75 percent men) is the leader, and it claims more high-income male viewers than any other ad-supported network. Other cable networks that skew heavily male include the Speed Channel (85 percent men), the Golf Channel (74.5 percent men), ESPN2 (72.3 percent men), and Comedy Central (its hit series South Park "out-delivers all cable programs among men 12–34").

APPLYING THE CRITICAL PROCESS

DESCRIPTION Arrange to interview four to eight friends or relatives about their cable program tastes. Devise questions about the shows they watch. Note how their preferences have changed over time. Collect demographic and consumer information: age, gender, occupation, educational background, place of birth, and current place of residence.

ANALYSIS Compose a chart comparing the viewing preferences among these people. Do you recognize any patterns emerging from the data? What kinds of shows do people of different ages and genders watch?

INTERPRETATION Based on what you have discovered and the patterns you have charted, determine what the patterns mean. Does age, gender, geographic location, or education matter in programming tastes? Why or why not? Why do you think various people’s television preferences developed as they did?

EVALUATION Determine how your interview subjects came to like the particular programs. What constitutes "good" and "bad" shows for them? Did their ideas change over time? How? Do you think their criteria are a valid way for cable companies to target audiences?

ENGAGEMENT To expand on your findings and see how they match up with industry findings, track down a cable company representative and ask whom they are trying to target with their shows. How does the company find out about the program tastes of its consumers? Share your findings with the representative and discuss whether they match the company’s practices.