Why is the 18-49 demographic used for ratings so wide? Wouldn’t a more narrow demographic give better info?

Question

Why is the 18-49 demographic used for ratings so wide? Wouldn’t a more narrow demographic give better info?

In: 17

Answer 1

This is the age range that A) has money to spend and B) is amenable to advertising. The thinking is that people below that age range don’t have money to spend and people above that age range are already set in their buying habits and aren’t going to be swayed by advertising. Thus, advertisers want to market to that 18-49 demographic, thus viewership in that demo is what TV networks care about.