• Ad Age, Monday, May 24, 2010 11:52 PM

The median age of viewers of regular prime-time fare is nearing 51 (Fox, the youngest, is 44). That's two years past the age widely considered to be the point of no return for the most-coveted advertiser demographic. Why are advertisers clamoring for inventory when the medium can bypass younger viewers? Reach.

No other media outlet is able to put a 30-second commercial in front of the "most" of any demographic in one fell swoop. Sure, there may be fewer of those valuable consumers between the ages of 18 and 49 watching -- and fewer still, perhaps, of consumers between 12 and 24 -- but there are still more of them watching "American Idol," "30 Rock" or "Grey's Anatomy" than in most other places.

A $3.5 million study conducted by the Nielsen-backed Council for Research Excellence in 2009 found that younger baby-boomers (between the ages of 45 and 54) consume the most video media, taking in an average of just over nine-and-a-half hours each day. Of that time, 336 minutes per day -- more than five-and-a-half hours -- was devoted to live TV.

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