The Show Is Familiar, I Just Don't Remember The Network

A recent media study found that only one in four 12 to 34-year-olds can name all four major broadcast networks. (For those 12 to 34 years olds reading this blog, the answer is ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX.)

And while I guess these findings might upset me if I were the President of one of those networks, I think that I would have raised some other questions and not just let the numbers wash over me and into the press.

TV networks seem to drive most of their branding efforts to specific programming. Cable stations brand themselves. Certainly better than the TV networks. So I wonder if the 75% of the 12 to 34-year-olds who couldn’t name the networks could have grouped actual shows together, like NCIS and The Unit (CBS) or House and The Simpsons (FOX), or Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) or ER and The Office (NBC). Or if they could have told you which number you need to turn to on the cable box or satellite system to find a show (CBS = 2, NBC = 4, FOX = 5, ABC = 7).

Maybe the 12 to 34 year-olds are just using a different paradigm for “understanding” the networks and the shows. It is the 21st Century, after all.