'Office' Politics: NBC Leads Rivals In Upscale Appeal

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Even if ratings aren't as strong, NBC can continue to stake a claim from its heyday: it's an upscale network. In at least one demo this season, it has the two most upscale shows and is tied with ABC as the most affluent network.

NBC's "The Office" and "The Apprentice" have higher upscale indexes than all other prime-time network shows. That's according to a demo of 18- to-49-year-olds, living in homes with incomes of $100,000-plus.

"The Office" leads with a 148 index, while the Donald Trump-fronted reality series has a 146.

Three other NBC series are in the top 10: "30 Rock" (141), "Outsourced" (139) and "Parenthood" (131) -- leading any other network. Figures cover "live plus seven day" performance for the first three weeks of the season.

For the networks as a whole, NBC's index of 114 ties ABC at the top, followed by CBS at a 103 and Fox at a 99. NBC is the only one with a better index than last fall, when it was at 112. ABC is flat, and the others have dropped.

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A 100 index represents the average concentration of 18- to-49-year-olds, living in homes with a $100,000-plus income.

When measuring upscale audiences, the two leading metrics are the index -- or percentage of viewers with higher incomes -- and the sheer number of upscale viewers.

For high-end advertisers, a show with a high index but lower audience size can be a useful guide in finding cost efficiencies in reaching a target. In a sense, a smaller dartboard -- increasing the chance of a hit.

At a network level, advertisers just looking for mass -- or as many affluent viewers as they can find -- may gravitate to CBS. Its 3.7 rating leads in that demographic, "18-to-49/$100,000-plus income homes." And that's in line with the network leading in overall 18-to-49 ratings.

But on the upscale charts, NBC and ABC come much closer with 3.6 ratings, a point behind. Fox is fourth with a 3.2.

"The Apprentice" is an example of a show with a high index, but a middling audience size. Its 146 index is the second-highest for all shows in that "18-to-49/$100,000-plus income homes" segment. But its 2.5 rating in the demo is good for only 56th.

"The Apprentice" leans so upscale that when the income level is reduced to $75,000-plus its index drops 21 points to a 125. The rating falls to 64th.

"The Office" is more commensurate, with its 148 index tops in network prime time and its upscale audience size yielding a 7.5 rating, placing fifth.

Fox's "Glee" and ABC's "Modern Family" are standouts in both measures. With a 9.4 rating, "Glee" is the top-rated show in that "18-to-49/$100,000-plus income homes" demo. "Modern Family" follows with an 8.8.

In addition, their indexes fall just behind the two NBC shows with a 143 and 142, respectively. Networks might be able to pry a bit more from a BMW or Franklin Templeton for the shows.

A show such as Fox's "Family Guy" has an opposite dynamic from "The Apprentice." In a younger upscale demo -- adults "18-to-34, living in homes with $100,000-plus incomes -- the comedy draws a large audience with a 5.6 rating. That's good for seventh place. But its index is a 95 and tied for 58th, suggesting its audience has a low percentage of upscalers.

In that same demo, CW's "Gossip Girl" has an opposite dynamic. Its 150 index is tied with "The Office" in first place. But its 2.7 rating has it in a tie for 30th.

1 comment about "'Office' Politics: NBC Leads Rivals In Upscale Appeal".
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  1. Rob Frydlewicz from DentsuAegis, November 11, 2010 at 10:17 a.m.

    David, just wanted to compliment you on this article as you did a great job explaining audience concentration as well as coverage - and why each can be important to a TV buyer. All too often articles discuss just index or rating without mentioning the other.

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