Television programmers take note of the Silver Tsunami

Mark Dawidziak of The Plain Dealer put together a trenchant piece recently:

Television programmers take note of the 'Silver Tsunami' as viewers age
America's over-50 population has more than tripled since 1945, jumping from 30 million to 94 million. And here is what's grabbing some marketers' attention: according to AARP, they spend $17 trillion (that's trillion) annually ... "The irony is that the networks are chasing an audience that is abandoning television," Donnellan said. "Younger people are on line. Americans 50-plus watch 30 to 40 percent more television than Americans under 50. They tend to be not only wealthier, but better educated. They're hungry for quality programming." ...

Not much of this is particularly eye-opening info for the handful of marketing/advertising/media folks who focus on this issue - but it's always good to see the subject vetted in the mainstream press.

I've been talking about it for years - in my book, this blog, my articles on the web, in trade mags. And in all those interviews (search the left column here and click a few links under IN THE MEDIA).

A few blog posts over the years:

The steady glow of the Boom tube

Study: TV's youth obsession backfiring

CNBC, Hampton, Jerry and Me

The Search For Mr. Adequate

Mr. Dawidziak's piece also touches on the real issue - and hints at a solution:

While advertising strategies for 50-plus viewers would be challenging, they'd also be economically rewarding ... "There's this huge bucket of money out there called over-50," Schofield said. "But we're not peer-driven and we're hard to track as a demographic because we're not homogeneous. Our diversity is really confusing the advertisers and marketers. But we have the money and we're willing to spend it."

Only the basis of my book, this blog, and everything else I'm always prattling on about. If I pointed you to every post in this blog that touches on these subjects I'd link to almost all 350+ of them.

But as I've said numerous times - if you don't believe me, believe Rance Crain:

Calcified Advertising Agencies

Rance Crain Makes Perfect Sense Yet Again

Another good piece in Variety:

TV viewers' average age hits 50
By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER
The broadcast networks have grown older than ever -- if they were a person, they wouldn't even be a part of TV's target demo anymore.