Must-$ee TV: NBC's Thursday Lineup Draws Richest Viewers

[Brett Ferino]

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - When NBC presents its fall schedule to ad buyers in a few weeks, network executives will no doubt remind those buyers how "upscale" their viewers are.

They can even show proof of that fact.

According to a study by Magna Global USA, a media-buying firm, NBC's Thursday-night shows, long dubbed "Must See TV" by the network, draw more of the wealthiest TV viewers than any other network does on a given night. The study looked at prime-time series' ratings among adults 18-49 -- the group advertisers love -- and the percentage of those people with annual household incomes above $75,000, which advertisers love even more.

"NBC shows tend to do best in major cities where there is a greater concentration of affluent viewers," Steve Sternberg, a senior vice president at Magna Global, tells New York's Daily News. "For years, the network's shows have been designed to appeal to that group."

"Good Morning Miami" draws the highest percentage (28 percent) of affluent 18- to 49-year-olds of any prime-time network series. NBC's other Thursday comedies -- "Friends," "Scrubs" and "Will & Grace" -- are close behind, as is the drama "ER."

FOX's "24" draws the highest percentage of affluent viewers among dramas, finishing just ahead of "ER."

One somewhat surprising finding in the study is that affluent viewers are also tuning into unscripted shows, despite their lowbrow reputation. More than a quarter of "Joe Millionaire" viewers fell into the upscale category; "The Bachelorette" and "American Idol" also draw more than 20 percent of their 18- to 49-year-old viewers from the higher income brackets.