Nextstar Media Group’s plans for the newly acquired network The CW only required an introduction to become a joke on social media. In reporting on their plans to expand the viewer base, the station’s new owners said The CW’s average audience age is 58.
However, the channel is known for its teen series, full of superheroes and high schoolers, such as “Riverdale”, “All American”, “Legacies” and “The Flash”.
According to Nexstar President and COO Tom Carter, the difference between the age of the audience and the content is why The CW is the lowest-scoring network out of all five in the United States. The plan going forward would be to include more productions that reflect the “true age” of the audience.
The most curious thing is that the (still) president of the channel, Mark Pedowitz, never tires of commenting that the broadcaster’s young audience is the real reason for the low ratings, due to the habit of consuming online content. That’s why he always stresses the importance of CW Seed, the network platform, in his overall audience strategy.
Pedowitz, by the way, was not mentioned in the presentation, which included statements from executives from CBS and Warner, a company previously partner in the control of the CW (whose name is the acronym for the combination of CBS and Warner).
Carter’s comment ended up going viral on social media, in the worst sense.
“I would have laughed if the average age was 40,” Mike Royce, former producer of “On One Day at a Time” wrote on Twitter. “58 is a true comic book genius.”
Royce even suggested that his old 1950s comedy “Men of a Certain Age” join “Riverdale” on the network’s schedule.
There were a lot of jokes after that.
“Have you heard?” wrote Newsarama reporter Matt Sibley. “Apparently, the average age of CW viewers is 58. 58! Now, I know you’re thinking that’s absurd! But think about how long ‘Supernatural’ lasted.”
“Finding out that the average age of a CW viewer is 58 is the best thing that could have happened to me,” wrote screenwriter Caissie St. Onge (“Busy Tonight”). “Maybe it’s because when you’re 58 you finally have time to watch TV? Time to sit down, open a White Claw and live indirectly through fake teens doing shit you’ve always heard teens do?”
See below these and other posts (in English) on the declaration.
After Riverdale, stay tuned for a whole new one pic.twitter.com/EAPeceLF9S
– Mike Royce (@MikeRoyce) August 15, 2022
“Have you heard of it? – Apparently the average age of a CW viewer is 58. 58! Now I know what you’re thinking, that’s absurd!
But just think how long Supernatural has been in office. ” pic.twitter.com/ZbjyKRWyO1
– Matt Sibley (in his red era) (@Matt_Sibley) August 15, 2022
Finding out that the average age of a CW viewer is 58 is THE BEST thing that could have happened to me. Maybe it’s that when you’re 58 you finally have time to watch TV? Time to sit back, break a White Claw, and live indirectly through fake teens doing shit you’ve always heard teens did?
—Caissie (@Caissie) August 15, 2022
So this was the CW the whole time? pic.twitter.com/V6v0aCtTxs
– Scott of Rivia (@DerfelMacGuffin) August 15, 2022
average CW viewers watching organ harvesting cults and supernatural plots in Riverdale playout: pic.twitter.com/xSIAiVQZ9P
– barchiedaily (@Barchiedaily) August 15, 2022
the average CW viewer tunes in to Riverdale every week https://t.co/wXz4agIe23 pic.twitter.com/8mMhDK1339
– Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) August 15, 2022
*** The CW, 2006-2022 ***
– Super heroes
– supernatural
– sexy teens
*** The CW, 2022 – ???? ***
– The list of buckets: the series
– Golden Girls: The Next Generation
– Walker
– Alex Zalben (@azalben) August 15, 2022
Source: Terra
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
