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Politics divide TV viewers
TAMPA, Oct 13, 2009 (Tampa Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Democrats like "Saving Grace," "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List" and "The Closer."
Republicans lean toward "Deadliest Catch," "Wipeout" and "The Closer."
At least the nation's politically inclined couch potatoes agree on something.
An analysis of digital recording habits based on political affiliation found that in GOP households the "Deadliest Catch" was the No. 1 program recorded during July by viewers ages 18 to 49.
The Discovery Channel reality series follows the dangerous crab fishing industry.
In the homes of Democrats, "Saving Grace," a TNT drama starring Holly Hunter as a hard-drinking, fast-living police officer, topped the list for the same demographic.
The findings from TiVo, the pioneer in digital video recording, were released to demonstrate the company's Power Watch ratings, which can track viewers' DVR choices and help advertisers target commercials.
"This is not so surprising," political consultant Darryl Paulson said. "More women are drawn to the Democratic Party and they would be watching shows featuring strong, independent women such as Holly Hunter and Kathy Griffin.
"And the Republican Party traditionally has more men and they would be the kind of men who would like the rugged outdoor 'Deadliest Catch' and the battle against elements for economic survival," he said. "It's a Sarah Palin kind of show."
As for "Wipeout," a reality game show on which contestants are smacked off an obstacle course, it may have "a survival-of-the-fittest appeal to Republicans," Paulson said.
He said "The Closer," starring Kyra Sedgwick as a tough police detective supervising a mostly male crew, may appeal to viewers of both parties for different reasons.
"Republicans tend to like the law and order while the Democrats see another strong, independent woman," said Paulson, a retired University of South Florida political scientist.
Other primetime series popular with Republicans included Lifetime's military drama "Army Wives" and NBC's reality competition "America's Got Talent."
The military drama is a good fit with Republican priorities, Paulson said, and "America's Got Talent" has that Middle America appeal of people seeking to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
Also on the Republican's list was "Eli Stone," a drama about a lawyer who thought his "visions" were messages from God.
Democrats' most-recorded list also includes the racy ABC soap "Dirty Sexy Money," Bravo's cooking competition "Top Chef Masters" and TNT's "Leverage," a series about modern-day Robin Hoods taking on corrupt corporations.
The only other series to make both top 10 lists was TNT's "Raising the Bar," a legal drama that follows "The Closer" on Monday nights.
And it should come as no surprise that Fox News Channel was tops with Republicans while Democrats split their news recording among MSNBC, CBS and CNN.
The Power Watch ratings are based on the digital recordings of 35,000 households that volunteered to share their demographics and minute-by-minute recording habits.
The sample was taken during the summer when several programs on the list were limited-run series such as NBC's "Merlin" and "The Listener." Others were reruns of canceled series such as "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Eli Stone." There was one ABC special about J.K. Rowling, the author of the "Harry Potter" novels. TNT's "Saving Grace" has since been canceled.
Todd Juenger, TiVo's vice president and general manager of audience research, says the information can help advertisers reach specific audiences.
For example, TiVo also asked targeted marketing questions such as what was the probability that the households would buy an alternative energy vehicle within the next two years.
More Democrats than Republicans indicated they would purchase such an automobile.
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