Syndie Perks: Hits Younger Demo, Better Ratings

Network news or cable news? What's the choice? Syndication executives say you are missing a third option: those crazy entertainment/celebrity-oriented magazine shows.

Shows like "Entertainment Tonight," "Inside Edition," "Access Hollywood" and the like compete well against "ABC World News Tonight," "NBC Nightly News" and CBS Evening News," according to the industry ad sales trade group Syndicated Network Television Association.

In the key adult 25-54 demographic for the first month-and-a-half of the season, "Entertainment Tonight" posted a 2.4 rating. This bested the ABC newscast (2.0), as well as NBC's (1.9) and "CBS Evening News" a (1.5).

"Inside Edition" was the next-best after "ET" among syndie shows. It tied CBS and beat four other syndie magazine shows, as well as cable news shows Fox's "The O'Reilly Factor" (0.4) and CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" (0.2).

"Access Hollywood" (1.3), "The Insider (1.2), "Extra (1.0), and "TMZ" (1.0) all beat the top cable news shows, according to SNTA.

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The SNTA also says the median age of its entertainment news shows is the youngest: 51 years old. Network newscasts averaged 57-year-old viewers; network prime-time magazines shows were at 61; and cable news shows came in at 64.

Virtually all syndication programming has smaller advertising pods than the broadcast or cable networks. The same template also follows for syndication entertainment news shows.

Yet the SNTA says these shows have more "A" positions--61% of all its advertising slots--than network or cable. The "A" position is the first advertising slot after program content, which has been deemed the most valuable among advertisers because of its higher viewership.

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