Surge In Young Female Viewing: Is It Disaster Coverage, or Scripted Shows?

Why are young women watching much more TV this season? TV network and media agency researchers are scratching their heads.

For the first couple of weeks this year, TV usage in women 18-24 is up an eye-opening 14 percent versus the same period last year. Through October 9, women 18-24 are at a 29.1 percent persons using television (PUT) level, according to Nielsen Media Research. A year ago, it was a 25.5 PUT level.

"It's the highest it's been in four years," said Brad Adgate, senior vp and corporate research director for Horizon Media, New York.

"It's unusual for it to go up that much," said Jack Wakshlag, chief research officer for Turner Broadcasting System. Network and agency researchers say viewer groups don't shift their viewing patterns so radically.

Media research analysts suggest that perhaps a lot of those young women are watching more scripted programming--such as ABC's "Lost," "Desperate Housewives," and "Commander in Chief"--than reality shows of years past. The women 18-24 demo is also the target of MTV, UPN, and the WB.

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Wakshlag guesses the rise in overall ratings could come from news programming--particularly because of the hurricane disaster coverage in early September. "Viewer increases in news are always strongest with young people during times of intense news interest," he said.

A sharp rise in young female viewing seems to go against conventional wisdom that young TV viewers are moving away from TV to alternative media--the Internet, cell phones, iPods, and other technologies.

But that's not the case. "It's a total myth that young men and woman are leaving TV," said Wakshlag. "They are just now multi-tasking. Now we can measure it."

A few years ago, network researchers complained that another trend didn't make sense--young male viewing dropped some 14 percent, to 20 percent--causing an uproar among network research executives, with complaints that Nielsen's methodology was flawed.

But when usage unexpectedly goes in the other direction--by the same degree--there is little concern. "If the percentage dropped 14 percent, everyone would be all over Nielsen," said Adgate. "You would have Nielsen white papers."

This year so far, TV usage for young men 18-24 is up 5 percent, but still 5 percent below usage levels from the start of the 2002-2003 season.

Wakshlag said all TV viewing has been going up. For instance, season-to-date, the seven broadcast networks' household ratings are up 7 percent to a 28.4 rating, while ad-supported cable is up 6 percent to a 33.6 rating.

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