Mediabistro.com is partnering up with Poll Position, the new polling company founded by former CNN executive Eason Jordan. On occasion, TVNewser and our other blogs will share results from Poll Position polls having to do with news media consumption and coverage. Each Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday night, Poll Position conducts national telephone polling, asking more than 1,000 Americans 10 hot topic questions in addition to demographic questions – gender, race, age, political affiliation. Among the Poll Position questions this week was the following:
NBC is considering the possibility of making “American Idol” TV show host Ryan Seacrest the co-host of NBC’s “Today Show” If Ryan Seacrest co-hosted NBC’s “Today Show,” would you be more or less inclined to watch the “Today Show”?
More inclined to watch
Less inclined to watch
No difference
N/O
12.2% 39.3% 42.0% 6.5% National Telephone Poll of 1,133 Registered Voters / 12.15.11 / Margin of Error +/- 3%
Advertisement
The good news for NBC is that a plurality of respondents say it would make no difference in their viewing habits, though close behind is the group that says it would be less inclined to tune in Only 12.2% said they would be more likely to tune in because of Seacrest’s presence. Of course, for NBC, the goal is not to boost viewership as much as it is to retain viewership. When you break it down by demographics:
Poll Position Crosstabs – NBC Today-Ryan Seacrest
According to the survey, younger viewers would be slightly more inclined to watch if Seacrest joined the program, but only slightly. The same could be said for female viewers… “Today'”s core demo. There was no real difference among respondents of different political persuasions