Moonves: The Boomer Is Where The Money Is

CBS courts the fifty-plus demographic.

At the McGraw-Hill Media Summit in New York City last Thursday, CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves said that the network is "in a very good position financially to do some things." This means they've got a few billion dollars to spend, and they are looking at possible acquisitions. While Facebook is out of the question as a potential purchase (asking in the range of $15 billion), Moonves suggested that The Weather Channel would be a good choice for the network. "We look at absolutely everything," he explained.

Moonves said that other networks favored an "upscale" 18-34 demographic over older viewers. "The only 18-34 upscale people I know are my children, and they come to me when they want to buy a car," he said. "It's a bullshit demographic." Instead, Moonves defended the older crowd. He said that the idea of older viewers being set in their ways regarding purchasing was "a great old wives' tale. We think the boomer is still where the money is and where we want to go."

Shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation do well with an older audience, and when it comes to the younger demographic, CBS can't compete with a show like American Idol. "While we're in repeats, American Idol continues to be a monster," Moonves said. "It's a phenomenon. If somebody would kill that show, I'd really appreciate it. But it's a national phenomenon, and it continues to do extremely well. It's tough to compete with it." So tough, in fact, this year FOX is expected to beat CBS not only in the 18-49 viewing demographic (as it has done the past three broadcast seasons) but in overall viewers as well, thanks to the impact the writers' strike had on scripted programming. "Yeah, we'll finish No. 2," he said.

The original articles are from Broadcasting & Cable and the Hollywood Reporter.

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