The Politics Of TV: How Viewing Habits Predict Voting Decisions [Study]
The politics of TV shows study by Engage and BuzzFeed reviewed the viewing habits of American voters to determine how cultural influences will impact the upcoming presidential race. Engage, Washington DC-based digital agency used its Trendsetter app to cross-reference polling data with “likes” on Facebook.
BuzzFeed spokesperson Ruby Cramer had this to say about the television and political influences poll:
“Engage measures turnout by affinity toward politics and politicians, assuming that the more likely you are to ‘like’ a politician of any party on Facebook, the more probable it is you’ll vote on November 6.”
It will likely not come as a shock that President Barack Obama’s supporters are frequent MSNBC viewers or that Mitt Romney fans prefer to get their information from Fox News. They study went beyond the obvious to highlight both the differences and commonalities among prospective voters.
According to the politics of television viewing habits survey, Republicans and Democrats both enjoyed watching ESPN. If the statistics are accurate, there is also some overlap among viewers of the Food Network and the Discovery Channel.
Voters likely to cast a ballot for President Obama typically watch Mtv, OWN, Bravo, and PBS. Romney supporters reportedly prefer watching the History Channel, HGTV, TCM, and CMT.
Those folks who enjoy watching the Jersey Shore, Modern Family, American Daddy, Today, and Saturday Nigh Live are more likely to vote for President Obama. Mitt Romney supporters are allegedly more prone to watch American Pickers, Sons of Anarchy, NCIS, CSI, and Rachel Ray.
The politics of television networks survey also sorts viewer preference into both more and less likely to show up at the polls categories.
