What Are The Gays Watching? Nielsen Has The Answer

The gays do love some 'Game of Thrones'

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Nielsen has released its first-ever weekly ratings for same-gender partner households, and its numbers show HBO's Game of Thrones as the most popular show among LGBTQ viewers.

Nielsen announced in the fall that it was expanding its reporting to include same-gender couples in an effort to better reflect LGBTQ inclusion in its national sample. Heads of households taking part in Nielsen's TV ratings survey were given the option to state whether their spouse or partner is of the same gender.

For the week of April 8, the most-watched shows on cable and broadcast TV — the Game of Thrones premiere on HBO and the NCAA men's basketball championship on CBS — also topped the rankings among same-gender partner homes. About 191,000 people in those homes watched Game of Thrones the night it aired, and nearly 177,000 tuned into CBS' basketball game.

Here are the 10 most-watched primetime shows on broadcast and cable among same-gender partner homes for the week of April 8:

Broadcast
1. NCAA Men’s Championship (CBS), 176,934 (19.72 million)
2. Survivor (CBS), 120,921 (7.6 million)
3. NCIS (CBS), 116,498 (11.82 million)
4. 60 Minutes (CBS), 96,273 (8.72 million)
5. Modern Family (ABC), 95,180 (4.81 million)
6. The Voice (Monday) (NBC), 95,130 (7.62 million)
7. American Idol (Sunday) (ABC), 94,696 (7.26 million)
8. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), 84,223 (6.82 million)
9. The Voice (Tuesday) (NBC), 81,510 (7.32 million)
10. The Goldbergs (ABC), 79,655 (4.64 million)

Cable
1. Game of Thrones (HBO), 191,135 (11.76 million)
2. The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC), 66,071 (2.55 million)
3. Untucked (VH1), 65,782 (405,989)
4. RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1), 64,082 (402,516)
5. All In With Chris Hayes (MSNBC), 34,280 (1.57 million)
6. Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell (MSNBC), 33,344 (2.02 million)
7. Spring Baking Championship (Food Network), 27,858 (1.04 million)
8. The Curse of Oak Island (History), 26,502 (3.06 million)
9. Little People, Big World (TLC), 25,243 (1.34 million)
10. Gold Rush: Dave Turin’s Lost Mine (Discovery), 24,578 (1.33 million)

Nielsen Begins Tracking Same-Sex Couples' TV Habits

The cast of 'Murphy Brown'

For the first time ever, TV data tracking service Nielsen has begun to report the television viewing habits of LGBTQ Americans.

Working in conjunction with GLAAD, Nielsen is now measuring the viewing habits of households with same-sex couples, whether they are spouses or unmarried partners.

The first results show that what we watch varies a bit from the general television viewing audience.

For instance, the top four shows for all viewers for the week ending September 30, 2018, were:

1. Manifest (NBC)
2. The Big Bang Theory CBS)
3. NCIS (CBS)
4. This Is Us (NBC)

But, for same-sex households, the top four shows were:

1. Murphy Brown (CBS)
2. Manifest NBC)
3. American Horror Story (FX)
4. This Is Us (NBC)

S0, there’s some crossover in the Top 4s with Manifest and This Is Us, but things diverge from there.

The cast of 'Manifest'

When it comes to the Top 20 shows preferred by same-sex households, eight shows don't appear at all in the general viewers' Top 20: Murphy Brown, American Horror Story, Modern Family, Mom, 9-1-1, Rachel Maddow Show, Grey’s Anatomy, Empire and Law & Order: SVU.

It’s easy to see why many of those are of interest to the LGBTQ community. Modern Family, American Horror Story, Empire and 9-1-1 all have gay leading characters. And Rachel Maddow is openly lesbian.

Conversely, some of the most popular shows on television like Blue Bloods, Bulland NCISdon’t show up in our Top 20.

According to USA Today, the new data collection is only including households with same-sex couples, not individuals, out of sensitivity to “privacy concerns.” Nielsen hopes to incorporate individuals eventually.

Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD's president and CEO, said in a statement, “We are at the highest levels ever reported for LGBTQ inclusion on television, and it's important that we know American audiences are connecting with these characters and shows.”

“We appreciate Nielsen’s commitment to ensuring that LGBTQ people wherever they live and consume television are being counted, and that those numbers are being reported,” she added. “GLAAD is proud to work alongside them as they continue to expand and enhance their capabilities."

Here are the Top 20 television shows watched by households with same-sex couples for the week ending September 30, 2018 (via USA Today):

1. Murphy Brown (CBS)
2. Manifest (NBC)
3. American Horror Story (FX)
4. This Is Us (NBC)
5. The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
6. The Good Doctor (ABC)
7. Modern Family (ABC)
8. The Big Bang Theory (special) (CBS)
9. The Voice (NBC)
10. Young Sheldon (CBS)
11. Mom (CBS)
12. 9-1-1 (Fox)
13. 60 Minutes (CBS)
14. The Voice (Tues) (NBC)
15. Young Sheldon (special) (CBS)
16. Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
17. Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
18. New Amsterdam (NBC)
19. Empire (Fox)
20. Law & Order: SVU (NBC)

What do you think, readers? Are your favorite shows in this Top 20?
(h/t USA Today)