Founded only sixteen years ago, The CW network has generally been seen as not just the youngest broadcaster, but also the broadcaster with the youngest audience.
So there was surprise earlier this week when the president of the network’s new owner Nexstar revealed during an investor conference call that the average viewer of The CW was 58 years old.
The news spawned plenty of discussions. Are a lot of middle-aged people really that into “The Flash,” “Supernatural,” or “Riverdale”? In a follow-up piece in Variety, who consulted with ratings measurement company Nielsen, it turns out that the stat was correct – but there are some caveats.
It seems the stat only considers linear viewers, which have skewed older and older across broadcast in recent years as younger audiences cut the cord and move to streaming platforms (which aren’t counted).
Going by the Live+7 total day numbers, which cover everything viewed on a network for up to a week after airing, the CW’s average viewer clocks in at 58.4 years old, according to Nielsen.
It turns out The CW isn’t the broadcast network with the youngest linear audience, turns out its FOX at 56.2. Then comes NBC at 61.3, ABC at 62.2 and finally CBS at 63.3.
In a comparison of Live+Same Day vs. Live+7 viewing, which looks at those opting to check out a series on DVR, The CW had the biggest age drop by a factor of twice that of CBS and more than six times that of ABC. This suggests millennial broadcast viewers are watching at their own discretion as opposed to live viewing.
