Young Viewers Slipping Away From WB Network

The 9-year-old WB network is getting wrinkles. And its ratings are sagging.

Although all the major networks have seen some of their younger viewers vanish this season, the problem has been particularly bad for the WB, which from the start has targeted 12- to 34-year-olds.

At the same time, some of the WB’s most successful shows are drawing viewers older than the demographic that the Burbank-based network aggressively sells to advertisers.

The median age of viewers for “Everwood,” starring Treat Williams, is 41. Fans of the comedy “Reba,” starring Reba McEntire, are pushing 40. These days, much of the audience for the WB’s most popular show, “7th Heaven,” doesn’t need pimple cream; its median age is 37.

“This is a challenge for the network,” said Andrew Donchin, a director with media-buying firm Carat USA. “They want to stay true to their 12- to 34-year-old audience....But the younger audience is the most elusive to reach.”

The network’s viewership is down 18% this season among 12-to-34 year olds, but WB executives said they weren’t pushing the panic button. The network is still making money, they said, and some newer offerings, such as the drama “One Tree Hill,” are catching on with younger viewers.

“The diagnosis for this network is strong,” WB Co-Chief Executive Jordan Levin said Monday. “While our audience has broadened out, we’re still the youngest of all of the major networks. ABC, NBC, CBS are all getting older. And we’re trusting our gut that were still having a pretty good season.”

The WB is owned by Time Warner Inc. and Tribune Co., which publishes the Los Angeles Times.

There are several reasons for the aging of some WB viewers, Levin said. For one, programs that have been on the air for several seasons, such as “7th Heaven” and “Gilmore Girls,” are maturing with the people who watch them. What’s more, Tribune stations, which carry WB programming, have placed reruns of “Everybody Loves Raymond” -- a favorite with the older crowd -- in some of the largest TV markets at 7:30 p.m.

Although the “Raymond” reruns have helped deliver viewers at 8 p.m. for “7th Heaven” on Monday, “Steve Harvey’s Big Time” on Thursday and “Reba” on Friday, the median age of the audiences for those shows has been going up, Levin said.

The WB and other networks this season have said changes in the way ratings giant Nielsen Media Research assembles its sample audiences are responsible for the declining numbers in the younger-viewer category. Marquee shows, such as “Smallville” and “Gilmore Girls,” are down more than 25% from last season in the 18-to-34-year-old age category.

Nielsen, for its part, has defended its numbers, saying that young adults are turning away from the broadcast networks in favor of cable channels, the Internet, video games and DVDs.

WB executives questioned that premise, noting that Nielsen also is reporting a 7.5% decline in overall television viewing among women age 18 to 20. WB executives said they did not believe that so many young women -- the sweet spot for the network -- had suddenly clicked off their sets.

“I don’t want to put all of our problems on Nielsen,” Levin said, “but there’s an artificial inflation in age for most broadcast networks.”

Still, there is no getting around the fact that the WB has struggled to develop new shows this season, particularly comedies, said research director Brad Adgate of Horizon Media. “They’ve had no new breakout hits.”

The WB for the last two seasons has placed big bets on flashy, high-concept shows that were canceled: “Birds of Prey” last season and “Tarzan” this season, featuring Calvin Klein underwear model Travis Fimmel.

The network built its fall season advertising and billboard campaign around “Tarzan.” The show delivered modest ratings with a viewership older than the network had hoped -- a median age of 34.5. After airing more than half a dozen episodes, the WB canceled the program after the November sweeps. The show was produced by sister studio Warner Bros. Television.

“Unlike ‘Birds of Prey,’ where we failed in the execution of the show, we executed ‘Tarzan’ well,” Levin said. “The problem was that people didn’t buy into the concept. But that’s the risk you take with these high-concept shows.”

Levin said the network would continue to take such gambles because some of the WB’s biggest successes over the years have been similarly fanciful shows, including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Smallville.”

This season, the WB relied entirely on Warner Bros. for new programming, a departure from previous years when the network mixed things up by drawing from several studios, including Spelling Television and 20th Century Fox Television.

Donchin, the advertising buyer, said that even with the network’s declines, it remained a good place for advertisers, particularly Hollywood movie studios, to reach younger viewers. A large share of the network’s audience regularly heads outside to theaters.

“The WB is still a point of destination if you’re making the 12-to-34-year-old buy,” Donchin said. “They have a good concentration, and they have loyal audience. And loyal, involved viewers in a show are more likely to be watching the commercials.”