TLC is set to make one of the biggest bets of the year by taking arguably the most polarizing figure in politics and giving her a reality show…
“Look at what happened in the election: A lot of people will tune in for Sarah Palin,” says Gary Carr, senior vp at media buyer TargetCast.
TLC president and GM Eileen O’Neill is likewise confident Palin will pay off.
“I’m really optimistic,” she says. “I think it could be one of our strongest shows out there. There’s a lot of buzz.”
So far ad sales for Sarah Palin’s Alaska [link] have been typical for a reality program:
“Palin’s going to be talking about Alaska: the Alaska salmon, the Alaska grizzly bear, the Alaska moose,” says Aaron Cohen, executive vp and chief media negotiating officer at Horizon Media. “As long as she doesn’t end up shooting the moose, I don’t think it will become a controversial program.”
And that’s key — controversy. Ad buyers agree an audience for a show can be 100% conservative or liberal, as long as the show’s content doesn’t make advertisers itchy or risk putting them in the crosshairs of a boycott campaign.
That pulled from an article focusing on which shows are watched by Democrats and which are watched by Republicans:
[I]f you look at the list of broadcast shows that are Republican favorites, it closely mirrors the Nielsen top 10 list, whereas Democrats tend to gravitate toward titles likely to have narrower audiences.
To Hollywood, the data suggest a potentially disquieting idea: The TV industry is populated by liberals, but big-league success may require pleasing conservatives.
Favorites by party:
That Modern Family is #3 on the Republican list bodes well for advocates of gay marriage.