The American Viewer: Truths About Race, Age & Gender
I'm pretty sure Hollywood has no idea what people actually want to watch. Here's my data
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in our series re-examining audience in the wake of an election that defied demographic assumptions. Previously, we revisited Linda Ong and Sarah Unger of Cultique’s look at the massive opportunity in speaking to Bicultural Latinos, the heartland and cross-generational audiences.
In Sept. 2022, Entertainment Strategy Guy embarked on an ambitious undertaking that snowballed into a huge hit with The Ankler community: A full-scale look at the American Viewer. And that’s our focus for the next three days. His insights remain a treasure trove for buyers, sellers and distributors — and a challenge to rethink traditional programming habits.
Below, ESG covers age, race, gender and gender identity as well as where people live. All of these topics were part of this year’s presidential campaign, weaponized and prioritized, for better or worse. As you’ll see, the very first bit of data he shares — “Americans overestimate the size of minority groups and underestimate the size of most majority groups” — signals that there’s a gap often between what people think they know and the actual truth.
Today you’ll learn:
The demographic that’s underrepresented among streaming customers — and in the streaming content catering to them
How programmers should think about age groups rather than rely on the traditional “demos”
The mistake most people make about the country’s racial makeup
The outmoded assumptions one needs to reassess given the growing number of mixed-race individuals
Why urbanites programming for suburbanites can present challenges
How the delta between the number of nonbinary individuals and the volume of media attention they receive can affect what gets made
Herewith, the first from ESG’s series that originally ran on The Ankler on Sept. 6, 2022:
A few months ago, Richard Rushfield wrote a piece that perfectly captured a growing problem I’ve noticed for the last couple of years:
The ruling clique of Hollywood — from elite backgrounds, elite education and living a cloistered existence here — managed to create a bubble in which the bosses of entertainment had almost nothing in common with, or direct knowledge of, their audiences.
That sounds like a problem!
My only quibble with Richard’s take? I don’t think it’s just the “bosses” who are out of touch; almost everyone in this town is. You might be saying, “Well, I know what Americans like to watch.” To which I would ask:
How many people over the age of 55 watch Netflix?
How many Americans go to church each week?
How many Americans make more than $50,000 each year?
What was Netflix’s second most popular show this year?
How many people watch TV on a computer screen?
Perhaps you think you know the answers to these questions. According to YouGov, you probably don’t . . .
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