Minority representation on broadcast TV

As near as I can tell the most recent season when the NAACP was outraged was 7 years ago (2008-2009) when only two shows starring African Americans were on CW network on Friday nights; (1) Everybody Hates Chris and (2) The Game . The Game lasted only three years on CW, but BET picked it up for six more seasons. The only new TV show was "The Cleveland Show" an animated TV show whose primary black character is voiced by a white guy,


NBC responded two years later by introducing a thriller with two attractive actors. Ratings were so low that it was cancelled after 8 weeks.

Quote: AZDuffman

Of course, TV Execs will screw it up. They always do. I swear hit shows happen in spite of them.

The diversity casting is now a rage. While the non-Latino White population in the USA is about 62%, TV execs supposedly want to reduce the non-Latino White percentage in pilot episodes to 50%. It is difficult to say with certainty since most of the smaller parts are now advertised as color blind.

It is difficult to not be in favor of diversity on television casting. It is amazing how few actors on Mexican TV are brown. But sometimes it seems artificial. The Black British population is 3% of the country, but every single modern day romantic relationship in ten years of Dr Who involved one white person and one black person. It feels like they are trying too hard.

Quote: Pacomartin

The diversity casting is now a rage. While the non-Latino White population in the USA is about 62%, TV execs supposedly want to reduce the non-Latino White percentage in pilot episodes to 50%. It is difficult to say with certainty since most of the smaller parts are now advertised as color blind.

It is difficult to not be in favor of diversity on television casting. It is amazing how few actors on Mexican TV are brown. But sometimes it seems artificial. The Black British population is 3% of the country, but every single modern day romantic relationship in ten years of Dr Who involved one white person and one black person. It feels like they are trying too hard.

Not surprising that execs want to reduce the white character %, sounds exactly how they think. And of course it "feels artificial." They are pushing an agenda. It is not your imagination.

I haven't seen much Mexican TV, mostly just a little of the Mexican "Breaking Bad." But some cultures prefer to see others and not themselves. Not TV but back in college I remember how we studied Mattel bringing Barbie to other nations. Had to make her look Japanese in Japan. But in India the one that sold the best was the USA version, no changes needed.

Like some Americans "look up" to anything European same can hold true in entertainment.

Not enough atheists on TV.

Quote: Nareed

Not enough atheists on TV.

Good one!

I think most of them are atheists, unless money is god?

Quote: AZDuffman

Not surprising that execs want to reduce the white character %, sounds exactly how they think. And of course it "feels artificial." They are pushing an agenda. It is not your imagination.

Yes, yes they are. But who and why? Who owns this media?

Quote:

I haven't seen much Mexican TV, mostly just a little of the Mexican "Breaking Bad." But some cultures prefer to see others and not themselves.

I have watched little hispanic tv, but if the casting on the dance shows is representative of the population, Latino women are smoking hot, just sayin. Them pasty white women all think they are doing you a favor.

Being raised around color, I don't even notice it until someone says something, unless someone is unusually black, and race still doesn't matter to me. It's all about attitude.

I don't know if this is true, but it sort of made sense. A few years back [30?], someone explained it to me like this. The tv that could be accessed with an antennae [or rabbit ears for the old among us] was targeted at ghetto people because they generally didn't afford cable or dish? Those [mostly beige people], had more money, and purchased cable and got the "good tv", with more actors that looked like them?

Follow the money.

Quote: petroglyph

I don't know if this is true, but it sort of made sense. A few years back [30?], someone explained it to me like this. The tv that could be accessed with an antennae [or rabbit ears for the old among us] was targeted at ghetto people because they generally didn't afford cable or dish? Those [mostly beige people], had more money, and purchased cable and got the "good tv", with more actors that looked like them?

Pre-1980s there was little demo besides black/white in the USA. Pockets of Asians and Mexicans, but not near what you have today. Also in that era you had "blacksploitation" entertainment. Movies like "Blackula" showed blacks could make as bad a movie as whites given the chance.

I wonder how many non-whites are binge watching cord-cutters? Or are they loaded up on cable channels?

Quote: A survey posted Jun 25, 2013

The survey found that minorities currently make up 41% of all broadcast-only homes, up from 38% in 2010. In the most recent study, 23% of Asian (down from 30% in 2010), 22% of African-American (up from 12% in 2010) and 25% of Latino households (up from 23% in 2010) rely on free tv with an antenna. Homes headed by younger adults are also more likely to access TV programming through broadcast signals. Twenty-eight percent of homes with a head of household age 18-34 (up from 18% in 2010) are broadcast only, compared with 19% of homes in which the head of household is 35-49, or 17% of homes in which the head of household is 50 years of age or older. Two out of ten (21%) younger over-the-air households have never purchased a pay TV service according to the current survey. Lower-income households also trend towards broadcast-only television, with 30% of homes having an annual income under $30,000 receiving TV signals solely over-the-air (up from 22% in 2010). In comparison, 11% of homes with incomes $75,000 or greater currently rely exclusively on broadcast signals, a proportion that has changed little since 2010.

Certainly this survey seems to confirm some of petroglyph's comments.

Quote: petroglyph

I don't know if this is true, but it sort of made sense. A few years back [30?], someone explained it to me like this. The tv that could be accessed with an antennae [or rabbit ears for the old among us] was targeted at ghetto people because they generally didn't afford cable or dish? Those [mostly beige people], had more money, and purchased cable and got the "good tv", with more actors that looked like them?

Yes but that has been true for some time now. Like you said you may have had this conversation 30 years ago.
Interestingly enough Empire was a midseason replacement show that only lasted for 10 weeks. Usually seasons that short indicate that there is not that much faith in the show. Seinfeld was famous for having a pilot, followed by a 4 episode season, followed by a 12 episode season.

Yet while most shows have their biggest viewership for the pilot because of the promotional advertising, Empire grew their audience with every single show until they were the most popular scripted show on TV.

The popularity may be short lived. The last episode was down 4 million viewers from the season finale in March.

Quote: petroglyph

Follow the money.

While it is true that all art forms tend to copy success, I think TV is the most reactive type of entertainment.

Empire was a mid season show because it
was a piece of crap. Blacks are watching it
because it's a novelty, a well cast show
that features rich Black people in a show
like Dynasty. But it's bad, the writing is
so awful and the characters are so
stereotyped that the audience is getting
bored already. Inevitable.

Quote: Pacomartin

While it is true that all art forms tend to copy success, I think TV is the most reactive type of entertainment.

It wasn't just the programming, it was also the commercials.

The moguls know their audience.

Quote: Evenbob

Empire was a mid season show because it was a piece of crap. Blacks are watching it because it's a novelty,

Maybe, but the numbers are huge for present day television among viewers under 50. I have never seen the show, but I got the impression that the music was pretty good. In a sense it is American Idol with a simplistic storyline.

Viewers age 18-49 (,000). Count for initial showing plus next 3 days (VOD, DVR, Computer)
11,002 EMPIRE | FOX
8,099 BIG BANG THEORY, THE | CBS
6,229 MODERN FAMILY | ABC
6,047 SCANDAL | ABC
5,639 BLINDSPOT | NBC
5,424 VOICE | NBC
5,226 GREY'S ANATOMY | ABC
5,138 HOW TO GET AWAY W/MURDER | ABC
4,777 MUPPETS, THE | ABC
4,472 BLACK-ISH | ABC
4,269 NCIS | CBS
4,198 GOLDBERGS, THE | ABC
3,978 HEROES REBORN | NBC
3,963 QUANTICO | ABC
3,827 SCORPION | CBS
3,683 LIMITLESS | CBS
3,601 MIDDLE, THE | ABC
3,460 SCREAM QUEENS | FOX
3,449 ONCE UPON A TIME | ABC
3,346 LAW AND ORDER:SVU | NBC
3,205 GOTHAM | FOX
2,786 FAMILY GUY | FOX
2,602 NASHVILLE | ABC
2,519 BLUE BLOODS | CBS
2,423 CASTLE | ABC