In the 1970s and early '80s, teenagers were stumbling upon a new show called "Saturday Night Live." The edgy comedy of the Not-Ready-for-Primetime Players spoke to everybody, and they were drawn in by the show's hosts, a group of hot young up-and-comers like Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, and Madonna.
Watching the show many years later, I can't help but notice that, while the show still connects with teens and 20somethings, "SNL" has apparently recognized who is controlling the younger generation's purse strings. The hosts are increasingly in my age demo -- a parade of Baby Boomers -- and older.
What began last year as a Facebook-driven movement to bring octogenarian "Golden Girl" Betty White to the famed "SNL" stage has now become a full-fledged trend. Consider the following:
- "Glee" villain Jane Lynch hosted last October only a few months after hitting the magic 50.
- Jim Carrey had just turned 49 when he hosted in January.
- 55-year-old "SNL" vet Dana Carvey made a comeback appearance in February.
- "AARP Movies For Grown-Ups" award-winners Robert DeNiro (67) and "True Grit" star Jeff Bridges (65) took December spots.
This month, it showed no signs of stopping, with another over-60 double whammy: Sir Elton John (64) and Dame Helen Mirren (65).
What cultural Kool-Aid have the "SNL" producers and creator Lorne Michaels been drinking?
It turns out the sugary beverage they've been sipping is cold hard reality: the over 75 million boomers who will turn 47 to 65 this year not only control half of U.S. consumer spending, the average age of a primetime TV viewer this season is 51.
NBC-TV, where "SNL" lives, made a presentation last November to advertisers stating that, when it comes to spending, the 55-64 demo is just as important as the traditional 18-34 year-old media darlings.
As a matter of fact, all of the major television networks know what side the bread is buttered on, as evidenced by the host of 50+ stars who, no longer relegated to supporting roles as crotchety in-laws, now carry their own series as shrewd, commanding leads.
- Tom Selleck (66) stars in the prime-time TV show "Blue Bloods"
- Kathy Bates (62) stars in the prime-time TV show "Harry's Law"
- Steven Tyler 63-year-old rocker who is a judge on "American Idol," replacing 50-year-old Simon Cowell as fan favorite?
Boomers have the money and are becoming increasingly prominent in TV programming, yet the networks still charge far more to advertise on shows with younger viewers than ones that skew older.
While the networks have progressed, responding to the demographic shift in population, advertisers and marketers still have to be weaned off of the idea that recent college grads carrying a mountain of school debt somehow have more in their wallets than their parents and grandparents do.
With demand for accountability, advertisers will eventually get on the same page as the networks when it comes to catering to Boomers, their appeal and their spending. If it's imperative for marketers to "follow the money," they should look no further than who is turning on the television sets and paying the cable bills.
COMMENTARY: Despite the whole ‘newspaper death watch’ trend, current research shows that the TV is still the main media device for most consumers. At the same time, there are signs that do show some viewers, especially younger ones, switching off their boxes.
For example, the other day Gigaom reported on a Nielsen study done in TV-land: The United States. Nielsen shows that US TV viewers watched less in Q2 2010 compared to the previous quarter, but that’s a stat that can be explained away by seasonal factors. What’s more interesting is when you look at TV time by age group.
Certainly in the pre Internet 1980s, teens were the prime TV audience.
- 12-17 year olds - 103:46 hours:minutes a month watch less TV than any other age group.
- 18-24 year olds - 113:54 hours:minutes tune in for a significantly shorter period of time than other adults.
- 35-49 year olds - 145:06 hours:minutes a month.
- 50-64 years - 173:40 hours:minutes per month. Boomers watch more television than younger generations
- 65+ year olds - Almost 200 hours. Nielsen’s stats show that the older you are, the more TV you watch.
GigaOm comments, “it’s not a good sign for TV programmers and cable companies, which are gradually seeing their viewers getting older.”
Some additional stats from both the UK and US that support this trend:
- The UK’s Ofcom Communications Markets Report asks consumers about their most essential media. Looking at which one piece of media they would miss the most, 50% of all UK consumers chose TV. However, for the under 25s that dropped to 36%.
- Similarly, according to Pew Research, 53% of US adults aged 65+ consider their TV set an essential item, compared to 29% of 18-29 year olds.
A lot of that time spent away from the TV set is of course spent online. But there is also some evidence to show that social networks could be slowly bringing people back to the television set.
Last week Fast Company had a piece on Twitter bringing back “appointment TV” – live events that you want to share with your friends via social media (with your laptop or phone open beside you). And Motorola’s research out this week says that 42% of TV viewers have exchanged e-mails, had IM chats or used social media to talk about a TV programme at the same time they were viewing it, while 22% said that social media + TV “multitasking” was a regular feature of their television experience.
BTW, I love SNL, and watch it as often as I can. Here's one of my favorite SNL skits:
To appeal to a growing cadre of younger blog fans here's a more recent SNL skit:
In closing, drink more red wine, it's good for the heart and soul. Enjoy life.
Courtesy of an article dated April 11, 2011 appearing in MediaPost Publications Engage:Boomers and an article dated November 19, 2010 appearing in Lies, Damed Lies and Statistics
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