• by David Kaplan , January 12, 2005

A few years back, when NBC conceived the prime time drama "Providence," the network might have had a bigger success had they decided to fashion the series as a reality show--as the actual city of Providence, R.I., is the leader in reality television viewing among the 75 local markets, according to marketing consultancy Scarborough Research.

According to Scarborough, 30 percent of consumers in that local market "typically" tune in to reality television, versus the national average of 23 percent.

And perhaps as an influence on documentarian Michael Moore, his hometown of Flint, Mich. was the second local market to favor reality TV at 29 percent; the home of the fictional 1970s "radio station" WKRP Cincinnati tied with Flint.

Scarborough also examined three subcategories of reality television: reality-talent, reality-adventure, and reality-dating. Providence and Raleigh, N.C. lead U.S. cities in reality-talent television viewing. Fourteen percent of consumers in each of these local markets tune in to the genre, versus the national average of 9 percent. Providence and Cincinnati are the top local markets for reality-adventure television, with 21 percent of consumers in these markets watching this programming.

Nationally, 15 percent of consumers usually watch reality-adventure.

Los Angeles, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Kansas City, Mo. are the leading cities for reality-dating, with 30 percent of adults in each of these markets tuning in to this genre, compared with the national average of 23 percent, Scarborough's study said.

"Scarborough's information about TV genre viewing at the local level helps advertisers to truly understand the differences in the way consumers in different cities use television," said Cheryl Greenblatt, senior vice president, broadcast television for Scarborough. "Different markets tend to be better local targets for different programming types; even with network TV, the old maxim may be true that all marketing is truly local."

As for examining the consumer profile of the reality viewer, Scarborough found that they are "avid restaurant patrons." Furthermore, these viewers intend to purchase a broad spectrum of consumer goods, including cars, sporting events tickets, and cellular services. Half of these consumers have been to a Chinese/Asian restaurant, and one-third ate at a Mexican restaurant during the past month. And much like the former cast members on "Friends," they are 23 percent more likely than all consumers to have been to a coffee house during the past month (when you don't have to show up at a TV studio every week, that apparently leaves more time for actual TV viewing).

Additionally, Scarborough found that 14 percent of reality television viewers plan to buy or lease a new car during the next year. They are 26 percent more likely than all consumers to plan to buy or lease a new SUV, and 13 percent more likely to plan to buy or lease a new van or minivan. More than one-third (35 percent) intend to purchase tickets to sporting events during the next year.

And lastly, these consumers are 33 percent more likely than the national average to switch their cell phone carrier during the next 12 months.

"Understanding the purchasing patterns and lifestyles of the reality television genre is essential to a successful marketing program, including ad and product placement," Greenblatt said. "Reality television will become an even hotter opportunity for product placement as it continues to develop and fragment. Shows are becoming more targeted in terms of topic, but continue to strive to balance this with mass appeal." The study also confirmed the view that reality television tends to draw a young audience.

Reality television viewers are 40 percent more likely than all consumers to be ages 18 to 34, and 12 percent more likely than all consumers to be white collar. Fifty-one percent of reality TV viewers have at least one child in the home (compared to the national average of 42 percent), and 30 percent have at least two children in the home (compared to the national average of 24 percent). They are 12 percent more likely than all consumers to be blue collar, and 20 percent more likely to be single.