More Viewers Go Colorblind

New York Post - February 13, 2001

By MICHAEL STARR

HEY, not "Everybody Loves Raymond."

A new study of black and white viewing habits shows that - while tastes between the races are growing closer - there are still benchmark programs that separate us.

"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," "ER" and "The Practice," for instance, are high on the list among both white and black viewers, while shows like "Friends" "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "The Parkers" show the two groups can be miles apart.

Remarkably, shows like "Raymond" and "Friends" - which are among the highest rated programs on TV - are tied at No. 65 in black households.

Still, the study by TN Media shows that, overall, viewing habits among blacks and whites are far more similar now than in more than a decade.

In fact, both black and white viewers put shows like "Judging Amy," "ER," "The Practice," "Touched by an Angel" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" on their "appointment TV" lists, according to the study.

That's a far cry from the days when only "Monday Night Football" appeared on both white and black viewing lists.

"I think the networks have made a greater effort at creating shows that are more ensemble-driven, and can therefore represent different elements of the culture," says TN's Stacy Lynn Koerner. "That's certainly a factor [in the similarity in viewing habits].

"There's clearly a trend over the last two years to add more multi-ethnic ensemble shows," she says. "There were 13 of these shows in 1995, 27 in 1999 and 31 in 2000."

ABC was the top-ranked network among black and white viewers alike with shows like "Millionaire," "Gideon's Crossing" and "The Practice."

"CBS has the most number of series (seven) on that list and they lead in almost every category with black viewers," says Koerner "But it's really the game-show genre that's driving ABC.

"'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' is a big factor for ABC because its ratings size generally brings more diverse viewers," she says. "But if we were able to measure [black and white] viewership for ‘Survivor' now, the gap between ABC and CBS would close."

"Monday Night Football" was the top-rated show among black viewers, while NBC's "ER" topped the list for white viewers.

Yet NBC's white-ensemble "Friends" cast tied "Raymond" for 65th place among black viewers.

"NBC has generally not been a top destination for black viewers the last several years," Koerner says. "But that's just the pendelum of network TV, which swings back and forth every year."

Surprisingly, UPN - which features such black-oriented shows as "The Parkers" and "Moesha" - finished third among black viewers behind CBS, which airs "Touched by an Angel."


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