• by Wayne Friedman , January 21, 2009

Emotionally bonded to your TV show? That may mean more to advertisers than just pure TV viewership.

Marketing Evaluations' Q Scores says high emotional bonding to TV shows is a better indication of future TV performance. In a recent study with its new metric, "Emotional Bonding Q scores," a number of scripted cable dramas posted better emotional levels than broadcast TV shows among women viewers.

Showtime's "Dexter," Sci-Fi Channel's "Sanctuary," ABC Family's "The Middleman" and HBO's "True Blood" bested all top broadcast TV shows. With a 100 index being average, "Dexter" hit a 174 index with females 18-49, the highest of any TV show. "Sanctuary" had a 171, "Middleman" was at 168 and "True Blood" earned a 157.

Some of broadcast TV's best-rated TV shows also scored high in emotional bonding.

ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" was at the top with 148. Others in the top 10 included ABC's "Desperate Housewives" (145); NBC's "Heroes" (141); CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (139); and Fox's "House" (138).

But a number of middle- to-lower-rated broadcast shows also scored high in emotional bonding. CW's "Privileged" was ranked second overall with a 145 score. NBC's "Lipstick Jungle" was in fifth at 139, Fox's "Bones" was at 137 and its "Prison Break" was at 134.

Henry Schafer, executive vice president of Marketing Evaluations' The Q Scores Company, said in a release: "Our new metric reveals a cost-effective way to create strong advertising impact in today's tough economic climate, as emotionally committed viewers are more frequently exposed to and more receptive to advertising."