Reps, Dems Share ‘Real Housewives’, But Split Over ‘South Park’ and ‘Colbert’
Have you ever wondered if liberals spend their non-politico time watching high-minded environmental documentaries, while conservatives stick to family-friendly fare on TLC? Well, you might be surprised.
Nielsen IAG has released data about which cable television programs are “most engaging” among self-described Republicans and Democrats, meaning the shows they actually pay attention to.
| Cable Series: Highest Bipartisan Engagement |
Network | Cable Series: Highest Republican Engagement |
Network | Cable Series: Highest Democrat Engagement |
Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Cleaner | A&E | South Park | COMEDY | The Colbert Report | COMEDY |
| Real Housewives of Orange County | BRAVO | Cash Cab | DSC | Deadliest Catch | DSC |
| The Next Food Network Star | FOOD | Damages | FX | Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia | FX |
| HGTV Design Star | HGTV | Battle 360 | HISTORY | Ax Men | HISTORY |
| Army Wives | LIFE | Doctor Who | SCIFI | Tin Man | SCIFI |
| The Hills | MTV | The Bill Engval Show | TBS | My Boys | TBS |
| What Not to Wear | TLC | Rock of Love With Bret Michaels | VH1 | I Love New York | VH1 |
| Saving Grace | TNT | ||||
| In Plain Sight | USA | ||||
| Source: The Nielsen Company (2008). | |||||
There were a few surprises. “South Park” is beloved by Republicans? Really? And “Doctor Who”?!? Really, have they watched the show and noticed all the gay characters? Although this does lead me to wonder if my planned Doctor/Harkness third-party ticket would have more bipartisen support (slogan: “One gives everyone one chance, and the other has a really huge gun.”)
On the Democratic side, I have a feeling that “The Colbert Report” being so popular with liberals would make some great rant fodder for Stephen Colbert. I hope he gets wind of it. And apparently Dems like to live life on the edge with “Deadliest Catch”, and are into a female sports writer on “My Boys” (one my my personal faves.)
And it only makes sense that the most bipartisen of shows are shows that would bridge shared interests, like TLC’s “What Not To Wear”, the Food Network’s “The Next Food Network Star” and HGTV’s “Design Star”.
The most ironic thing is how Republicans and Democrats split on VH1 shows. Republicans favored “Rock of Love”, while Democrats watched “I Love New York”. I wonder how they figured out who to support in “I Love Money”.
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