CBS: 38 Is Young for Us!

When people brag about their young, attractive demographics, they’re usually talking about 18- to 34-year-olds, or thereabouts. If not that, younger. But CBS just sent out a press release saying a new study showed the network was attracting a younger, additive audience through its online offerings of its shows — with a median age of 38.

OK, so I’m batting on team young here at GigaOM, and I know I risk offending lots of people by saying this, but it’s only on broadcast television where 38 is a younger demographic. CBS’ usual median age is 54. And while it’s the oldest-skewing broadcast network, the median age for all of them is now 50.

But on the plus side, CBS also found in its research, which was a survey of nearly 50,000 users by Magid Media Associates, that its online audience is incremental — which is certainly the networks’ favorite word these days. Some 46 percent of CBS online viewers watch TV only or mostly online, according to Magid. But 21 percent of these users said they were now more likely to watch CBS content on TV.

The network also got some pretty promising results regarding its attempts at online advertising. Sixty-eight percent said CBS had the “right amount” of advertising, 50 percent recalled the name of a brand from an ad they saw, and 18 percent said they might be more likely to make a purchase decision based on that ad.