How much do you make a year? If it’s over $70,000, then you’re probably not watching Jeopardy. That’s if you believe a study from 2001.
According to this study, the only show that had viewers with an average of over $70,000 was The West Wing. So if you are well off you are stuck with the political drama. If you want to slum it a bit, you could watched shows such as Law and Order SUV, Frasier, 60 Minutes, Ed or Will and Grace. The average salary of the people watching those was a mere $65,000.
Whatever you do though, don’t watch shows like Everybody Loves Raymond, Boston Public, Monday Night Football or Wheel of Fortune. The average viewer of those was a pitiful $50,000. Any of your elitist friends catch you watching those, you’ll surely never hear the end of it. You might as well just tear up your wine club membership card now.
I remember reading about this study 12 years ago. As someone who grew up with a household income of much less than $50,000, I found it odd that the average salary was so high for TV watchers. And looking back at the 2001 census, I wasn’t that off base, as the average salary was $42,000 a year.
Not being rich, or semi-rich, or middle class, or even semi-middle class, the only form of entertainment we could really afford was TV. Movies, theme parks, video games and vacations were all too expensive. To watch Television was an old TV you found on the side of the road and a wire clothes hanger to jam into the back to use as an antenna.
Of course, as I discussed in the past, studies have a way of being wrong. Perhaps they only interviewed subjects via phone, which poor people might be able to afford, or worse, over the internet, which was still somewhat of a luxury in 2001.
Wondering what rich people watch now?
Glee. At least that’s according to a 2009 survey.
This survey wasn’t as comprehensive, as it only cared what people making over $100,000 a year watch, completely dismissing the middle and lower class like it’s the government or something.
After Glee, the most popular shows amongst the over paid are 30 Rock, The Office and Community. Meaning them rich people actually have some good taste.
By the way, the only show that appears on both lists for 2001 and 2009 is 60 Minutes. In 2001 the average 60 minute viewer made $60,000 and in 2009 it became popular with those who make over $100,000. If I only had invested my money in 60 Minutes viewers instead of Pets.com.
Here is a complete list of all the shows from the 2001 study and their average viewer income. For fun, I’ve highlighted the shows I watched then.
| $70,000+ | $65,000-$70,000 | $60,000-$65,000 | $50,000-$60,000 |
“West Wing” |
“NYPD Blue,” “Law and Order,” “Ed,” “Will and Grace,” “60 Minutes,” “Ally McBeal,” “E.R.,” “Just Shoot Me,” “The Practice,” “Friends,” “Law and Order SVU,” “Once and Again,” “Frasier,” “Weber” |
“Three Sisters,” “Survivor 2,” “Third Watch,” “Dateline” [Friday], “Fighting Fitzgeralds,” “Dateline” [Sunday 8pm], “Deadline,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Dateline” [Sunday 7pm,] “JAG,” “Titans,” “Dateline” [Tuesday], “Boston Public,” “Providence,” “20/20” [Friday], “Big Apple,” “Monday Night Football,” “Geena Davis,” “60 Minutes II,” “The Mole” |
“Entertainment Tonight” [weekend], “Jeopardy” [weekend], “Rosie O’Donnell,” “George Michael Sports Machine,” “Oprah Winfrey” [weekend], “Extra” [weekend], “Inside Edition,” “Friends,” “Hollywood Squares,” “Martha Stewart,” “Seinfeld” [weekend], “Jeopardy,” “Wheel of Fortune,” “Hollywood Squares” [weekend], “TV.Com,” “Inside Edition” [weekendEntertainment Tonight,” “Extra,” “Seinfeld,” “Access Hollywood” [weekend], “Live with Regis and Kelly,” “Martha Stewart” [weekend], “Ebert and Roeper”Access Hollywood” |
