• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

18-49 vs. 25-54

J

justthenumbers

From what I've been able to gather, it seems that while TV's coveted demographic is 18-49, radio's is 25-54.

For example, ratings-oriented articles in TV trade publications seem to focus almost entirely on 18-49 numbers. And it seems that the most commonly accepted way of determining network rankings at various points of the TV season is to look at their 18-49 averages.

On the other hand, with radio, I've seen reports sent out by stations or station groups to their clients in a local market, and the only demo (besides 12+) mentioned is 25-54. Also, on these boards, the radio professionals who post constantly hammer home the importance of 25-54 numbers, with little or no mention of 18-49..

Given that the two mediums compete with one another (in addition to themselves) for ad dollars, is there any particular reason for this difference?
 
justthenumbers said:
From what I've been able to gather, it seems that while TV's coveted demographic is 18-49, radio's is 25-54.

Given that the two mediums compete with one another (in addition to themselves) for ad dollars, is there any particular reason for this difference?
Click to expand...

I've never been able to discern any rationale for how ad agencies come up with demographics. Calling either 18-49 or 25-54 a meaningful demographic is hideously stupid in the 21st century but ad agencies do it anyway.

But to more specifically address your question, there is no apparent reason for the discrepancy between TV's emphasis on 18-49 while radio emphasizes 25-54 (primarily) except for tradition. Media buying is a very traditional and hidebound business.
 
Now that I think about it, with regards to TV, it seems that while network TV sales is focused on 18-49, local TV seems to be more about 25-54 - presumably because of local stations' emphasis on their news product, and presumably poor news ratings in general among 18-24 year olds.

I don't know much about network radio sales, so I don't know if its "sales demo" differs from what's considered important on a local level.
 
A little bit of input. As a 23 year old, I know many people my age who watch TV, and hardly any who listen to radio. If they do, it's public radio.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom