• by David Kaplan , September 10, 2004

As Republicans and Democrats argue whether there are two Americas or not, when it comes to the new TV season, the country is clearly divided along those familiar red and blue lines, a new study commissioned by Interpublic Group media shop Initiative indicates.

The online survey of 1,000 individuals focuses on the most anticipated new TV shows as chosen by Republican, Democratic, undecided, and decided voters. The results could have implications for television networks, advertisers, and political parties looking to reach key constituencies leading into the November election.

Within the reality genre, Republicans were 28 percent more likely than the average respondent to be interested in watching "I Hate My Job" on Spike TV, while Democrats were 22 percent less likely than average (no word as to whether anyone working for the Bush or Kerry campaigns participated in the survey).

For example, also within the reality genre, Republicans were 36 percent more likely to be interested in watching Lifetime's "How Clean Is Your House?" but were 39 percent less likely to be interested in watching "Take My Kids, Please!" on WE, which probably befits the party that has claimed the "family values" mantle. And Democrats, perhaps seeking a vicarious thrill, were 45 percent more likely than the average respondent to be interested in watching "The Billionaire" on Fox, though they may have confused the show with NBC's returning reality series "The Apprentice," which features Donald Trump intoning the words many Dems would like to direct to the current president: "You're fired!"

Within the animation genre, Democrats were 43 percent more likely than the average respondent to be looking forward to watching NBC's "Father of the Pride," although Nielsen Media Research found that the second airing of the show this week had 20 percent less viewers than the premiere. So much for meeting expectations! Conversely, Republicans were 10 percent less likely than average to want to view that show. (Note to Bush campaign: don't quote lines from "Pride" in the debates!)

As for the overall study, NBC has five out of the 10 most anticipated new fall shows by all parties, though CBS' "CSI-New York" is the most anticipated fall show overall (43 percent of respondents were interested in watching the program).

"Certain shows have an audience composition that draws in more decided/undecided or Republican/Democratic voters," an Initiative rep said. "For example, on our top-10 list, NBC's LAX has the largest percentage of decided voters (67 percent) in its potential audience and NBC's Father of the Pride the largest percentage of undecided voters (41 percent). Politicos looking to reach voters in fall premiere programming would gain insight from this research."