Who needs that elusive 18- to 34-year-old male audience anyway? Nielsen Media Research reports that women make up between 61 to 68 percent of the 18 to 49 age group for shows like "Everwood," "Two and
Half Men," "Grey's Anatomy," "Joey," "The OC," and "One Tree Hill."
And they're older women, too. "Two and a Half Men" on CBS ranks highest in median age with 49.8; "Joey" on NBC is second at
45.4, while "Lost" is third with 43.1, Nielsen reports.
At least one network, ABC, has read the signs. "ABC's goal is to be the choice for women 18 to 49, and that's a huge change for
them," says Jason Kanefsky, vice president and account director at MPG. It's a change worth making: "Women represent all the packaged goods money and all the automotive money for vehicles such as
minivans," he says.
Young men haven't vanished entirely. Of the shows above, "Lost" and "Grey's Anatomy" reported the highest number of male viewers 18 to 34.