TV with MeeVee

Network TV Audience Has Fallen And It Can't Get Up

It's rare for TV viewers to care about demographics. But this is a killer. A new report from research firm Magna Global shows that the network TV audience as a whole has aged out of the demographic most desired by advertisers. The median age of the broadcast audience is now 50, while ad buyers want to reach viewers aged 18-49. This might be an awesome time to sell your network stock. You can read the report yourself by clicking to this TV By The Numbers item and downloading the PDF.

Median age means half the audience is younger and half is older. The half-century mark was reached because the audiences for ABC, NBC and Fox have gotten older, while the traditionally old CBS has stayed steady. The Magna Global study pegs CBS at 53, followed by ABC at 49 and NBC at 48, while Fox's median age is 43 and CW's is 34. The median age for the U.S. population, by the way, is 38.

What are the oldest-skewing shows? ABC's canceled "Women's Murder Club" came in at a median age of 57, followed closely by "Dancing With The Stars" at 55. On CBS, the oldest show was "60 Minutes," at, ironically enough, 60. NBC's "Monk" came in at 58. Fox's oldest was "Canterbury's Law" at 55. CW's was the canceled  "Life Is Wild" at 45.

The youngest? CW's "One Tree Hill" and "Gossip Girl" came in between 36 and 29, depending on the night. Fox's "American Dad" and "Family Guy" at 29. For NBC, it was "Scrubs," at 34. For CBS, "How I Met Your Mother," at 45. For ABC, "Supernanny" at 41 and "Lost" at 43.

Interestingly, time-shifted viewer (by DVR etc.) drops the median age for some shows significantly. "Lost" drops to about 38 when the 22 percent of its audience who time-shift their viewing are considered.

Not surprisingly, Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" is the oldest-skewing late-night program, with a median age of 54 for NBC. But Conan O'Brien's "Late Night", who follows Leno, has the youngest audience of the major shows, at 46.

All of this suggests that either the five broadcast networks - and especially the big three - will become less and less attractive to advertisers. Their saving grace, though, might be the baby boomers, the demographic pig in the python, who are also aging.

Ratings Giveth, Taketh Away

That sounds you hear is groaning from the fans of shows that are predicted to be heading for cancellation. We've already talked about "Jericho." Now the Hollywood Reporter says Lifetime has passed on the chance to pick up "Men In Trees" and "October Road" from corporate sister ABC, likely dooming "Road" and maybe "MIT" as well. Meanwhile, TV Decoder says don't get your hopes up for the survival of Julianna Margulies' drama "Canterbury's Law" and "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman Palladino's sitcom "The Return Of Jezebel James" (right). Both got what are technically referred to as "sucky" ratings over the last week. TV By The Numbers" says the same thing. The bright spot, according to the AP, is "Friday Night Lights," as the executive producer says he's optimistic NBC will renew the beloved but ratings-challenged drama.

Morning Reading: What Shows Are Coming Back?

• Handicapping the future of some of TV's on-the-bubble series. (Hollywood Reporter)
• At least we know "Prison Break" is coming back. (GMMR)
• But "Jericho" almost certainly isn't. (TV Decoder)
• I think I'm still more excited about the female spinoff of "Prison Break," but, uh, word is that Fox is cooking up a contemporary "90210" spinoff. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Ratings bode well for "Canterbury's Law," not so much "New Amsterdam." But the real joy is that Dennis Miller's "Amne$ia" totally sucked it. (Televisionista)

Honestly, I don't have a link for this, but the funniest thing I've seen on TV all week was Dennis Miller and Bill O'Reilly - Bill O'Reilly! - waxing wroth over Gov. Spitzer's scandals. I mean, Bill, loofah this.

"Canterbury's Law" Star Julianna Margulies Talks

The star is Julianna Margulies, late of "ER" and (briefly) "The Sopranos." Joining her as an executive producer is Denis Leary ("Rescue Me"). And the pilot was directed by Mike Figgis ("Leaving Las Vegas"). So it's right to expect a lot when "Canterbury's Law" bows Monday night on Fox.

Margulies stars as Elizabeth Canterbury, a Rhode Island defense lawyer known for pulling out all the stops. She's got demons, she's overly fond of drink, but she gets the job done, if in unorthodox fashion. She's like a female version of "House." She's got an ethnically assorted support team like him, too.

The demons? Well, she and her law professor husband (Aidan Quinn) are still tormented by the unsolved disappearance of her young son. In Monday's pilot, she finds herself defending an accused child killer in toe-to-toe confrontations with the victim's hot-headed father. But what havoc will the case wreak on her life outside the courtroom?

Earlier this week, Margulies got on the phone with reporters and bloggers to talk about the show. An edited transcript follows...

Question: I’m calling from Rhode Island.  You portray a Rhode Island lawyer.  You don’t speak with a Rhode Island accent, but you do act unethically.  I’m wondering if that’s the Rhode Island connection.
J. Margulies:  (Laughing.)  No, I don’t think so. That’s very funny.  No, I do not speak with a Rhode Island accent, which was a very conscious decision.  I think it would have taken away a little bit; people would have been like, huh?  But I don’t think Rhode Island lawyers are unethical.  Now we’re going to get into all sorts of trouble, aren’t we? I just think that this woman ended up there; she’s not necessarily from there.

Question: Why was it set in Rhode Island?
J. Margulies:  Honestly, you would actually have to ask the writers that.  But I honestly think it was – Boston has been done, New York has been done – they’ve all been done.  Let’s try Rhode Island. And you can double New York as Rhode Island anytime.

Writers Strike: Bad To Worse, Fox Re-Sets '08 Sked, "24" On Ice

It really is Apocalypse Hollywood. And Jack Bauer can't save us.

 Positions are hardening, the mouthpieces for both sides have become lightning rods for their opponents, and as everyone really looks at their production schedules and business models, the effects of the strike are being felt faster than anyone thought. Fox late yesterday announced a complete schedule re-set for the rest of the 2007-2008 season.

The network lists revised premiere dates for new and returning shows and a "mix of original and encore episodes to begin in January." The "24" premiere has been postponed, apparently till next season, "to ensure that Day 7 can air uninterrupted in its entirety." A Fox boss told the Hollywood Reporter that it just won't air this season, due to the uncertainty about the strike. "American Idol" bows Jan. 15-16, two hours both nights. Repeats of "House" will air on Mondays and Fridays, although a new episode with Mira Sorvino is set for after the Super Bowl. Premieres of midseason shows have been scattered through March and April, with Julianna Margulies' "Canterbury's Law" not bowing until April 11.

Dooooooooom.

And there's more.

A deal was missed by 12 hours? REALLY? (Variety)

The two sides are "further apart than they have ever been, and that’s saying a lot. Both sides believe they have fresh and ample reasons not to go back into negotiations anytime soon or even backchannel." (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

A whole lot of shows, careers and businesses are hanging in the balance, waiting for a creative, open-minded person or persons to step up and find a way out of this mess. If that doesn't happen, we're in trench warfare, Verdun on Pico, and this TV season is just the first thing going down in flames.

Casting Update - "Lost" Of Course

Reports from here, there and everywhere say Rebecca Mader (left), formerly of "Justice," is joining the cast of ABC's "Lost," perhaps in the hottie-prof Kristen Bell turned down in favor of a spot on "Heroes." ... Colm Feore is joining the cast of this season's "24" as First Husband of President Cherry Jones. ... TV Guide says Aidan Quinn is joining "Canterbury's Law" as the husband of Julianna Margulies' character.If you think about it, though, this is a casting choice with national political  implications. He replaces Linus Roache, who is moving to a larger and/or better role as the new assistant prosecutor on "Law & Order," now that Sam Waterston is the DA. Waterson got the promotion because Fred Thompson left to maybe run for president in the real world. So really, Aidan Quinn just got an acting job because Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney don't have the full support of the conservative base.