How many Americans turn off entertainment when it turns political:
Bottom Line: If you're inclined to tune out of entertainment shows when they decide to engage in political commentary - you're not alone. The initial ratings from the Oscars showed another 4% decline in viewership this year to likely result in a new record low in viewership. The declining trend might be more than just demographics and increased options for entertainment. It could very well be the political rhetoric that's commonly hostile to the President and his supporters.
The National Research Group just completed a study with 400 Clinton voters and 400 Trump voters. They wanted to know if the political rhetoric really had an impact on viewing habits of people watching award shows. Surprise, surprise... It did.
66% of Trump voters turned the channel on award shows when it become politicized and to the surprise of some even 19% of Clinton voters did as well (despite the messaging being hostile to Trump and his supporters). What's more is that it's becoming clear that some viewers just aren't even inclined to sample entertainment they used to watch due to the likelihood of politicization occurring. Now to some of us this isn't at all surprising but to those in the network ivory towers it is. They're now being put in the position to where they're going to have to put their money where their political mouths are... Use an entertainment platform to bash the President and about half of your potential customers or accept lower ratings, advertising and potentially lower sales of your products in the future.
Capitalism and political choice is a beautiful thing. It'll be interesting to see which of these they'll choose in the near future.