The New York Times on Tuesday published an analysis of Americans’ TV viewing habits relative to their geographical location and political persuasion. The study looked at 50 shows — from “Duck Dynasty” to “Empire” to “Modern Family” — to determine what your viewing habits might say about you.
From the abstract:
When we looked at how many active Facebook users in a given ZIP code ‘liked’ certain TV shows, we found that the 50 most-liked shows clustered into three groups with distinct geographic distributions. Together they reveal a national culture split among three regions: cities and their suburbs; rural areas; and what we’re calling the extended Black Belt — a swath that extends from the Mississippi River along the Eastern Seaboard up to Washington, but also including city centers and other places with large nonwhite populations.
Among the noteworthy findings:
- “Duck Dynasty” had the highest correlation with Donald Trump voters. The silver and bronze went to “Fast n’ Loud” — a Discovery Channel car restoration reality show set at the Gas Monkey Garage in Dallas — and “The Voice,” respectively.
- “Family Guy” is most popular among Hillary Clinton’s supporters.
- Skateboarder Rob Dyrdek’s “Ridiculousness” — a midlife crisis-based take on “America’s Funniest Home Videos” — and “Fantasy Factory” — in which he and his socially anxious cousins have a ramp leading to a foam pit — is hugely popular in rural Alaska.
- “The First 48,” “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” “Love & Hip Hop” and “Empire” are among the most popular shows in the “Black Belt” despite not airing on BET.
- People still watch “The Daily Show,” it seems. They live in San Francisco. They don’t live in Alabama.
- A high proportion of people in Utah watch “The Tonight Show”
- Residents of Pine Ridge, an Oglala Lakota Native American reservation in southern South Dakota, really like watching “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”
