Skewing Old

I live a rich, full life.  I work full time.  I write a weekly blog.  I sing in a choir.  I perform in a musical theater production at least once a year.  I usher for the Pittsburgh Public Theatre and go to shows all the time.  I like to eat out.  I have a smartphone and a laptop computer, and I am beginning to think about getting a tablet (and I mean an electronic device when I say that, not several sheets of lined paper on a piece of cardboard).  I have 466 Friends on Facebook (who range in age from 10 to 85), and I have Twitter and Linked In accounts.

You know what else I like to do?  Watch TV.  Actually, I LOVE to watch TV, and always have. There is nothing that makes me happier than the chance to spend an evening at home watching TV.

  

I was between the ages of 18 and 49 for a while and those were some tough years for me financially.  I went from being a near-penniless college student who had rely on my parents (who were in their 50’s) for money to being a recent college graduate with a low paying job in my field (who sometimes skipped meals to make ends meet) to being a married person who didn’t make a lot of money with a growing son who needed to be fed and clothed, to being a recently divorced person in her mid-40’s who was more broke than she had ever been in the past, to being a newly remarried person with a son in college (and that cost money).

Now I am in my 50’s.  Finally, I have a little breathing room in my finances; I can actually make the occasional purchase just because I want to buy something. I actually have money to spend at my discretion.  Oh, I think I forgot to mention that I also like to shop.

I’m pretty sure my story isn’t all that unique- lots of people pretty much experience this same scenario.  So, can someone please explain to me why the TV advertising industry reveres that 18 to 49 demographic so much when people in their 50’s have so much more money to spend on whatever they want to spend it on?

I find it hard enough to understand why a network would cancel a modestly successful show that “skews old.”  But Harry's Law is a show with nearly 9 million viewers on NBC, which is a struggling network right now. It is their second highest rated serial drama.  Were they grateful for the rare hit show, starring the incomparable Academy Award winning Kathy Bates? No, actually they cancelled the show, because, sadly, most of those viewers were over the age of 49. 

They said advertisers didn’t want to pay much to advertise on the show.  They couldn’t be creative and target some companies that sell products to the over-50 crowd?  Yet, they are keeping shows with half as many viewers because those viewers are between 18 and 49, who have less disposable income and who are more likely to watch TV shows in a way that don’t include commercials than their “elders.”  And the TV industry wonders why it is struggling.

Seriously, this feels like age discrimination to me. I’m no longer desirable to advertisers simply because of my age, because there is no other reason that possibly makes sense.

All I know is I am really going to miss Harry’s Law, and so will 8.9 million people like me.