TV Land, Nickelodeon's Nick at Night nostalgia knockoff network, rebranded itself as the baby boomer-viewing destination yesterday, as President Larry Jones declared: "Boomers will now be the filter
of everything we do."
Jones made the statement at a press conference yesterday to accompany TV Land's release of a study it commissioned. The study reiterated boomers' frustration
that TV and its advertisers place too much emphasis on young audiences and are "leaving a lot of money on the table," according to author and authority on aging Ken Dychtwald, whose consultancy Age
Wave conducted the study in tandem with Harris Interactive.
Dychtwald even coined the term "middlescence" to describe the new power demographic, which he described as "40- to 59-year-olds who
have hit their stride and look forward to the future."
According to the study, middlescence has replaced the midlife crisis, and advertisers should seize the opportunity. The demographic has the
most money of any media audience, and are spending it across more product categories and services than any other age group.
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The study debunked popular misperceptions about boomers as being set in
their ways and over the hill, at least as far as how boomers perceive themselves. And while Dychtwald said one of the defining hallmarks of middlescence was a transition from success to significance,
coupled with a forward-looking ambition, TV Land's slate of new reality series didn't reflect that reality. "High School Reunion" and "Back to the Grind" are decidedly regressive concepts.
"We're
continuing to evolve," said Jones. "As we learn more about our viewers, we will continue to expand into the many different important areas of their lives, while remaining entertaining and funny."
TV Land, which the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau says is in approximately 87 million homes, is looking to muscle in on territory claimed by independent network American Life TV, which calls
itself "The Baby Boomer TV Choice" and is in about 10 million homes.
"We say that's great; come on in, the water's fine," says Larry Meli, president and COO of American Life TV. "The challenge
for us is not positioning as a baby-boomer network; it's gaining critical mass and marketplace leverage as an independent network, compared to one owned by Viacom, Time Warner or Comcast."