Rich People Watch ‘Modern Family’ And ‘Big Bang Theory’ With Their Tea And Crumpets

As we attempt to segue from last night’s debate — centered on the wealthy vs. the middle class — we move to television ratings and, specifically, the tv preferences of upscale viewers, i.e., those 18-49 with a family income over over $100,000, those with college degrees, and professionals. ABC leads all networks in that category (with a 2.8 ratings among those viewers), followed by CBS and Fox (2.4), while NBC pulls up in the rear (2.2), which is actually surprising to me because NBC used to lead in this category with shows like The West Wing.

Here are the Top 13 shows in the upscale demo:

1. Modern Family (ABC) (8.8)
2. Big Bang Theory (CBS) (6.2)
3. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) (5.6)
4. How I Met Your Mother (CBS) (5.2)
5. The Voice (NBC) (4.9) (Tuesday)
6. The Voice (NBC) (4.6) (Monday)
7. Revenge (ABC) (4.2)
8. 2 Broke Girls (CBS) (4.1)
9. Revolution (NBC) (4.0)
10. The Amazing Race (CBS) (3.9)
11. The Middle (ABC) (3.8)
12. Glee (Fox) (3.7)
13. Once Upon a Time (ABC) (3.7)

Interestingly, the show with the highest average income ($78,000) is ABC’s Shark Tank, Mark Burnett’s entrepreneurial reality show. Other lower-rated shows with a high concentration of upscale viewers include Parenthood and Up All Night. Modern Family has the highest concentration of upscale viewers, followed by Glee. If you watch any of those shows, you can feel smug with your MacBook Air knowing that you’re among the elite.

I also know, from past years, that the lowest rated show among rich people was Cops, and while ABC may boast the most upscale viewers, it’s NBC that has the most educated.

(Source: TV Media Insights)