• by Wayne Friedman , May 10, 2007

ABC and NBC are still the big guns for advertisers when it comes to grabbing upscale TV viewers.

In a recent study conducted by Magna Global USA, ABC posted nine of the top 22 shows, with the highest upscale index among viewers ages 25-54--a score of 117--during the fourth and first quarters. NBC was next at seven shows. CBS had five and Fox one.

Some of those top shows include: NBC's "The Office" and "Friday Night Lights," ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "What About Brian," CBS' "Rules of Engagement" and "Amazing Race" and Fox's "24." These hit shows drew 25-54 viewers who averaged $68,000 in annual income.

In looking at specific regions, both NBC's "The Office" and "Andy Barker, P.I." scored some of the best numbers of any network show, averaging $93,000 and $83,000 respectively in the Northeast. ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" averaged the highest in the Pacific region, with $83,000.

Five of ABC's shows--"Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," "Brothers & Sisters," "Six Degrees" and "The Bachelor: Rome"--had the highest average median incomes across the country, with incomes of at least $70,000 in three of six U.S. regions.

Magna Global cautions that marketers shouldn't look at income data in a vacuum--particularly if a show has high upscale viewers but not many of them. Another consideration is size of households. A show with an average $65,000 income might be strong among one- to-two-person households, but weaker in three- to-four-person households.

The three lowest shows among adults 25-54 viewers, not surprisingly, came from the young-skewing CW: "Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll," "All of Us" and "Friday Night Smackdown," with incomes of $38,000, $38,000, and $33,000, respectively.

Cable news and sports networks enjoyed the most upscale appeal. Fox News Channel, HGTV and the NFL Network had the highest index with 126. ESPN and ESPN2 were next at 117. After that, 11 channels were tied for sixth place, with MSNBC, Headline News and CNN in the mix.

Incomes among respective Fox News, HGTV, and NFL Network viewers ages 25-54 averaged $73,000. ESPN was next with $68,000.